What's the deal with having one broken arm but working out the other one? Or with legs? I remember you or Dr. Mike Israetel citing some research that you can keep or even strengthen one limb by exercising the other, but I'd love to hear more about that for experienced lifters.
As a Finn, I have found this worldwide sauna hype, that started a couple of years ago quite ridiculous. Of course, I enjoy lots of sauna bathing, the social aspect especially, but I have never thought of doing sauna for health reasons, well perhaps for mental wellbeing. Without looking at the actual data I think some of these health claims are overblown. I think Eric did a great job answering the question.
A very lengthy text about sauna culture in Finland as observed by a casual finn, that might reveal something about how relevant that one questionnaire in the 80's is to the long time observation (the answer most likely is that the researchers didn't manage to convey the culture very well): Being a finn, I have never heard of "dry" or "wet" sauna. There are two kinds if you discuss sauna here: wood heated and electric heated. Wood is nicer, softer for whatever reason (perhaps humidity from burning wood). Usually it's easier to breathe in a wood heated sauna when you throw water on the stove, the electric ones tend to be snappier in heat. The common temperatures depending on the size of the sauna are from 80 to 120 C, also depending on your taste of how much heat you want on your skin. The bigger the sauna and if it's wood heated, usually you can enjoy hotter sauna than small or electric. My student apartment house has sauna for every apartment, most rental apartments have at least the common sauna if not your own. Some bars have sauna for rental. My uni student association had a sauna house nearby and some student group has a mobile sauna they bring to the events. There are even sauna rafts you can rent. There probably doesn't exist a summer cabin that doesn't have a sauna in it or in a separate building nearby. There are even these cool smoke saunas that are sometimes traditionally built into what looks like a huge barrel on its side. These days you mostly experience that by buying a sauna scent to put some droplets into the water you throw on the stove. It's unique and pleasant smell. Generally sauna has been a common finnish tradition since forever. Common traditional, special, sauna days are christmas eve and midsummer, those are almost obligatory in tradition. It would be common to go to sauna from kids to grandparents and guests on that day. If that speaks for how inseparable sauna is to finnish culture. It is very common to rent a cabin with a group of people and have sauna if none of the group have their own nice cabin, it's sort of annual behavior of young adults when they get together from long distance, like summer vacation meet or bachelor party or anything. In my eyes sauna has been viewed the same since my great grandparents to kids today. People here don't really care about the science behind sauna, it's mostly viewed as foreigners being afraid of sauna because it's hot and you throw water on the stove so they research if it kills you (good call though on that sauna should and could be researched better to put some hard evidence on if sauna does this or that for people who don't go to sauna just by tradition and enjoyment). There has probably never been a point where authorities or people said sauna is not healthy or advocated against it. If they did, people wouldn't believe (and it's rather common to have a laugh when the word from the world outside Finland arrives that sauna might be dangerous, actually there's periodically "news" articles going through foreign visitor comments about sauna and beliefs how sauna would be dangerous). One exception is that people, both authorities and common folk, advice on not going to sauna when sick, at least with flu/cold. As well as when you get pierced/tattooed/after surgery. And perhaps people with health issues related to low blood pressure etc are adviced to not go (they also tend to make that conclusion by experience by themselves). You'd have trouble finding a lot of people in Finland who don't go to sauna or wouldn't go to sauna if they had better access. It is rather rare to find people who don't like sauna, some don't go for practical/medical reasons. In some study they found out that almost every kid in Finland had their first sauna experience before 2 years of age, and after they got into it, they would start going to sauna like regular people, commonly at least once a week. So basically finns have forever believed sauna is either neutral or positive and people go to sauna from birth to death. As far as my personal experience goes, people haven't been told that sauna is particularly positive for health, but almost everyone here would agree that it makes you feel better in both body and mind. Before giving birth in hospital was a common place, women would give birth in sauna and I'm sure there's been some pagan