Why do gyms have saunas?

There is nothing as relaxing as a post-workout sauna session. No wonder more and more clubs are offering sauna services for members to enjoy. But more than that, is there any more reason why saunas are beneficial post-workout?

Saunas hold a myriad of benefits, but only if used appropriately. Throughout the years, heat therapy has always been known to be associated with health and wellness. To further help you find out if it’s worth it to add a sauna to your gym, here are some answers to the question “why do gyms have saunas?”.

5 reasons why gyms are adding saunas

Adds value to the membership

A lot of people enjoy sitting in a sauna room after working hard at the gym. Therefore, it is a valuable item to add to your list of membership benefits. People who like the idea of a sauna will find this an enticing feature and may eventually lead them to avail of a membership, boosting your new sign-ups.

Moreover, saunas post-workout is an incredibly feel-good experience so it may also increase member retention for members who will try it for the first time in your club.

Provides leverage against competitors

Since putting up a sauna still is an investment, not all gym owners will prioritize offering it. This is all the more reason why it’s worth investing in. If your local competitors do not have a sauna to offer clients, you will automatically win people who prefer this particular feature.

Saunas are known to induce relaxation and you will be surprised at how many people look forward to basking in one after a heart-pumping workout. It’s a luxurious experience you can offer to make your gym a step ahead of your competitors.

Holds multiple health benefits

On top of the incredible relaxation saunas offer, they’re also tied to multiple health and fitness benefits. Here are some of the known advantages saunas offer:

Promotes cardiovascular health

Going in for a sauna session may help improve overall heart health. According to a research study, regular sauna bathing can enhance the function of the heart and circulation via “improved endothelium-dependent dilation, reduced arterial stiffness, modulation of the autonomic nervous system, beneficial changes in circulating lipid profiles, and lowering of systemic blood pressure.”

Promotes muscle recovery

One of the great benefits of saunas is increased circulation. After a tough workout, more oxygen gets into the depleted muscles through the boosted blood flow. This can aid in faster muscle recovery and reduces the severity of delayed-onset muscle soreness.

Promotes weight loss

A sauna session can help reduce weight by helping the body lose water. However, it’s important to note that this immediate weight loss is not necessarily due to fat loss, rather, it is due to the “water weight” loss from sweating.

However, the idea of what type of weight loss saunas are capable of inducing remains to be a point of debate. One study found an association between core body temperature elevation and fat loss and that subjects who went to an infrared sauna for 45 minutes per session thrice a week were able to drop about 4% body fat in four months.

Promotes stress relief

Saunas are known to promote relaxation because of their deep heating technology. In fact, numerous people even take the time to meditate during a session. And since the sauna helps the muscles recover and relax while relieving tension, it goes without saying that it can help induce a whole sense of stress relief as well.

Appeals to more people

Not all people who sign up for a gym membership do so just to exercise. People are now wise enough to check what other services a membership plan can offer. Offering a sauna is a way for gyms to appeal to people they might otherwise not reach.

A good number of potential clients will most likely enjoy the idea of infrared saunas and may increase your chances of acquiring new members.

Builds gym community

The concept of saunas was built around bringing people together. The idea of having other people with you in a relaxing sauna session creates deeper bonds and stronger relationships.

Therefore, adding saunas to your gym can help build connections among your members which can turn into meaningful relationships. The community saunas can help build will benefit your gym in the long run because a strong and ideal fitness community ultimately leads to member retention.

Relatively low cost to acquire, run, and maintain

Compared to hot tubs and pools, saunas come with far more reasonable price tags. Traditional saunas range from about $6,000 to $11,000 while infrared variants range from $4,400 to $9,000.

While this investment isn’t exactly the cheapest thing, you have to remember that this is a one-time cost since maintaining it is really cheap and easy. Plus, its capability to attract new members and charge more for memberships may help you get your ROI in no time.

Conclusion

To get the best value from your gym sauna, minimize costs, and streamline management of which memberships can use these amenities, it’s highly recommended that you use a gym management system with seamless integration with access control hardware. This enables you to control and track who uses the saunas and when. For more details, click here.

Sources:

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(18)30275-1/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4592767/

https://blog.suny.edu/2013/05/research-personalized-heating-system-helps-with-weight-loss/