Leave the bubble bath at home.
New York City’s trendy new wellness destination bills itself as a “bathing club” for all ages — and unlike some of their splurgier counterparts across the city, they want you to get your schvitz on multiple times a week.
And if you do? Studies show frequent sauna time’s linked to benefits for your heart, brain and sleep quality.
“This is the next best thing after exercise that you can do for your health,” Lore co-founder James O’Reilly, 42, told The Post.
So what exactly is a bathing club? Fellow co-founder Adam Elzer, 45, was hoping you’d ask.
“We thought people would ask this question, ‘What’s a bathing club? Why do I need to be a member of a bathing club?’” he said of the new space, which opens this month in Flatiron.
Inspired by winter swimming clubs that are mostly popular in Scandinavia, he and O’Reilly liked the idea of a community that gets together for a self-care practice. In this case, it’s contrast therapy — a mix of hot saunas and cold plunge baths.
“Our anticipation is you’re going two or more times a week,” O’Reilly explained of the membership model. “The great thing is that it correlates pretty tightly with the science of what makes this practice really good for you.”
The health benefits of contrast therapy
In fact, studies have linked saunas to a bunch of benefits — perhaps most notably for your heart.
In 2018, scientists at Eastern Finland University found that the more time people spent in saunas, the less likely they were to die of diseases affecting the heart or blood vessels. Doing it just two to three times per week lowered heart attack and stroke risk by 25%, while four to seven sauna sessions reduced the risk by 77%.
Another study that same year determined that sitting in a sauna could be as beneficial as moderate exercise.
Other research has tied sauna use to longevity, brain function, improved sleep, boosted immunity and — for older women — less weight gain.
Cold therapy seems to have some benefits too, with some evidence showing it can help with muscle soreness, immunity, workout recovery and even depression — though there are also some potential downsides.
All those perks are why it was important that Lore be a place that people could go frequently — that is, two or more times a week — not just as an “occasional indulgence.”
To that end, memberships are priced at $89 per week and $200 per month with unlimited access to book sessions. Nonmembers pay $55 for a single visit, $145 for a 7-day pass and $225 per month.
What do you actually do in a bathing club?
After coming through the cafe-like reception area serving coffee, tea, juice and bone broth, clubbers hit the changing room to get into their swimwear.
During a 75-minute session, you can alternate between saunas and the cold plunge pool as many times as you want, with the recommendation being one to three times.
There’s an infrared sauna that reaches 130 to 140 degrees, plus a larger 700-square-foot Finnish sauna that gets up to 190 degrees. Once you’ve reached your limit — perhaps after 15 to 20 minutes — you can take a dip in the cold pool, which hovers between a chilly 40 to 50 degrees. That’s recommended for anywhere from two to seven minutes.
“The suggestion in the cold plunge is to try to get your body to a shiver, so instead of being focused on how much time you’re spending in there, you’re really just trying to bring your core temperature down,” Elzer explained.
“After the cold plunge, [you can] sit on the heated benches to just relax, allow that to set in — and then you can run that whole program again.”
Similar sauna spots likes Bathhouse and Othership are thriving across the city — but the Lore founders say they are taking a stripped-down approach with minimal programming.
There is one 15-minute guided moment per session, which can range from aromatherapy to aufguss to stretching.
Generation schvitz
While Gen Z and millennials are said to be ditching bars for saunas, Lore promises people of all ages can enjoy and reap the benefits.
“Our aspiration is that we would get a dynamic mix of younger folks in their 20s who are starting to push more of their personal spend away from alcohol-based socializing into more ‘third space’ type environments. We think this is perfect for those folks,” O’Reilly said.
“We also think there are people in their 50s, 60s and even 70s who are looking for these types of environments to spend time with friends and otherwise.
“So unlike a Barry’s Bootcamp or a yoga class or a Pilates class, the bar to participate in this type of activity is relatively low. You need to be able to sit still in a high temperature room for a while and to mentally build yourself up to jumping in a cold pool.”
At the end of the day, though, the results speak for themselves.
“It it’s something that you will feel really good after — immediately — but it’s also something that, if you commit to over a period of time, will help you live longer and healthier,” O’Reilly said.
