I have enjoyed relaxing in the sauna, especially in cold weather, for many years. But last summer, I was surprised to see a doctor friend emerging from the sauna in the sweltering heat of July on his way to a workout, dripping from sweat before he even reached the gym.
多年来，我一直很喜欢在桑拿房里放松，尤其是在冷天。但去年夏天，我惊讶地看见我的一位医生朋友在酷热的7月从桑拿房里出来，然后去锻炼，还没到健身房，他就已经汗如雨下。
The doctor explained that as we get older, it becomes increasingly important to warm our muscles, tendons and joints before undertaking strenuous physical exercise. While a 10-minute warm-up on a stationary bike or treadmill might be the traditional way to gently warm muscles, the sauna really heats them up and gets them ready for exercise.
我的朋友解释道，随着我们年岁渐长，在进行剧烈身体锻炼前让我们的肌肉、肌腱和关节温暖起来变得越来越重要。尽管在健身脚踏车或者跑步机上进行10分钟热身运动可能是一种温和地温暖肌肉的传统方式，但桑拿会让肌肉真正地温暖起来，做好锻炼准备。
This struck a chord with me because for the past few years, I have suffered agonies from an Achilles tendon problem every time I run. I have been treated by a number of doctors, who have prescribed stretching, heel inserts in my trainers and even used sound waves to bombard my Achilles tendon — all without much lasting effect.
这引起了我的共鸣，因为过去几年里，我每次跑步都会感到跟腱疼痛。我接受过好几名医生的治疗，他们提供的处方是做拉伸，在运动鞋里放脚后跟脚垫，甚至使用声波轰击我的跟腱——效果都不持久。
After talking to my doctor friend, I discovered some research about the beneficial effects of saunas on athletes. While the study was fairly small, it found that after only three weeks of hard running followed by half-hourly sauna sessions, the athletes were able to run further before becoming exhausted.
在和我的医生朋友交谈以后，我找到了某项关于桑拿对运动员的益处的研究。尽管这项研究规模相当小，但它发现，在大强度跑步之前蒸半小时桑拿，仅仅三周后，这些运动员在精疲力竭之前能够跑得更远了。
The most likely explanation, the researchers, concluded, was that the sauna training increased the athletes’ blood plasma volumes.
研究者得出结论认为，最可能的解释是桑拿训练提高了运动员的血浆量。
As any fan of competitive cycling now knows, you 0can increase your body’s aerobic capacity by increasing haemoglobin, which carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. That’s why cheats in cycle races give themselves transfusions of their own blood, known as blood doping.
现在任何一个竞技自行车的体育迷都知道，你可以通过提高血红蛋白的量来提高身体的有氧运动能力。血红蛋白的功能是从肺部将氧输送到身体各处。这就是为什么在自行车比赛里作弊的人会将自己的血液回输给自己，这种做法被称为“血液兴奋剂”。
But I was interested to learn that saunas may also increase production of a range of hormones, including growth hormone and norepinephrine, which is behind the fight or flight response and increases blood flow to skeletal muscles.
但让我感兴趣的是，我得知桑拿或许也能提高一系列激素的分泌，包括生长激素和去甲肾上腺素。后者调节所谓的“战斗或逃跑”反应，增加流向骨骼肌的血液量。
At first I thought I would see whether saunas increased my athletic performance in the way described in the study above. I tried taking the prescribed half-hour of sauna before a run, but I was so hot that I did not feel like running. I then switched to after the run, and all I could manage at first was 10 minutes.
我的初衷是想看看桑拿是否能像上述研究所说的那样，提高我的运动成绩。我尝试按照上述研究的“处方”，每次跑步前蒸半个小时桑拿，但我感觉太热了，以至于根本跑不动。于是我换成了跑步后蒸桑拿，最初我只能在桑拿房里坚持10分钟。
Over the past six months, I have slowly built up to about 20 minutes of sauna after doing 30 minutes of sprints twice a week. You really perspire in these sessions, which is meant to help train your body to sweat more efficiently, lowering your body temperature while you exercise.
过去6个月期间，我慢慢延长了桑拿时间，现在我每周进行两次30分钟的短跑锻炼，之后蒸20分钟的桑拿。在蒸桑拿的时候，你真的会排汗，这理应有助于训练你的身体更有效率地排汗，在你锻炼的时候降低你的体温。
To my amazement, my Achilles tendon pain has disappeared since I started the sauna treatments. An added benefit: knee pain that I used to experience after working out with weights on a leg press machine has also vanished.
让我惊讶的是，我的跟腱疼痛在我开始桑拿疗法后消失了。额外的好处是，我在腿部推蹬机上进行负重锻炼后感到的膝盖疼痛也突然消失了。
I even think my sprint performance has improved too, but that may be down to more consistent training.
我甚至感到我的短跑成绩也提高了，不过原因可能是更有规律的训练。
One important caveat: while saunas are generally considered safe for most athletes, people with heart conditions and pregnant women should consult a doctor before trying their benefits. And be sure to compensate for the heavy sweating induced by a sauna by drinking lots of water before and after heat sessions, which should not last too long. And of course never even consider drinking alcohol before — or during — a sauna.
一条重要的告诫：尽管普遍认为桑拿对大多数运动员来说是安全的，但有心脏问题的人或者孕期女性在尝试前应该咨询医生的意见。在桑拿前后，确保大量饮水，弥补桑拿引起的大量排汗失水，每次桑拿的时间不应太长。当然，绝不要在桑拿前或者桑拿过程中饮酒。