Sauna Suits While Doing Bike Exercises

If you're dedicated to losing fat through an exercise such as pedaling a stationary bike but only have a short period of time each day in which to exercise, you'll see results faster by increasing the intensity of the workout. Some people, however, attempt to take workout shortcuts in the form of wearing a sauna suit while exercising. While a sauna suit will make you sweat more profusely, it won't have any long-lasting positive effects.

Sauna suits are designed to increase the temperature of your body and are typically made of such materials as nylon, vinyl and neoprene. You wear them directly over your workout clothing and they often have elasticized wrists and ankles to seal them to your body. When you wear a sauna suit during such workouts as riding an exercise bike, you'll sweat more profusely than you would otherwise.

It's a common weight-loss myth that excess sweating during exercise has any positive effects. While a sauna suit will give you the impression that you've worked even harder because of the extra amount you've sweated, sweat is not related to the burning of calories. The sweat you lose during exercise is water weight, and you'll quickly regain any weight lost due to sweat upon rehydrating following the workout.

In addition to not helping you to burn calories to lose fat at an increased rate, wearing a sauna suit while riding an exercise bike can lead to a number of health problems. Excessive sweating without consistent hydration can lead to dehydration. Other risks associated with wearing a sauna suit include overheating, exhaustion and heat stroke. Military.com warns that wearing a sauna suit can have such serious consequences as kidney damage, cardiovascular system damage and even death.

If you're riding an exercise bike to help you lose fat, you don't need to wear a sauna suit; on its own, this exercise is one of the fastest ways to burn calories. Harvard Medical School reports that a 185-pound person who rides an exercise bike at a moderate or vigorous pace for 30 minutes will burn 311 or 466 calories, respectively. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise weekly for healthy adults; by using the exercise bike several days a week, you can easily exceed these guidelines.