The traditional Finnish steam sauna is theorized to aid skeletal muscle hypertrophy by stimulating Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70), which acts as a molecular chaperone to the folding of functional skeletal muscle. The aim of this study was to investigate if stimulating HSP70 by using a sauna (45 – 50 ͦC, 80% Humidity) three times per week, for 15 minutes, could aid skeletal muscle hypertrophy during six weeks of resistance training in a young (21.38 ± 1.9 yrs.), recreationally trained male population. Thirteen subjects were randomly distributed into 3 groups [resistance Training + sauna (RT+S, n=5), RT + Relaxation (RT+R, n=5), and complete control (CON, n=3) or no training]. Primary dependent variables, observed in a pre- and post-test format, included: lean body mass (LBM), HSP70 concentration, and a 5 repetition maximum (5RM) back squat.
When comparing groups (i.e., RT+S, RT+R, and CON), no significant main effects or interactions were observed (p > 0.05) over the 6-week intervention period for LBM, HSP70, and 5RM. The hypothesis that HSP70 would be upregulated to a greater extent with concurrently larger LBM and 5RM improvements in RT+S vs. the other groups was not supported. Interestingly, although HSP70 and LBM were highest in RT+S after 6-weeks of heavy resistance training, RT+R improved the most on 5RM. Sauna use in combination with resistance training does not appear to augment muscle hypertrophy or strength.
","abstract_html":"<p>The traditional Finnish steam sauna is theorized to aid skeletal muscle hypertrophy by stimulating Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70), which acts as a molecular chaperone to the folding of functional skeletal muscle. The aim of this study was to investigate if stimulating HSP70 by using a sauna (45 – 50 ͦC, 80% Humidity) three times per week, for 15 minutes, could aid skeletal muscle hypertrophy during six weeks of resistance training in a young (21.38 ± 1.9 yrs.), recreationally trained male population. Thirteen subjects were randomly distributed into 3 groups [resistance Training + sauna (RT+S, n=5), RT + Relaxation (RT+R, n=5), and complete control (CON, n=3) or no training]. Primary dependent variables, observed in a pre- and post-test format, included: lean body mass (LBM), HSP70 concentration, and a 5 repetition maximum (5RM) back squat.</p> <p> When comparing groups (i.e., RT+S, RT+R, and CON), no significant main effects or interactions were observed (p > 0.05) over the 6-week intervention period for LBM, HSP70, and 5RM. The hypothesis that HSP70 would be upregulated to a greater extent with concurrently larger LBM and 5RM improvements in RT+S vs. the other groups was not supported. Interestingly, although HSP70 and LBM were highest in RT+S after 6-weeks of heavy resistance training, RT+R improved the most on 5RM. Sauna use in combination with resistance training does not appear to augment muscle hypertrophy or strength. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Jones, Brandon C, Mr."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Health and Human Performance","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Scott Drum"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:23:47Z","subjects":["Sauna","Heat Shock Protein","Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy","Hyperthermia","Sports Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/151","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Scott Drum"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Jones, Brandon C, Mr."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-08-17T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Health and Human Performance"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Sauna","Heat Shock Protein","Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy","Hyperthermia","Sports Sciences"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/151"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The traditional Finnish steam sauna is theorized to aid skeletal muscle hypertrophy by stimulating Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70), which acts as a molecular chaperone to the folding of functional skeletal muscle. The aim of this study was to investigate if stimulating HSP70 by using a sauna (45 – 50 ͦC, 80% Humidity) three times per week, for 15 minutes, could aid skeletal muscle hypertrophy during six weeks of resistance training in a young (21.38 ± 1.9 yrs.), recreationally trained male population. Thirteen subjects were randomly distributed into 3 groups [resistance Training + sauna (RT+S, n=5), RT + Relaxation (RT+R, n=5), and complete control (CON, n=3) or no training]. Primary dependent variables, observed in a pre- and post-test format, included: lean body mass (LBM), HSP70 concentration, and a 5 repetition maximum (5RM) back squat.
When comparing groups (i.e., RT+S, RT+R, and CON), no significant main effects or interactions were observed (p > 0.05) over the 6-week intervention period for LBM, HSP70, and 5RM. The hypothesis that HSP70 would be upregulated to a greater extent with concurrently larger LBM and 5RM improvements in RT+S vs. the other groups was not supported. Interestingly, although HSP70 and LBM were highest in RT+S after 6-weeks of heavy resistance training, RT+R improved the most on 5RM. Sauna use in combination with resistance training does not appear to augment muscle hypertrophy or strength.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Effect of Hyperthermic Whole Body Heat Stimulus (Sauna) on Heat Shock Protein 70 and Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy in Young Males during Weight Training"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Scott Drum"],"dc:creator":["Jones, Brandon C, Mr."],"dc:date.available":["2017-08-17T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The traditional Finnish steam sauna is theorized to aid skeletal muscle hypertrophy by stimulating Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70), which acts as a molecular chaperone to the folding of functional skeletal muscle. The aim of this study was to investigate if stimulating HSP70 by using a sauna (45 – 50 ͦC, 80% Humidity) three times per week, for 15 minutes, could aid skeletal muscle hypertrophy during six weeks of resistance training in a young (21.38 ± 1.9 yrs.), recreationally trained male population. Thirteen subjects were randomly distributed into 3 groups [resistance Training + sauna (RT+S, n=5), RT + Relaxation (RT+R, n=5), and complete control (CON, n=3) or no training]. Primary dependent variables, observed in a pre- and post-test format, included: lean body mass (LBM), HSP70 concentration, and a 5 repetition maximum (5RM) back squat.
When comparing groups (i.e., RT+S, RT+R, and CON), no significant main effects or interactions were observed (p > 0.05) over the 6-week intervention period for LBM, HSP70, and 5RM. The hypothesis that HSP70 would be upregulated to a greater extent with concurrently larger LBM and 5RM improvements in RT+S vs. the other groups was not supported. Interestingly, although HSP70 and LBM were highest in RT+S after 6-weeks of heavy resistance training, RT+R improved the most on 5RM. Sauna use in combination with resistance training does not appear to augment muscle hypertrophy or strength.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/151"],"dc:subject":["Sauna","Heat Shock Protein","Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy","Hyperthermia","Sports Sciences"],"dc:title":["The Effect of Hyperthermic Whole Body Heat Stimulus (Sauna) on Heat Shock Protein 70 and Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy in Young Males during Weight Training"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Health and Human Performance"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:23:47Z"}