Ben Greenfield: Clearlight Infrared® Saunas Recommendations

Ben Greenfield is a former competitive athlete who has since established a reputation as a world-renowned author, fitness educator, physiologist, nutritionist and ‘biohacker’.

While the term biohacking might sound complex, it’s actually a straight-forward concept involving specific, incremental changes to your lifestyle, exercise regime and diet that result in positive and more direct health benefits.

Ben Greenfield discount code for USA: BenGreenfieldFitness.com/Clearlight

One of the most important tools that Greenfield commonly uses in his ingredients for biohacking centres on the meditative state of mindfulness, as well as the use of Clearlight Infrared Saunas.

In his blog post, Greenfield talks not only of the health benefits of (Clearlight) infrared sauna use, but unpacks the industry-leading technology in True Wave II™ heaters.

True Wave II™ heaters are exclusive Clearlight heater technology that, as stated by Greenfield “contains a carbon based infrared heater with virtually no EMF.”

Ben Greenfield Sauna Workout Routine

If you're looking to turn your Clearlight Sauna into a workout space, Ben Greenfield's exercises are a great place to start. Here's a step-by-step guide to getting started:

1. Prepare your sauna space: Make sure your sauna is clean and dry. Set up a yoga mat or towel to protect your sauna bench.
2. Gather your equipment: You'll need a pair of dumbbells, a kettlebell, and a set of Perfect Push-Up handles. Make sure to choose weights that are appropriate for your fitness level.
3. Start with the suitcase deadlift: Place the dumbbells shoulder-width apart and stand with your feet hip-width apart. Bend at the hips and knees to grab the dumbbells. Straighten up while lifting the dumbbells, then lower them back down with control. Do 10-12 reps for a full set.
4. Move on to the single arm row: Place the kettlebell on the floor and get into a lunge position with your right foot forward. Lean forward and pick up the kettlebell with your left hand. Pull the kettlebell up towards your chest, then lower it back down. Do 10-12 reps on each side for a full set.
5. Do a kettlebell swing: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the kettlebell with both hands. Bend your knees and swing the kettlebell between your legs, then stand up and swing the kettlebell up to shoulder height. Do 10-12 reps for a full set.
6. Finish with the perfect push-up: Place the Perfect Push-Up handles shoulder-width apart and get into a plank position. Lower your body towards the handles, then push back up. Do 10-12 reps for a full set.
7. Repeat the circuit: Go through each exercise for 20-30 minutes, taking breaks as needed. Focus on your breath and listen to music or an audiobook to make the time go by faster.

Ben Greenfield loves his Clearlight Sauna for a variety of reasons. Firstly, he enjoys using it as a relaxing and therapeutic space to unwind after a tough workout or a long day. The heat and steam help to soothe his muscles and reduce inflammation, making it an ideal recovery tool.

Secondly, he appreciates that the sauna is also a versatile workout space where he can perform a variety of exercises to boost his fitness and build strength. By incorporating weightlifting and bodyweight exercises into his sauna routine, he is able to make the most of his time and space while getting a great workout.

Lastly, Ben is a big advocate of the health benefits of sauna use. Studies have shown that regular sauna sessions can help to improve cardiovascular health, reduce stress and anxiety, and even boost the immune system. By using his Clearlight Sauna on a regular basis, Ben is able to support his overall health and wellness in a number of ways. You can also incorporate the Nitric Oxide Dump workout and infrared sauna with the Niacin protocol for greater workout and sauna benefits!  

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While the EMF output is extremely low, Greenfield continues to explain that “the True Wave Full Spectrum heater system in the Clearlight delivers over 20 times the power of any other infrared sauna.”

In terms of his biohacking regime that incorporates a sauna, Greenfield writes that “during the entire protocol, I used the following simple sauna + exercise strategy: after my hardest workout of each day, I sat, read, stretched, did yoga, and foam rolled in the sauna for 30-45 minutes… this may seem like a big chunk of time, but I simply saved all my reading, stretching, foam rolling and yoga for my sauna time.”

10 Reasons Why I Am Addicted To My Sauna by Ben Greenfield

I have a confession to make: I’m an addict. Every morning I wander to my basement gym, flip the power on my sauna, step inside, and sweat hard for thirty minutes. Knowing I can venture downstairs and enter a chamber that gives my body a myriad of benefits simply makes a sauna a daily must. There are many reasons I sauna and you should too - 10 scientifically proven reasons, in fact. In no particular order of importance, they are:

1. Heart Health and Longevity

JAMA Internal Medicine shows that regularly spending time in a sauna may help keep the heart healthy and extend life. Researchers from Finland tracked 2,300 men for an average of 20 years. They found that the more sessions per week men spent in the sauna, the lower their risk of sudden cardiac death and fatal coronary heart disease. The sauna also extended the life of participants with other illnesses, including cancer.

