Epsom Salt Bath Weight Lifting
By Bodybuilding Science
Epsom Salt has several benefits for bodybuilders and weight lifting athletes that often go over looked. Epsom salts are known for their relaxing properties and muscle soothing abilities, but they even greater potential for removing water from under the skin, to increase definition and reduce water weight, as well as removing toxins and calming the central nervous system.
What are Epsom Salts?
Epsom Salt is simply magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) in a heptahydrate form (hepta = 7, hydrate = H20). They are widely used to sooth and hasten healing of cuts, scrapes, bruises and sore muscles when used as a soaking agent in a bath. Though this salt has many other uses in agriculture, medical, and chemical arenas, we will be focusing on how it can help bodybuilders.
What does Epsom Salt do?
Epsom Salt has a high affinity for water, that is, it seeks and binds easily with water. For this reason it has excellent drying properties. This salt is used to draw out water from the body. Athletes who want to lose water weight without dehydrating themselves, often soak in Epsom Salt baths. The water is drawn out of the skin and subcutaneous layer, but remains in the organs and muscles. This not only allows you to lose significant weight before a weigh in, but allows your body to function just as well.
Epsom Salt is used by bodybuilders, often before competitions, to draw out the water than resides between the skin and muscles, in order to increase apparent muscle definition and give what has become known as that "dry" look. But besides its cosmetic appeal, Epsom Salts also are of great use to bodybuilders who know better than anyone the pain of sore or tight muscles. An Epsom Salt bath is a great remedy for this discomfort, providing lasting relief from a strenuous workout.
How are Epsom Salts used?
The most common way they are used is as a bath soak. Usually, two or three cups of the Salt in a hot bath is enough to do the trick. There are various other preparations, but a bath soak is the easiest and most common method. The hot water helps to dissolve the salt quickly and opens the pores of the skin to allow more water to be drawn out. Because Epsom Salt has such a profound drying effect, it is also quite good at reducing swelling due to a bruise or joint injury. If you ve ever dropped a plate on your foot, you know that bumps and bruises are bound to happen in the weight room.
If you re looking for a more natural way to soothe your muscles and get that extra muscle definition, you might want to pick up some Epsom Salts and give it a try. Many preparations have scents or oils added, and while you might like that, I prefer not to smell like patchouli all day. I buy pure Epsom online, as it s hard to find pure Epsom Salt in most stores. I get the 4 pound package because it s cheaper, but if you just want to sample it, they also have a 16 ounce package which is a good trial amount. Epsom Salt is really quite cheap especially compared to an hour at the massage therapist.
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