Home/US Sports

Laird Hamilton is an all-rounder. In addition to being a renowned big wave surfer, Hamilton is also an entrepreneur, an author, a trainer, and a superfood scientist. He is also a fitness icon, and even at 59 years old, he is in peak fitness condition. As a trainer, Laird Hamilton has transformed the bodies of many high-profile clients, one of them being the music producer, Rick Rubin.

Hamilton is also responsible for launching XPT or Extreme Performance Training, a program that is based on the adaptability of human beings. One time, Benny Blanco and Matty Matheson visited Hamilton’s castle to experience Extreme Performance Training firsthand. And this is how it turned out for them.

Laird Hamilton and his secret to immortality

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

When Benny and Matty visited the fitness mogul’s castle, they indulged in many activities. They worked out in the swimming pool using weights, submerged themselves under ice-cold water, and also went and took a sauna bath. According to Hamilton, “If you do this three to five times a week you reduce your chances of Alzheimer’s and dementia by 69%, and you reduce your chance of all-cause mortality which means any way you can die.”

Laird Hamilton found some studies from Finland that suggested that heat helps in aiding recovery and he has been including heat therapy in his training ever since. In his book Liferider, Hamilton has expressed the desire to maintain peak health so that he can keep riding waves even as he grows old. To do so, Hamilton has incorporated saunas into his workout regimen.

Read more: “Those Waves Are Bloody Huge”: Surfing Star’s Close Brush With Wipeout in Heart-Pounding Footage Leaves Fans in State of Shock

While he also uses ice therapy, for him, heat therapy is the way to live longer. Laird practices thermal contrast, pairing ultra-hot sauna therapy, with plunging in a cold pool. Hamilton has come forward to talk about the benefits of this practice.

Hamilton swears by sauna therapy

While ice therapy might sound more attractive sometimes, especially when one is fresh out of a hot workout, Hamilton says the utility of a sauna should not be ignored. According to him, “Sure, we gravitate to ice because it’s more pleasurable. If you’ve been running around and you’re hotter than snot and feeling beat up, you’re like ‘yeah numb me'”. However, Hamilton soon learned that hormones produced during heat therapy play a more important role in the recovery of the body.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

“All my boys and I hit the sauna for at least 15 minutes after we train,” he said. He added, “Thermal regulation is the most energy-consuming function that the body does.  The ability to heat the body up and cool the body off is the most taxing on the body.  So if you train in hot and cold, you actually can build that system up and make that system stronger.” It seems like Hamilton has the formula to stay immortal, down to pat.

Watch this story: A Huge Shock for Surfing Fans Before Vans Pipeline From Kelly Slater and John John Florence