2. Detoxification of Chemicals and Heavy Metals

The skin is a major detox organ, and sweating through skin is a critical human detox function, yet most people don’t sweat enough. Because of this, we miss out on a major source of toxin elimination: the skin. To combat these effects, an infrared sauna helps detox and purify the body from the inside out, eliminating compounds such as PCBs, metals and toxins that are stored in fat cells, which can undergo lipolysis and release toxins upon exposure to heat.

3. Athletic Recovery for Pros and Weekend Warriors

Growth hormone is crucial for repair and recovery of muscles, and research has shown that two 20-minute sauna sessions elevated growth hormone levels two-fold over baseline. Two 15-minute sauna sessions at an even warmer temperature resulted in a five-fold increase in growth hormone. And two one-hour sauna sessions for 7 days has been shown to increase growth hormone 16-fold! For an additional recovery benefit, sauna also increases blood flow to the skeletal muscles, which helps to keep them fueled with glucose, amino acids, fatty acids, and oxygen, while removing by-products of metabolic processes such as lactic acid and calcium ions.

4. Arthritic and Muscular Pain Relief

In The Annals of Clinical Research Volume 20, research results show the benefits of sauna for relief of pain and increased mobility. Pain relief induced by a sauna was attributed to an increase in the release of anti-inflammatory compounds, as well as an increase in positive stress on the body, causing it to release natural pain-killing endorphins. More than 50% of participants reported relief of pain and an increase in mobility.

5. Muscle Gain and Fat Loss

Sauna can promote muscle growth and fat loss by improving insulin sensitivity and decreasing muscle protein catabolism. Intermittent hyperthermia has been shown to reduce insulin resistance in obese mice, and in this case insulin resistant diabetic mice were subjected to 30 minutes of heat treatment, three times a week for twelve weeks. The results were a 31% decrease in insulin levels and a reduction in blood glucose levels, both of which can contribute to an increase in muscle growth and an increase in weight control and fat loss. It has also been shown that a 30-minute intermittent hyperthermic treatment can cause a significant expression of something called ‘heat shock proteins’ in muscle, which is correlated with 30% more muscle regrowth after a week of immobilisation. In other words, if you don’t exercise but you sauna instead, you can still maintain muscle!

6. Immune System Boost

The Journal of Human Kinetics investigated the effect of sauna on the immune system, specifically white blood cell profile, cortisol levels and selected physiological indices in athletes and non-athletes. After the sauna session, an increased number of white blood cells, lymphocyte, neutrophil and basophil counts was reported in the white blood cell profile, showing that sauna use stimulates the immune system. German medical research shows that saunas are able to significantly reduce the incidences of colds and influenza.

7. Skin Rejuvenation

When your body produces sweat via the deep sweating you experience in an infrared sauna, the rate at which dead skin cells are replaced can be increased. At the same time, heavy sweating helps to remove bacteria out of the epidermal layer of the skin and the sweat ducts. This pore cleansing also causes increased capillary circulation, which can give the skin a softer-looking, younger appearance. When you sweat, the movement of fluid to the skin delivers mineral-rich nutrients and also helps to fill spaces around the cells, increasing firmness and reducing the appearance of wrinkles. So by continually flushing waste through skin cells via the use of hyperthermia, sauna can increase skin health, tone and colour, and cleanse the pores.

8. Relaxation and Better Sleep

Researchers have found that a sauna can help provide a deeper, more relaxed sleep, relief of chronic tension, and relief of chronic fatigue issues, most likely due to a release of endorphins from the sauna. As endorphins are released into your body, they create a soothing, tranquillising effect that not only helps to minimise chronic arthritic pain and other muscle soreness, but sauna can also help with relaxation and sleep.

9. Increased Cardiovascular Performance

Research has shown 30 minutes of sauna treatment after exercise can cause an increase in oxygen consumption and red blood cell production. In temperatures of an infrared sauna, your skin heats up and core body temperature rises. Then, in response to these increased heat levels, the blood vessels near your skin dilate and cause an increase in cardiac output. So with regular sauna use, you are training your heart muscles and improving your cardiac output.

10. Increased Stress Resilience

Multiple research studies have shown that hyperthermia via the use of a sauna can prevent protein degradation and muscle loss by triggering the production of heat shock proteins. Heat shock proteins are then used by your cells to counteract potentially harmful stimulus, including environmental stress from pollutants, toxins, heat, cold, exercise stress and more. So, can you blame me? I’m addicted to my sauna and knowing these 10 benefits, I feel very good about myself when I walk out of my daily sauna session. If you’re up for the challenge, I’d recommend that for the next thirty days you try the Finnish practice of visiting a sauna four to five times a week for twenty to thirty minutes.

You can download the entire article published by Hippocrates Health Institute on Ben Greenfield titled 10 Reasons Why I Am Addicted To My Sauna.

If you're interested in an infrared sauna cabin for home, click here to view our range of full-spectrum saunas, far-infrared saunas, and outdoor saunas.