With several high-profile boxing and MMA athletes having difficulty making weight due to coronavirus-based closings of gyms and hotel saunas,a comoany named MiHIGH has developed portable infrared sauna blankets for use when athletes are confined to their hotel rooms during fight week. Top Rank has been providing the blankets to their fighters, and new WBO light heavyweight title holder Joe Smith Jr. is a fan. “This sauna blanket is really awesome,” he said. “I’ll definitely be using this for my upcoming training camps.” NOTE: Boxingtalk is unsure of whether the boxers and trainer quoted in this press release are paid endorsers.
So is Arnold Barboza, Jr., an undefeated junior welterweight from Los Angeles who says he’s already made MiHIGH sessions part of his routine for cutting weight on fight week. “They’re amazing,” said Barboza. “Whoever came up with these deserves a lot of credit. I just got mine and I already know it’ll be key when I do fight for losing that few extra pounds. Instead of all the stuff you used to have to do before the fight, you can do this now instead. So much easier.”
Developed from concept to finished product a year ago by a pair of Australian first-time inventors, Ed Hodge and Wyatt Westmoreland, the blanket was originally designed as a matter of convenience for two sports loving friends who were tired of having to book reservations for their infrared sauna sessions. “We both loved using infrared saunas for muscle recovery and for an overall detox, but we got frustrated at the lack of availability at our local gyms,” explained Hodge, “and if you wanted one at home, it cost thousands and you had to have a large amount of space for it. That’s why we came up with the MiHIGH, which comes in a box and delivers all the same benefits of infrared saunas in the comfort of your own home or on the road, at a fraction of the cost and space required.”
Hodge says that much to he and Westmoreland’s surprise, virtually overnight the unexpected advent of the pandemic has turned the clever invention into a vitally important technological advancement in athletic training. “It’s been incredible. We’ve grown faster than we could ever imagine in one year. We started out just in Australia and now we’re being taken up by athletes and sports teams around the world.”
Made from a leather exterior and a water- and fire-proof interior that wipes clean in two minutes after use, the blanket uses infrared technology that heats up in 10 to 15 minutes and is seven times more detoxifying than regular heat because it heats the body directly rather than simply warming the air. The resulting increase in the body’s core temperature allows users to burn up to 600 calories per 30-minutes session without leaving their beds.
“By way of comparison, a 30-minute jog burns only around 300 calories,” added Hodge. “Infrared sauna therapy produces a deep, detoxifying sweat that pushes out toxins and aids in blood pressure reduction and weight loss, along with a wide range of other health benefits. Instead of just sweating out water, you’re also sweating out toxins that normal saunas don’t have the power to do.”
Another of the world’s top trainers, UK-based Ben Davison, says he was shocked at the effectiveness of a sauna blanket that fits under your bed when finished. Davison said, “MiHIGHs are really beneficial. To be honest I had high expectations and the product still beat them all. The first night I tried it, I had a fantastic night sleep; I woke up refreshed and actually felt less aches and pains. I felt really rejuvenated. So now, some of the boxers I work with are using them and they are also all very impressed.”
Regardless of the co-founders’ original vision, the MiHIGH infrared sauna blanket’s innovative technology and easy portability are forever transforming the difficult weight-cutting process.
“We are getting very positive feedback around the world from athletes who previously had limited access to the new wave of sauna technology,” said Hodge. “It’s just a coincidence that our invention hit at the same time as the pandemic made it absolutely vital, but we’re very happy to have been able to make a difference.
