You’ve nailed your workout. You’ve pushed through your swim sets, finished your weights session, or wrapped up a group fitness class. But are you giving your body the recovery it deserves?
At The Olympic Pools and Fitness Centre, recovery isn’t an afterthought — it’s built right into the experience. With access to both a sauna and steam room included in all full facility memberships, our members have everything they need to train hard and recover smarter.
In this post, we explore the science-backed benefits of sauna and steam room use — from accelerated muscle recovery to improved mental wellbeing — and why adding them to your routine could be the game-changer you’ve been missing.
What’s the Difference Between a Sauna and a Steam Room?
Before we dive into the benefits, it helps to understand the difference between the two. A sauna uses dry heat, typically between 70°C and 100°C, with very low humidity. A steam room, on the other hand, operates at a slightly lower temperature but with close to 100% humidity, creating that thick, moist heat environment.
Both offer remarkable health benefits, and many people use them together as part of a contrast therapy routine. At The Olympic, both are available to all full facility members — making it easy to explore what works best for your body.
The Physical Benefits: Why Your Body Loves Heat Therapy
1. Faster Muscle Recovery After Exercise
One of the most well-documented benefits of sauna use is its ability to speed up muscle recovery. When you’re exposed to heat, your blood vessels dilate and blood flow increases significantly — delivering oxygen and nutrients to tired, sore muscles more efficiently. Research has shown that heat therapy can help reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), meaning you feel less stiff the day after a hard session and can get back to training sooner.
If you’ve just finished a tough swim in our 50m pool, a weights session in the gym, or a group fitness class, spending 10–20 minutes in the sauna or steam room can meaningfully support your body’s natural repair process.
2. Improved Flexibility and Reduced Injury Risk
Heat loosens connective tissue and increases the elasticity of muscles and tendons. Using the steam room after your workout — when your muscles are already warm — is an ideal time to stretch. The humid heat helps your body move more freely, reducing stiffness and lowering your risk of injury in future sessions.
3. Enhanced Cardiovascular Health
Regular sauna use has been linked to meaningful improvements in cardiovascular health. Studies — including a landmark long-term study from Finland — found that people who used a sauna regularly had significantly lower risks of cardiovascular-related illness. The heat causes your heart rate to rise in a way that mimics light to moderate aerobic exercise, giving your cardiovascular system a gentle but effective workout even while you rest.
4. Detoxification Through Sweating
Sweating is one of the body’s primary ways of eliminating waste products and certain toxins. Both the sauna and steam room induce deep sweating, which can help clear the skin and support the body’s natural detox processes. Many members find their skin feels cleaner and clearer with regular use.
5. Immune System Support
Exposure to heat stimulates the production of white blood cells and heat shock proteins, both of which play a role in your body’s immune response. Regular sauna sessions may contribute to a more resilient immune system — useful year-round, but especially during the cooler Auckland months.
The Mental Benefits: Recovery for Your Mind, Not Just Your Body
1. Stress Reduction and Cortisol Management
When you step into the sauna or steam room, something shifts. The heat, the quiet, the enforced stillness — it creates a rare opportunity to truly switch off. Physiologically, heat exposure prompts the release of endorphins, the same feel-good hormones triggered by exercise. At the same time, it can help lower cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone. Regular sauna use is increasingly being studied as a complementary tool for managing everyday stress and anxiety.
2. Better Sleep Quality
Heat therapy in the late afternoon or evening can significantly improve sleep quality. The rise and subsequent fall in core body temperature that follows a sauna session signals to the brain that it’s time to wind down, making it easier to fall asleep and achieve deeper, more restorative rest. Better sleep means better recovery, better performance, and better mental clarity.
3. Mood Elevation
There’s a reason you leave the sauna feeling good. Heat exposure triggers the release of dynorphins and, in response, an up-regulation of mu-opioid receptors — which is part of why the post-sauna glow feels so satisfying. Some emerging research suggests that regular heat therapy may have a positive role in supporting mood and reducing symptoms of low mood over time.
4. Mindfulness and Mental Reset
In a world full of screens and noise, the sauna offers something increasingly rare: intentional stillness. Many of our members use this time to decompress, breathe deeply, and simply be present. Treat it like a moving meditation. No phone, no to-do list — just you, the heat, and the quiet. That kind of mental reset can be just as valuable as the physical recovery happening at the same time.
How to Use the Sauna and Steam Room Effectively
To get the most out of your heat therapy sessions, keep these tips in mind:
- Hydrate well before and after. Heat causes significant fluid loss through sweat, so drink water before you go in and rehydrate thoroughly afterwards.
- Start short. If you’re new to heat therapy, start with 5–10 minutes and build up over time. Most experienced users aim for 15–20 minutes per session.
- Use it post-workout. The sauna and steam room are most effective after exercise when your muscles are already warm and blood flow is elevated.
- Cool down in between. A cool shower between sauna and steam room sessions — a practice known as contrast therapy — can amplify the circulatory benefits and leave you feeling energised.
- Listen to your body. If you feel dizzy or uncomfortable, step out and cool down. Heat therapy should feel challenging but always safe.
Note: If you have any underlying health conditions, please consult your doctor before beginning regular sauna or steam room use.
Access the Sauna and Steam Room at The Olympic
At The Olympic, our sauna and steam room are available to all full facility members — so if you’re already coming in for the gym, the pool, or group fitness, recovery is already part of your membership.
Here’s a quick look at your options:
- Bronze (Full Facility) — $25/week: No fixed term, $20 joining fee, cancel with 2 weeks’ notice. Full access to gym, pools, sauna, steam room, and group fitness.
- Silver (Full Facility) — $19/week: 6-month minimum term. Full facility access plus a free training programme and consultation.
- Gold (Full Facility) — $17/week: 12-month term, no joining fee, one month free credit when you join, free training programme and consultation, and Free Friend Fridays.
We also offer student and senior discounts on the Gold membership, saving $2 per week.
Not ready to commit? Try us out with our 3 Week Trial — no commitment, no judgement. It’s the perfect way to experience the full facility, including the sauna and steam room, before deciding on a membership.
You can also visit on a casual basis. Check our casual prices page for daily access options.
Why The Olympic Members Train Smarter
With over 30 years of experience and more than 3,000 happy members, The Olympic Pools and Fitness Centre is Auckland’s home for swimming, fitness, and recovery — all under one roof. We believe that getting fit isn’t just about the work you put in during a session. It’s about the culture of care that surrounds it: the warm community, the expert staff, the group fitness energy, and yes — the sauna and steam room waiting for you when you’re done.
Recovery is not a luxury. It’s a fundamental part of training well, feeling good, and staying consistent over the long term. And at The Olympic, it comes included.
Ready to make recovery part of your routine? View our membership options today or get in touch to arrange a tour of the facility with our friendly team.
The Olympic Pools and Fitness Centre is open every day, including public holidays. Call us on 09 522 4414 or email fitin@theolympic.co.nz.
