Sit-Ups in the Sauna

My sister sent me the following email exchange she had on Thursday:

Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 2:15 PM

To: Rose, Katie

Subject: Exercising in the Sauna

Hi Katie,

I’m the assistant general manager of [Katie's gym]. I was notified by one of our staff that yesterday you were performing sit-ups in the sauna. First and foremost, I want to make sure that when the staff member informed you of the dangers of working out in the sauna it was done so in a professional manner.

The reason why we do not allow members to work out in the sauna is for their own protection. Our saunas are kept between 170 and 180 degrees which alone is extremely hot. Due to this, we suggest limiting exposure to the sauna to 30 minutes or less while being sedentary. By exercising in a sauna, it can quickly raise your core body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure to dangerously high levels very quickly. This can result in heat exhaustion and even heat stroke which can be fatal.

It is the responsibility of the fitness staff to not only inform members of best practices when it comes to exercising but also to alert members when they are performing contraindicated exercises and/ or doing things that could be harmful to themselves.

While I understand the “concept” of working out in extreme heat in regard to the effect that most people are looking for when doing this type of thing, the reality is that it is unhealthy and very dangerous. I would be more than happy to sit down with you to discuss your fitness goals and to develop a program that would be challenging and goal oriented.

Thank you for your understanding and if you would like to speak to me regarding this or to get an exercise program set up please feel free to contact me.

Regards,
(The assistant General Manager of Katie's Gym)


From: Rose, Katie

Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 2:27 PM

Subject: RE: Exercising in the Sauna

I think you have the wrong person. Although I probably should have been doing multiple sets of sit-ups yesterday, I did not do any at all in any location. And, to tell you the truth, I did not even know there was a sauna…. But I will make sure to not ever use the Sauna for sit-ups….

Thanks for all you guys do.

Katie

For some reason, this made me laugh really, really hard. First of all, I'm trying to imagine how Katie was mistaken for the girl doing the sit-ups. Did the real culprit steal her identity? Does Katie just look like a scoff law? And I just love Katie's response. Let's all, as Katie so bravely did, make a pact to never endanger ourselves by doing sit-ups in the sauna.