– Hell – news Culture and entertainment

– It was like having to do 20,000 squats. Would I have a cramp? Would I be so exhausted that I wouldn’t finish? Thomas Lone is an adventurer, expedition leader and lecturer – and is used to tough challenges. Among other things, he is the youngest Norwegian to complete The Seven Summits, which involves climbing the highest mountain peak on each continent. But earlier this year he had to do something he had never imagined doing. Namely to sit on all the chairs at Lerkendal Stadium. That would mean 21,423 chairs. – There were many questions swirling around in my head, says Lone and shakes his head, as if to acknowledge that he too thought it was a bit crazy. MIMRAR: Thomas Lone has to smile a little when he thinks about the experiment at Lerkendal. Photo: Kjetil Solhøi / news Absurd challenge He did the seat experiment in connection with “Alle mot 1”, the program where a participant competes against the TV viewers in guessing as correctly as possible about the experiments being carried out. And it is not the first time that Thomas Lone has participated. Someone might want to remember him from last year when he walked for 16 hours straight on the stairs in Frognerparken. The task was to walk the steps corresponding to the height of Mount Everest. And now another absurd challenge is in store. – The stairs were very specific, I knew what I was going to do. Whereas Lerkendal, it was hell in terms of relationships, admits the 29-year-old. – The most difficult thing was seeing all the chairs I had left. I couldn’t imagine that this was going to end soon, he says, laughing. GOOD PROMOTION: Thomas Lone brought a mattress, provisions and his fiancée Jannicke Øien, who acted as an assistant and cheerleader during the experiment. Photo: news/Nordisk Banijay Would throw in the towel As mentioned, Thomas Lone is known for tough roofs. He has made life-threatening expeditions, and scaled Mount Everest and Denali, among others. But these are tops that give prestige and status. – Why did you say yes to something as crazy as sitting on all the seats at Lerkendal? – I am aware that it may seem strange to many. But for me this is a way of training the mental muscles. So that when you actually need to overcome the tough thoughts, you have the tools to do it, answers the adventurer. MOUNT EVEREST: Thomas Lone pushed himself to the maximum to reach the top of Mount Everest in 2019. Photo: Privat Despite years of experience in pushing away the negative thoughts that appear when the body is broken down, Lone acknowledges that the Lerkendal stadium was a real challenge. – I had several deep mental breakdowns. I thought: “We don’t have time for this, I don’t have the body for this”. I just wanted to throw in the towel, he admits and laughs. Exercise mental muscles Even though he has done one strange experiment after another, he does not see himself as special or different from others. – I would like to believe that everyone has it in them to say yes to something like this, they just haven’t discovered it yet. He himself developed a passion for pushing boundaries and challenging himself when he was in the military. Until then, he had had a safe and good upbringing at Jar in Bærum. – The military was the first time I was outside my comfort zone. There I learned that when things are tough, you just have to “push” through it. – That has given me the drive to dare to bet high. All success, all dreams come from trying and failing, he underlines. MØTE SMELLAR: – If we had been better at training our mental muscles, we would have had greater resilience against the mental challenges in society, believes Thomas Lone. Photo: Kjetil Solhøi / news He cannot reveal how it ended, or how long he possibly spent. The answer comes in Saturday’s broadcast of “Alle mot 1”. On the other hand, he would like to shed light on what is his passion. – I think that most people today, by taking on a few more challenges and by exercising their mental muscles, would have had a better life, he concludes. See the whole experiment and how it went with Thomas Lone in “Alle mot 1” on Saturday at 19.50 on news 1 or on news TV. Published 14.09.2024, at 11.44



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