That’s brilliant for health, but it also means a lot more people finishing big walks, rides and runs, then trying to function on heavy legs by Monday morning.

Recovery is starting to matter to everyday outdoor people just as much as it does to elite athletes. A Polar Recovery infrared sauna is a tool that's gaining attention, helped by growing availability in gyms, spas and home setups across Europe, as part of a global infrared sauna market valued at roughly 761 million US dollars in 2023 and projected to grow steadily to 2032.

This article looks at what infrared heat actually does inside your body, what recent studies say about post‑exercise use, and how you can use it in a sensible way to feel better after big efforts.

What Infrared Really Does

Infrared saunas heat your body differently from traditional Finnish rooms. Instead of very hot air, they use infrared emitters to warm your skin and underlying tissues directly, typically operating at air temperatures around 40 to 60 degrees Celsius, which most people find easier to tolerate. That still raises core temperature, widens blood vessels and nudges heart rate up, so you get a noticeable boost in circulation without extra pounding on joints or muscles.

Cardiometabolic research on sauna use in general, although not limited to infrared, shows that repeated heat exposure can improve blood vessel function and support blood pressure regulation over time. Reviews describe sauna sessions as a form of “passive heat stress” that the cardiovascular system has to adapt to, similar in scale to gentle exercise rather than hard training. For someone who does long days out at the weekend but then spends most weekdays at a desk, that mild steady load on the heart and blood vessels can be a useful addition, especially if it encourages more frequent blood flow through tired leg muscles.

When circulation improves, oxygen and nutrients reach worked tissues more easily and metabolic by‑products clear more efficiently, which is one reason heat is widely used in physiotherapy and sports medicine. A large systematic review of 32 randomised trials on heat and cold for delayed onset muscle soreness concluded that well‑timed heat can reduce pain scores after unfamiliar or strenuous exercise, particularly in the first 24 hours. Infrared offers a way to apply that principle to the whole body in a comfortable, repeatable way rather than relying only on hot baths or local heat packs.

In practice, that means an infrared session can feel less like a luxury add‑on and more like “circulation training for your legs,” especially after long descents, hill repeats or big gear pushes that leave muscles feeling dense and sluggish. Used regularly, it becomes another lever to keep your body feeling ready, rather than a treat you use once a year.

Your New Recovery Ritual

So what happens when you use infrared straight after tough training, rather than on a separate day? Recent studies with athletes give some helpful clues. In a 2022 randomised crossover trial, 16 male basketball players completed a heavy resistance workout on two occasions, once followed by 20 minutes in a full‑spectrum infrared sauna at about 43 degrees Celsius, and once followed by quiet seated rest. The infrared session led to lower muscle soreness, better perceived recovery and smaller drops in explosive leg power the following morning compared with passive recovery.

A 2025 study went further by looking at repeated use during a training block. Forty female team‑sport athletes were followed over six weeks, with one group adding regular post‑exercise infrared sauna sessions while the other recovered passively. The sauna group showed greater improvements in neuromuscular performance and favourable shifts in body composition than controls, suggesting that consistent post‑training heat can support both recovery and adaptation rather than merely providing short‑term comfort.

These individual trials sit on top of the broader evidence on heat therapy for soreness. The 2021 meta‑analysis mentioned earlier pooled data from 32 randomised studies involving 1,098 participants and found that applying heat within an hour after exercise reduced delayed onset muscle soreness at various time points afterwards. While not all of those interventions used infrared, they strengthen the underlying idea that warming muscles soon after they’ve been stressed can make the following day feel more manageable.

To turn this into something practical, it helps to think of the sauna session as part of your training plan rather than a spontaneous extra. Based on session lengths used in studies and what’s realistically doable on a busy weekend, many active people find value in: Using an infrared sauna for 10–20 minutes within a few hours after a hard ride, run or hill day, while drinking water steadily and stepping out early if they feel light‑headed.

That one small change can act as a clear “full stop” at the end of the training day, rather than drifting straight from exertion into chores or screen time. Over time, people often find they treat recovery with the same respect they give to intervals or long mileage, which is where the real gains tend to appear.

Turning Heat into Tomorrow’s Strong Legs

The research so far is encouraging rather than mystical: small but well‑designed trials show better perceived recovery and performance when infrared sessions follow hard workouts, systematic reviews confirm that heat can reduce muscle soreness, and cardiometabolic studies suggest longer‑term cardiovascular gains from regular, sensible sauna use. Market data and growing access simply make it more realistic for outdoor people to try this for themselves in everyday settings.

So if you already invest in good footwear, decent layers and maybe a bike or two, it might be worth asking one more question: could a short, regular infrared sauna session be the missing piece that helps your legs feel as ready for Monday as they did for Saturday?