The Magic of Sweating & Saunas with William Randall

Today, we chat with William Randall from SaunasUSA.com about the magic of sweating, Lakota sweat lodges, the power of rituals, a deep dive into the world of saunas (heat shock proteins, infrared vs. traditional, health benefits, costs, maintenance), and much more.

Bill Randoll sports background:

I grew up and was a sprinter up until High School, where I began to play tennis.

At University of Illinois I played intramural sports as well as club Rugby for the University.

After moving to San Diego I was introduced to distance running and ran with some of the best runners in the US and reached the top 5-10 over 40 runners in the US. I was on two National Master’s Cross country teams that won overall. Best times were 15:10 in the 5K, 32 minute 10K and 70 minute half marathon. Around 44 years old I developed issues with my left calcaneus which limited my training and competing.

I then switched to cycling and after ten years had a serious bike incident where I broke three ribs, punctured a lung which partially collapsed. I then decided to take up stand up paddle boarding in 2009.

I paddled recreationally for a year and then got into racing and was one of the top over 60 year old paddle boarders in the US for a couple years. One physical result is that I think from all the internal rotation of my shoulders I developed some structural issues with my left shoulder which is much weaker than my right and I think I know some of the reasons for this.

Over the last 5 months I have been paddling much less but walking and running at bit daily and now averaging 10-12 miles a day(if I warm up properly with a mile or so of walking I can throw short sprints and running intervals in without any issues) though I sometimes have some knee discomfort but simply backdown and the issues largely subside.

For the last few years I have done a number of F45 interval HIIT workouts both strength and cardio, though I’ve always been more of a cardio guy. Have hit 184 bpm and 54 pushups in one minute as recently as late 2019.

At this point in time I need to reengage my core and upper body which has been largely neglected since February. My goal is to create a multi-faceted training regimen going forward in order to remain structurally sound and strong as I move through my 60’s and 70’s and beyond. Hopefully with your help I can develop such a program and adhere to it without injuring myself. The struggle with age is that your mind remains strong while your body loses some of its resiliency.