I’ve never yet been in a proper sauna – because I’m too cheap (and unfit) to have a gym membership, and also because I don’t live in one of the Nordic countries where they originate from and are still massively popular.
So I doubt I’d be a very good choice of competitor to take part in the Sauna Endurance Championship. Which according to this video, took place in Russia in August, 2008.
The basic idea is to stay in a sauna for as long as possible as it gets increasingly hotter, with water added to the coals every 30 seconds. I think I’d manage about two minutes at this point in time.
Compare that to the overall winner of the competition, a lady named Lyudmila Yazykina, who managed an amazing 11 minutes and 48 seconds. And all, it would seem from the footage, without breaking a sweat.
I know saunas can be good for you but I doubt that pushing your body to this degree (literally) is quite so healthy. Still, it means getting to sit around half-naked with other half-naked people so it can’t be all bad.
