PERSPIRE TO GREATER RESULTS

Down those dumbbells earlier and head to the sauna for an altogether more restful muscle hit

The sauna has long been caricatured as the preserve of bodyconfident Scandis. But unless you’re reading this in Stockholm, your gym’s sweatbox more likely has a rep for housing slackers – the sweaty layabouts who get a kick out of crossing the gym threshold, but do little to warrant the membership fee.

However, new science hot off the press has sent this theory up in smoke. Abs may be made in the kitchen, but total-body muscle is cooked up in the sauna. Sports scientists have been warming to the potential of heat therapy for some time and now researchers at Korea University, have found that exposing muscles to higher temperatures after

resistance training results in faster gains in both strength and size. Increasing muscle temperature by just 4°C improves the natural anabolic processes in your muscle tissue, triggering more testosterone and swifter protein synthesis. Test subjects used high-tech heat blankets to achieve the desired effect, but a session in the sauna provides a far more convenient alternative.

Cut your workout 10 minutes short for this research-approved finisher and you’ll maximise your body’s adaptations to exercise. That means you can train less and use the extra time to unwind. Well, aside from the risk of awkward small talk.

02 SNATCH, DON’T SWING

Tense your glutes and extend your hips to propel one weight directly upward – don’t let your arm do all the work. The KB should stay close to your body the whole time, which differentiates it from a swing.

01 POWER POSE

Your starting position for the gorilla snatch is similar to that of a standard kettlebell swing. Hold the KBS between your legs with an overhand grip, keeping your back straight with a slight dip in your knees. Enjoy your final, brief moment of respite.