GFK recently posted in one of the injury threads that simply sitting in the sauna for three minutes or so has done away with the bulk of his joint pain.

I'll be trying this tomorrow,just wanted to hear some feedback on those who do it regularly/long term.

FWIW, there is some data indicating that post exercise hyperthermic exposure increases hypertrophy...

Yep..just a few minutes has helped alot. It's a habit now. I prefer the steam room.

I imagine that raising one's core temperature would aid in muscle plasticity, at the very least. I wonder however if this is any more effective than a general warm-up.

I generally layer up like hell prior to going to the gym, according to the weather. If I put on the right amount, I break a sweat in the car and peel off layers slowly throughout my first few sets.

I'd save the sauna for after the workout, unless of course you have the time to spare for both (which I doubt one would).

The heat will decrease pain and increase blood flow / vasodilation / healing to some degree. As Benson says it can even increase hypertrophy post w/o.

I dunno though, if there's joint pain because the soft tissues are fucked up, the heat might make the ligaments or tendons more flexible, but at the same time grinding down more soft tissue sucks.