magical beliefs/rituals related to sauna as well. There's also some study suggesting that sauna might start labour when the time is due (they noticed that more often than expected, there was a labour a day after sauna) and that 80-90% of the pregnant women go to sauna until giving birth. This is also why I find it rather difficult to believe the research was significant, because you'd have difficult time finding a good control group of non-sauna goers. You'd also want to take into notice a gene that subjects a person to heart and cardiovascular disease is common in Finland as I understand it, the disease is viewed as national disease or whatever you'd call it. And until recently the diets would consist of quite a bit of saturated fat and salt, not making it any better. So people who'd be in the non-sauna goer control group would likely be people too sick to feel like going to sauna to begin with, making the results less impressive. If you have friends and a couple of beers, sauna can last from 30 minutes to 4 hours or more. But don't go drinking heavy and stay in sauna for extended periods of time in hot summer weather. You're gonna et massively dehydrated and won't be hydrating adequately by any possible measure. If it doesn't lead to anything worse, you're gonna have a really nasty hangover. However, as another anecdote, people often prefer to have their own sauna even in their rental apartments. If it's a common sauna, they might be less into reserving a time and it might not fit their schedule as easily (you can guess that fridays/saturdays from 6-10 pm are very contested, the reservations are 60 mins and if you're with a friend, you mostly get out just before the next person is coming in), but people do go to sauna alone commonly if they have one. Even if they didn't have friends to go with. Personally I enjoy sauna the most in the nights with workout, so three times a week. And when I brought back that routine, it always made me feel more relaxed physically and mentally and helped with sleep hygiene that's a common problem I have. There was usually this carryover to the next day as well where even if I didn't sleep as well, I'd be less annoyingly tired and tense. And in my observation it was consistent effect despite other circumstances (stress, exercise). It was similar yet different to exercise, stretching for the night (short yoga) and meditation together which was also my common routine with and without sauna. On top of that, the intensity of the effect seemed to also be consistent with how hot I got in sauna and how cold as a result I showered. The preferation was sweat/water pouring in rivers before first shower, and the hotter it got in the sauna, the colder you could shower without feeling it being too much. And the more relaxed I would feel. This was noticeable on days where the sauna didn't heat as much before I got in and I couldn't shower in as cold, I wouldn't feel as relaxed. Regarding appetite I couldn't think about eating proper food after sauna and I hate going to sauna with stomach full. Maybe snacks later after sauna but not right after (a common thing as kids would be chips or popcorn). Although I'd suggest getting some sugar with hydration afterwards. For example soda is pretty nice and easy and will make you feel less drained. But I suppose a light fruit with water would do the trick as well. If you want a really extreme sauna perspective, do some research on sauna championships. There have been occasions where people really suffered from attending and not giving up for any reason (for example death). The competitions got brutal, not like any normal sauna event.
I was invited to visit Ohio while in grad school, and introduced to the fine Ohio tradition of driving and drinking. I think it's a little harsh to say there's no culture.
What are your thoughts on all the commotion surrounding seed oils? I've heard some allegedly reputable sources (mainly stan efferding) hop on this band wagon. Is there any truth behind the warnings?
I’m experiencing this full blown relapse on diet. Only getting 2 strength sessions per week. Determined to get over the hump. It’s been 4 weeks, I wish it was a couple of days lol.
The sauna thing is actually very interesting. As there are newer studies showing that heat induces hypertrophy. And that elevated intramuscular temperature increases hypertrophy related singalings.
“It’s a shame they didn’t consult any human beings when designing the plane seat.” LOL
What's the deal with having one broken arm but working out the other one? Or with legs? I remember you or Dr. Mike Israetel citing some research that you can keep or even strengthen one limb by exercising the other, but I'd love to hear more about that for experienced lifters.
Types "bluegrass music" on yt. Checks results. Loses respect for Eric...
Great episode. I love sauna. So much that I even got one for my home!
I would've never expected Stronger by Scientology to give recommendations on how to drink more alcohol than you ever should.
