ok, nobody knows or cares. that's cool. :P

Oh, we care, but I don't have a good response for you. I would skip the steam room as it is more stress on the system. I think I'd do the hot tub first instead.
See, that is why I didn't respond -- useless! :)

LOL! i'm still in pajamas, that is more useless than anything. HA!

Kitty we do care! As JJ said we just don't know the answer. I was waiting to hear the responses as well. I did a 13 miler yesterday and although I'm not sore, my legs feel pretty fatigued. I sat in the hot tub for about 20 minutes afterwards. I considered an ice bath but Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I've been told that an epsom salt bath is a good idea as well, supplementing with calcium/magnesium too.

Well, that is great actually for a MONDAY morning. I was already up at 5 something teaching a Masters Swim Team practice...Yawn!!

I've been doing ES baths (hot!) after my big rides and runs lately, I tell ya, the fatigue just melts out of my legs... Kick-ass stuff.

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

unless you're going for a run, hop back in the ice bath instead. think of your system this way: after your run, your legs were sore and full of metabolic wastes and byproducts. to get better faster, that needs to be cleared out of your system. the best way to do that is through an ice bath (which you did) that will cause your blood vessels to constrict (technical term: vasoconstriction). when they constrict, they squeeze those nasty byproducts out of your legs to eventually be removed by your liver and kidneys.

if you were to go into the steam room or hot tub, the opposite would happen. your blood vessels would open back up (vasodilation) and flood your legs with more blood. this is good if you want to go for a run today, as it will help loosen your muscles up and make them more pliable, but it will not help clear your system of the byproducts.

ideally, here's what you want to do; pre-run, hit the hot tub/heating pad/steamroom to help loosen your muscles up and get the blood flowing. post-run, hit the ice to help clear your legs of the wastes. if you're still recovering (aka, not running today), hit the ice, then maybe hit the hot tub, and then back into the ice (repeat as often as necessary, while not spending any more than 12-15 min in either one). this cycle helps your blood cycle through your system and will speed recovery.

I don't really get the whole steam room thing. I've tried it - but nothing much seems to happen. I sit there, like a dope, and wait...and nothing!! I wind up thinking, "you know, it's really frickin' hot in here! What am I doing?" Then I leave....still sore....

I do enjoy it when someone else comes in and says "Whew, it's hot in here." I love being able to say, "Yeah, like a sauna." But even that gets old after a few times.

An easy spin on the bike is the ticket. Or if your intent on going to the gym, 20-30 minute aqua jog, followed by 10-15 minutes in the whirlpool.

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Dan DeMaio
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Life is like riding a bicycle.
To keep your balance you must keep moving.
- Albert Einstein

How much salt to you put in your bath? I was told to do at least three cups...

kittycat,

I've never been in a steam room. So I don't know.

How was the run? I ran 10 miles yesterday morning. 25 mph winds with gusts at 55. That is some crazy hard wind. Not to mention the drizzle and the leaves that were finally falling out of the trees. I was glad I had some eye protection on. But it was awesome!

Bernie

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"Slowbern has always made astute observations."-Casey 03/10/2009
2013-2014 Detroit Lions---13-3 until proved otherwise.

bernie--wasn't the worst, certainly wasn't the best. i got it done and that's what counts.

the winds were 25-35 mph with stronger gusts, sheets of rain, and then bright sun--made it hard to settle in. reminded me of early spring, when it rains, sleets, suns, and snows all in the same danged run. but hell, i was still happy to be out there. :)

i really hope it helps because i just bought a house with one (not because of one). i close today!

...Kittycat...are you kidding ??? This forum is 95% men. We certainly must care about hot tribabes in steam rooms. If not, we are training way too hard for our own good :-)

congratulations...you will love the thing and it will keep you young and healthy!!! (just don't drink beer in there, as tempting as it may seem, it's a BAD idea...LOL)

ok, that's just funny!

kittycat, here's what I do and it works for me!! Do the following after your long run:
1. Take around 5-10min to stretch your muscles after that long run. Do it while the muscles are warm.
2. Next take a tepid shower or bath (doesn't need to be hot, your already hot - no pun intended).
3. Next, if you live in a cold climate, like here in Canada, run the cold shower water or bath over your legs, a few minutes is good enough, as long as the muscles and tendons cool off.
4. Get out, towel off and if your really sore, take a couple of Aspirins to relax you. Then just relax the rest of the day.
The hot/cold routine as previously mentioned is very good but you only need to do that one if your really sore, like after a marathon or hard race.
The main reason for the cold therapy is to ease any inflammation to tendons and muscles which may have occurred. The aspirin allows your body to relax.
I would only use the steam room or hot tub or hot bath to help stretch the muscles. I go into my jacuzzi and set it at 99F to just relax and stretch out the muscles, especially after a hard workout. Other than that, I stay away from very hot baths, jacuzzis, steam rooms or saunas, unlee I'm just trying to get warm from this cold climate here..

Assuming you can't find a real sauna, a steam room will do the trick. Keep it at a temp where you can take it for an hour, and do some light stretching. You'll feel like a million bucks afterwards.

[reply]if you were to go into the steam room or hot tub, the opposite would happen. your blood vessels would open back up (vasodilation) and flood your legs with more blood. this is good if you want to go for a run today, as it will help loosen your muscles up and make them more pliable, but it will not help clear your system of the byproducts.[/reply]

I've never heard this as an explanation. Constricting blood flow through the muscles will not help flush lactic acid and byproducts. Cold will help with inflammation of tendons, joints and muscles...heat will help with flushing, loosening sore muscles and allowing you to easily stretch. That's what I have always heard.

My favorite post-hard-workout is a cold shower followed several hours later with a 10-15 minute dip in the hottub (104F) and a good stretchout. I find this helps the post-run soreness a lot. The hottub on my back porch was my best training investment ever! And careful with the hot/cold thing I know of a few cases of heart attacks being brought on by sudden temperature shocks (constriction of the chest muscles or something like that).

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it works? Maybe I should give it a go....

i would offer that the heat feels better initially....but another cold soak will do more to promote the healing.

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Train hard...race well.
www.jimmishler.com
"Jim, I happen to agree with you" DougStern

I don't know whether it will help the legs but a steam room seems to help a hangover. That's about the only time I use one. So maybe you should try a bender tonight followed by a steam room tomorrow. With an aching head and nausea you'll forget all about those sore legs.