If a few years ago infrared was primarily identified with aesthetic clinics, skin treatments, or face masks of Hollywood influencers, today it is already deep within the world of fitness, recovery, and longevity.
What started as a beauty product, promoted in recent years by the Kardashian family among others, quickly became an entire category that attempts to sell people not only better skin, but also better performance, faster recovery, and even slower aging.
Review and meta–analysis studies published in 2025 found that Photobiomodulation treatments, meaning treatment using red and infrared light, may improve muscular recovery, reduce post–workout muscle soreness, and improve muscular endurance, especially when the treatment is performed close to strength training or intense exertion. However, the researchers emphasize that some of the studies are still relatively small and that further research is required to understand which therapeutic protocols are the most effective.
Everywhere in the global fitness industry
In the world’s largest fitness and wellness exhibitions, it is already difficult to ignore the phenomenon. Infrared is almost everywhere: From infrared saunas, LED masks, and massage guns with infrared technology, to home wall panels, recovery beds, breathing rooms with red light illumination, and even yoga and Pilates studios operating under infrared lighting.
The goal in most places is no longer just to work out. The goal is to feel better, recover faster, and live longer with a high quality of life.
The direct connection to the longevity world
The connection between infrared and the longevity world is no coincidence. The new consumer of the fitness industry is no longer just looking to lose weight or burn calories. They are interested in controlling metrics such as stress levels, sleep quality, recovery, inflammation, daily energy, and general functioning.
This is precisely where the infrared world enters. It offers a combination of a luxurious wellness feeling and a scientific and technological narrative that speaks exactly to the needs of the modern consumer.
Professional sports are also adopting the trend
The professional sports world also continues to push the trend forward. Cristiano Ronaldo has long stopped marketing just football. Around him, an entire ecosystem of performance, recovery, and body technologies has been built.
In recent years, more and more products connecting to the recovery world can be seen, ranging from compression boots to leg heating and therapy systems, all part of the same broad trend of improving recovery and managing loads.
Not just devices, but a new fitness experience
But the revolution does not stop at home devices. Entire formats in the fitness world are already being built around the infrared experience. In the United States and Europe, one begins to see studios specializing in Hot Pilates Infrared, hot yoga classes with infrared, recovery rooms with red lighting as part of the membership, and even boutique clubs offering dedicated lounge complexes for recovery as an integral part of the workout experience.
In some places, the recovery areas already look more heavily invested in and advanced than the weight areas themselves.
Adidas is already there too
Even Adidas is no longer satisfied with just selling running shoes. At running events and marathons around the world, the company has begun establishing entire Recovery complexes that include infrared lighting, relaxation areas, and various recovery technologies.
This is another sign that the sports industry is beginning to understand that the real product of the coming years is not just performance, but also recovery.
And what is happening in Israel?
In Israel too, the first signs of the trend are beginning to appear. More and more studios are examining the integration of infrared saunas, recovery clinics, infrared lighting, wellness treatments, and recovery technologies as part of the club experience.
Granted, it is not yet on the scales that can be seen in Los Angeles or Miami, but the direction is clear. The local fitness world is beginning to understand that the next generation of the industry will not be measured solely by the number of treadmills, spinning bikes, or weights, but by the ability to generate a comprehensive health experience.
And ultimately, perhaps this is the most interesting point in the entire story. Infrared is no longer just a technology. It has become a cultural symbol of an era in which people want to feel that they are taking care of themselves in a smarter way.
Less tough fitness. More recovery. Less just sweating. More managing the body. Less chasing performance at any cost. More investing in the quality of life, sleep, energy, and general feeling.
And this is exactly the direction toward which the global fitness industry is beginning to run.
Shai Elancry is a leader in the field of fitness innovation, wellness, and technology at the Levinsky–Wingate Academic Center.
Source:
www.jpost.com