As a Finn, I have found this worldwide sauna hype, that started a couple of years ago quite ridiculous. Of course, I enjoy lots of sauna bathing, the social aspect especially, but I have never thought of doing sauna for health reasons, well perhaps for mental wellbeing.
Without looking at the actual data I think some of these health claims are overblown. I think Eric did a great job answering the question.
A very lengthy text about sauna culture in Finland as observed by a casual finn, that might reveal something about how relevant that one questionnaire in the 80's is to the long time observation (the answer most likely is that the researchers didn't manage to convey the culture very well):
Being a finn, I have never heard of "dry" or "wet" sauna. There are two kinds if you discuss sauna here: wood heated and electric heated. Wood is nicer, softer for whatever reason (perhaps humidity from burning wood). Usually it's easier to breathe in a wood heated sauna when you throw water on the stove, the electric ones tend to be snappier in heat. The common temperatures depending on the size of the sauna are from 80 to 120 C, also depending on your taste of how much heat you want on your skin. The bigger the sauna and if it's wood heated, usually you can enjoy hotter sauna than small or electric. My student apartment house has sauna for every apartment, most rental apartments have at least the common sauna if not your own. Some bars have sauna for rental. My uni student association had a sauna house nearby and some student group has a mobile sauna they bring to the events. There are even sauna rafts you can rent. There probably doesn't exist a summer cabin that doesn't have a sauna in it or in a separate building nearby. There are even these cool smoke saunas that are sometimes traditionally built into what looks like a huge barrel on its side. These days you mostly experience that by buying a sauna scent to put some droplets into the water you throw on the stove. It's unique and pleasant smell.
Generally sauna has been a common finnish tradition since forever. Common traditional, special, sauna days are christmas eve and midsummer, those are almost obligatory in tradition. It would be common to go to sauna from kids to grandparents and guests on that day. If that speaks for how inseparable sauna is to finnish culture. It is very common to rent a cabin with a group of people and have sauna if none of the group have their own nice cabin, it's sort of annual behavior of young adults when they get together from long distance, like summer vacation meet or bachelor party or anything. In my eyes sauna has been viewed the same since my great grandparents to kids today. People here don't really care about the science behind sauna, it's mostly viewed as foreigners being afraid of sauna because it's hot and you throw water on the stove so they research if it kills you (good call though on that sauna should and could be researched better to put some hard evidence on if sauna does this or that for people who don't go to sauna just by tradition and enjoyment). There has probably never been a point where authorities or people said sauna is not healthy or advocated against it. If they did, people wouldn't believe (and it's rather common to have a laugh when the word from the world outside Finland arrives that sauna might be dangerous, actually there's periodically "news" articles going through foreign visitor comments about sauna and beliefs how sauna would be dangerous).
One exception is that people, both authorities and common folk, advice on not going to sauna when sick, at least with flu/cold. As well as when you get pierced/tattooed/after surgery. And perhaps people with health issues related to low blood pressure etc are adviced to not go (they also tend to make that conclusion by experience by themselves). You'd have trouble finding a lot of people in Finland who don't go to sauna or wouldn't go to sauna if they had better access. It is rather rare to find people who don't like sauna, some don't go for practical/medical reasons.
In some study they found out that almost every kid in Finland had their first sauna experience before 2 years of age, and after they got into it, they would start going to sauna like regular people, commonly at least once a week. So basically finns have forever believed sauna is either neutral or positive and people go to sauna from birth to death. As far as my personal experience goes, people haven't been told that sauna is particularly positive for health, but almost everyone here would agree that it makes you feel better in both body and mind.
Before giving birth in hospital was a common place, women would give birth in sauna and I'm sure there's been some pagan magical beliefs/rituals related to sauna as well. There's also some study suggesting that sauna might start labour when the time is due (they noticed that more often than expected, there was a labour a day after sauna) and that 80-90% of the pregnant women go to sauna until giving birth.
