Is it safe to wear a vinyl sauna suit while doing cardio workout?

Answer 1

No, it doesn't allow your skin to breath and sweat, you could die from heat exhaustion.

The previous answer is not true in whole. Sauna suits do make you sweat! That's the whole purpose of a sauna suit. The natural sweat excretion process cleans out the pores of your skin, and helps to rid your body of excess water weight and some toxins. Sauna suits are used effectively to accelerate water weight loss. Professional athletes such as boxers, wrestlers and others will often use a sauna sweat suit to control their body weight to maintain their status in a weight class of competition. As with any physical conditioning equipment, always consult a qualified doctor or physical trainer about the use of a sauna suit. Always rehydrate with liquids such as Gatorade or other sports drinks. These drinks are designed to replace electrolytes lost during the sweating process. Robert Brady

Realsauna Sauna Suits

Palmdale, CA

Answer 2

I understand that it's very unsafe for some people including those who are apparently healthy but have a hidden cardiovascular or other medical problem.

Having worked out all my adult life, I can't imagine a good reason for using those suits in any situation.

I suspect you may have bitten on one of the many dumb fads in the area of physical fitness.

Here is another answer to the question posed above:

I am prior military, 50 y.o male and have been wearing and working out in cheap vinyl/pvc sauna suits for over 25 years... The best reason I have for continuing to use these kinds of sauna suits is this: Once you put it on you can start your warm ups, and with the sauna suit on, your muscles relax faster than in some air conditioned gym (alternative to this is do your 30 minute warm ups at home prior to leaving for the gym)... Once you complete your warm up, then you are ready to finish by completing no more than another 1 hour or so of workout. Granted you will dump off a lot of water when you take your suit off (so make sure you are not next to somebody when you do it!) Plus, you just hang it up to drip dry when you get home. You do not have to wash these things at all if you do it this way... Again, I have worked out in them for close to 27 years and have never had any problems of ANY kind related to wearing them.

The biggest problem with these suits is their tendency to rip... Either in the crotch or under the arms... How to solve this? Either (a) REALLY work out so your sweat makes everything so wet you can peel it off carefully so as not to rip it in these areas, and/or (b) keep a knitted cap of some kind to put on your (oily) head when you remove the top... This keeps the oils on your head from contacting the neck area of the suit and thus prolong its life of utility. Last ditch resort if it rips, is to take it home and duct tape the insides... I usually get 1 year out of a suit with these guidelines in mind. I hope this helps anyone with fears or what have you.

LASTLY... I have noticed in some recent purchases of sauna suits that there is a little notice about the suits giving off gases which the US government states "may cause cancer"... I am hoping that because these suits by and large come from CHINA (who does not seem to care about personal injury with regards to their exports) that we (the importers of these) will choose to be different from the chinese and seek other vendors who make them the same way without the potential for harmful gases! THIS remains to be seen.