Your gym is chosen. Now the routine
This decision starts after your last set. You can change and head home, or spend part of the evening in a sauna, a steam room or cold water. That choice changes how long each visit takes, what you do on rest days and, for some people, what their doctor needs to hear about.
RPM's recovery suite has a Finnish sauna, an aroma steam room and an ice bath, and which tiers or passes include it is confirmed on enquiry. If you are still choosing between gyms, a gym with a recovery suite or a basic gym covers that step.
Two studies a lifter should know about
These two sources matter most to a lifter, and this page claims only what they report.
| Source | What it looked at | What it found | What it cannot tell you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cochrane review, Bleakley and colleagues, 2012 | 17 small trials, 366 participants, cold-water immersion after exercise | Some evidence that it reduced delayed-onset muscle soreness compared with rest or no intervention, from studies rated low quality | Other outcomes, where evidence was insufficient, or anything about saunas and steam rooms |
| Roberts and colleagues, The Journal of Physiology, 2015 | 21 physically active men strength training twice a week for 12 weeks, with cold-water immersion or active recovery after each session | Strength and muscle mass increased more in the active-recovery group | Results in women, in other groups, or with occasional rather than routine use |
Neither source shows that a sauna or steam room makes you stronger, speeds recovery or improves performance, and this page makes no such claim. Whatever you add, your training plan, sleep and meals stay the foundation.
Lifting only, or lifting plus the suite
| Strength training only | Strength training plus heat or cold | |
|---|---|---|
| Time per visit | Train, change, leave | Longer: the rooms, then cooling down or warming up |
| What it rests on | Your programme, sleep and food | Low-quality evidence on soreness for cold water, and one small trial urging caution for strength goals |
| Why people choose it | It keeps visits short | They enjoy it, or it is how they like to end a session |
| Cost | Floor access | A tier or pass that includes the suite, confirmed with the gym |
| Health check | The usual advice before exercise | Ask your doctor first if you have a heart or blood-pressure condition, are pregnant or take medication |
| Tight mornings | Fits easily | Rarely fits before work |
| Summer | No change | You may arrive warm and short of water from May to September |
Who each routine suits
Lifting alone tends to suit:
- lifters whose priority is strength or muscle, given the 2015 trial above
- people who train before work or around the school run
- anyone who dislikes heat or cold, or whose doctor has advised against it
- people on a tier that does not include the suite
Adding heat or cold tends to suit:
- people who enjoy a sauna or cold water as the end of their day
- those who train for general fitness rather than maximum strength
- lifters with open evenings and nobody waiting at home
- anyone already paying for a tier that includes the suite
Where the suite fits in a lifting week
Neither source sets an ideal time, so keep the plan simple and the lifting first.
- Lift first and use the suite afterwards, so the session you came for is never the part that gets cut short.
- If strength is your main goal, talk to a coach before putting cold water after every strength session. Some lifters keep it for conditioning days or rest-day visits instead.
- On rest days, a visit for the suite alone is an option if your tier allows it.
- Leave time to cool down or warm up, drink water and dress before you drive home.
- Follow the guidance posted in the suite. This page gives no durations or temperatures.
Heat and cold do not suit everyone. Speak to your doctor before using a sauna, steam room or ice bath if you have a heart or blood-pressure condition, are pregnant or take medication, and get out straight away if you feel dizzy, faint or unwell. If you fast in Ramadan and lift before iftar, ask your doctor before adding heat or cold to that day.
Costs that are easy to overlook
- Suite time can eat into sleep. A late visit that pushes back your bedtime may cost you more than it gives.
- A ritual can crowd out training. If the suite starts squeezing out sessions on busy days, drop the suite, not the lifting.
- Less soreness is not the same as progress. Your training log tells you whether you are getting stronger, not how your legs feel the next morning.
- Shared rooms have peak times. If the suite is full when you finish, you wait or skip it.
- Heat adds to summer dehydration, so drink before and after.
Worked example: a lifter tempted by daily ice baths
Take a reader who works in IT at an office in the city and lifts four times a week, aiming to add weight to his squat and deadlift. His tier includes the suite, and colleagues at his gym swear by an ice bath after every session. He has no known health conditions.
| Option | What it means for him |
|---|---|
| Ice bath after every session | What his colleagues do, but the 2015 trial is a reason for caution with his goal, and it lengthens four evenings a week |
| No suite at all | The shortest visits and nothing to check |
| Sauna after two sessions a week, cold water only on a rest-day visit | Uses what he pays for, keeps cold water apart from his strength sessions, adds two longer evenings |
He picks the third option, mentions it to his doctor at his yearly check-up and asks his coach to look over the plan. He judges progress by his log, not by soreness, and if the longer evenings cost him sleep, the suite goes first.
RPM's suite beside the strength floor
RPM's suite, on Level 4 of AD HUB Sports Complex in Al Manhal, has a Finnish sauna, an aroma steam room and an ice bath. RPM does not publish an ice-bath temperature. Ask which tier or pass includes access, how access is arranged for your section and whether you book or walk in. Photos of the training floor show a squat rack with colour bumper plates, plate-loaded machines and cable towers, and coaches on the roster cover strength and conditioning. See strength training at RPM for the floor, and book a free guided tour to see both at the hour you would train.
Sources
- Bleakley C. et al., Cold-water immersion (cryotherapy) for preventing and treating muscle soreness after exercise, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2012)
- Roberts L.A. et al., Post-exercise cold water immersion attenuates acute anabolic signalling and long-term adaptations in muscle to strength training, The Journal of Physiology (2015)
Questions, answered.
Should I use the sauna before lifting to warm up?
This page does not suggest it. A warm-up for lifting is movement: lighter sets of the lifts you are about to do and some mobility work. Keep the suite for after the session.
Is the steam room or the sauna better after lifting?
Neither has evidence behind it for strength. Choose by what you find comfortable. The steam room gives humid heat and the sauna dry heat.
How often can I use the ice bath?
This page gives no frequency. Follow the guidance posted in the suite and the team's advice, ask your doctor if you have any condition that cold might affect, and discuss regular use with a coach if strength is your main goal.
Does the 2015 trial apply to women?
It included only men, so it says nothing direct about women. The doctor caveat applies to everyone, and pregnancy is a reason to ask your doctor or midwife before using heat or cold.