This is also why I find it rather difficult to believe the research was significant, because you'd have difficult time finding a good control group of non-sauna goers. You'd also want to take into notice a gene that subjects a person to heart and cardiovascular disease is common in Finland as I understand it, the disease is viewed as national disease or whatever you'd call it. And until recently the diets would consist of quite a bit of saturated fat and salt, not making it any better. So people who'd be in the non-sauna goer control group would likely be people too sick to feel like going to sauna to begin with, making the results less impressive.
If you have friends and a couple of beers, sauna can last from 30 minutes to 4 hours or more. But don't go drinking heavy and stay in sauna for extended periods of time in hot summer weather. You're gonna et massively dehydrated and won't be hydrating adequately by any possible measure. If it doesn't lead to anything worse, you're gonna have a really nasty hangover. However, as another anecdote, people often prefer to have their own sauna even in their rental apartments. If it's a common sauna, they might be less into reserving a time and it might not fit their schedule as easily (you can guess that fridays/saturdays from 6-10 pm are very contested, the reservations are 60 mins and if you're with a friend, you mostly get out just before the next person is coming in), but people do go to sauna alone commonly if they have one. Even if they didn't have friends to go with. Personally I enjoy sauna the most in the nights with workout, so three times a week. And when I brought back that routine, it always made me feel more relaxed physically and mentally and helped with sleep hygiene that's a common problem I have. There was usually this carryover to the next day as well where even if I didn't sleep as well, I'd be less annoyingly tired and tense. And in my observation it was consistent effect despite other circumstances (stress, exercise). It was similar yet different to exercise, stretching for the night (short yoga) and meditation together which was also my common routine with and without sauna. On top of that, the intensity of the effect seemed to also be consistent with how hot I got in sauna and how cold as a result I showered. The preferation was sweat/water pouring in rivers before first shower, and the hotter it got in the sauna, the colder you could shower without feeling it being too much. And the more relaxed I would feel. This was noticeable on days where the sauna didn't heat as much before I got in and I couldn't shower in as cold, I wouldn't feel as relaxed. Regarding appetite I couldn't think about eating proper food after sauna and I hate going to sauna with stomach full. Maybe snacks later after sauna but not right after (a common thing as kids would be chips or popcorn). Although I'd suggest getting some sugar with hydration afterwards. For example soda is pretty nice and easy and will make you feel less drained. But I suppose a light fruit with water would do the trick as well.
If you want a really extreme sauna perspective, do some research on sauna championships. There have been occasions where people really suffered from attending and not giving up for any reason (for example death). The competitions got brutal, not like any normal sauna event.
For the algorithm
I was out of the gym for 10 days and the first session back felt like i was gonna die. Everything was heavy and i was out of breath🤦♂️
I was invited to visit Ohio while in grad school, and introduced to the fine Ohio tradition of driving and drinking. I think it's a little harsh to say there's no culture.
Besides having plenty of bluegrass bands, Ohio literally has a small chunk of Kentucky bluegrass region.
41:25 Planned Hedonic Deviation.
Let's just call them phds from here on out 😏.
What are your thoughts on all the commotion surrounding seed oils? I've heard some allegedly reputable sources (mainly stan efferding) hop on this band wagon. Is there any truth behind the warnings?
Bluegrass music is beautiful
Seems to me the best reward for a successful weight loss program is... weight loss.
Subjectively I feel like frequent sauna use makes me much more resistant to the psychological effects of "overheating" during training
I love this podcast.
🅿🆁🅾🅼🅾🆂🅼
Yeah, I've tried cheat days, ad lib days, refeed days, diet breaks, but let's do some PHD (planned hedonic deviation) days too!
Planned Hedonic Eating day just doesn’t have the same ring. ‘Cheat day’ is so widely used for better or worse bc it’s simple and catchy.
I’m experiencing this full blown relapse on diet. Only getting 2 strength sessions per week. Determined to get over the hump. It’s been 4 weeks, I wish it was a couple of days lol.
The sauna thing is actually very interesting. As there are newer studies showing that heat induces hypertrophy. And that elevated intramuscular temperature increases hypertrophy related singalings.