If you're looking for a way to increase the intensity of your workout or shed some extra pounds, you've probably come across ads for slimming suits. These suits can enhance the effectiveness of exercise and generate more sweat compared to exercising with regular equipment. Specialists say that excessive sweating has more health benefits than exercising in traditional clothing.
What are slimming suits?
Slimming suits are sportswear designed to retain heat. Many suits are made of neoprene, and you can get suits that cover the entire body or separate ones for the upper or lower body only.
When you exercise in a slimming suit, heat builds up around your body and produces more sweat than in traditional exercise equipment. Slimming suit makers also point out that the effort of working out in the suit increases the intensity of your workout without having to increase your actual level of effort. The result in theory will be higher fitness levels and possibly increased weight loss after regular use of the slimming suit.
7 benefits of slimming suits:
Based on existing research, here are the benefits of using slimming suits:
1. Increase short-term water weight loss
Using a slimming suit can help with short-term weight loss by increasing sweating and usually when you are warm, you sweat to cool down while the sweat on your skin evaporates.
Since you are insulated in a slimming suit with a material that does not allow sweat to evaporate, your body surface temperature increases. This means your body will work harder to cool itself by sweating more.
This ultimately leads to an increase in the rate of sweating during the exercise that you do in a slimming suit.
2. Reduce weight for sports competitions
If you are a weightlifter, martial arts athlete, or any other athlete who requires control of his body weight in order to compete to qualify for a specific weight category, you will benefit from using a slimming suit. Because the slimming suit will raise your body temperature quickly and make you sweat quickly and lose weight.
When using a slimming suit, you can choose to do brisk walking depending on the amount of time you have or do more rigorous physical activity such as jogging.
For example, a powerlifting competition, you may have up to 2 hours or 24 hours to weigh in, depending on the federation you are competing in. The slimming suit will be more suitable for trying to lose weight within 2 hours.
It is very important that you hydrate your body with fluids and/or the appropriate electrolyte solution to restore your hydration levels after completing the competition to maintain your health.
3. Increase cardiorespiratory fitness
A randomized trial published in 2017 showed that exercising in a slimming suit resulted in a significant improvement in VO2 max. Which measures the amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise, and is often used to determine cardiorespiratory fitness. The higher your VO2 max, the fitter you become.
Let's say a slimming suit could achieve higher rates of improvements in your cardiorespiratory fitness. In this case, it may have potential benefits in helping you reach your weight loss goal by improving your body's ability to burn more calories in a shorter time, although the research behind this is still lacking.
4. Treats eczema
If you suffer from chronic inflammation due to eczema, your doctor may recommend treatments to moisturize the skin and increase the penetration of topical medications.
According to the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology (AOCD), applying topical medication immediately after showering increases skin penetration by up to 10 times.
The AOCD also suggests that wet sheets after showering can also help absorb these medications. Wet wraps are usually made in layers or a slimming suit is used instead of wet wraps.
5. Makes warming up before exercise more efficient
Using a slimming suit in training can also make your warm-ups more efficient by helping you raise your body temperature faster. When your body temperature rises, your muscle production also increases.
Your muscles can also feel less stiff when your body is warmer, improving your mobility and getting you ready for your main workout.
6. Improve heat retention in cold weather
Because a slimming suit is designed to reduce heat dissipation, it can be a useful tool to help you retain heat in cold weather. Whether you do weight or endurance training, a slimming suit can be a good fit for both.
Also, if you are doing weight training, you may want to consider the flexibility of the sauna suit so that it does not tear. You should look for fabrics like spandex that have more flexibility than other fabrics. It may also be helpful to look at the product description as well as people's reviews of the slimming suits to determine if they are suitable for weight training.
Who should wear a slimming suit?
As you know, slimming suits are suitable for everyone, but they can be incredibly useful for specific people with a specific goal. Here is who should wear slimming suits in particular:
- Strength athletes looking to lose weight
If you are an Olympic weightlifter or powerlifter looking to lose water weight in the short term, you may find that a slimming suit will add that improvement to your water weight loss for weight loss.
- Experienced exercisers looking to improve their fitness
If you are an advanced exerciser looking to add extra condition to enhance improvements in your cardiorespiratory fitness, a sauna suit can help.
- Experienced trainees looking to prepare to perform in a hot climate
If you have no other way to simulate a hot climate, you can use a slimming suit to prepare for any physical event in a climate hotter than where you are staying.
- Women after childbirth
Slimming suits stimulate blood circulation and thus tighten and moisturize sagging skin
Who should not wear a slimming suit?
Below is a list of individuals who should not wear a slimming suit:
- Those who do not have immediate access to water
If you know you're about to do a long-term workout and think you might risk running out of water early, you shouldn't use a sauna suit.
- References:
- https://boxraw.com/blogs/blog/5-benefits-of-a-sauna-suit
- https://www.healthline.com/health/sauna-suit-benefits#eczema
- https://www.healthline.com/health/sauna-suit-benefits#eczema
- https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/what-is-sauna-suit