It’s been a few days now since I finished the trail along with a few others. Arriving was a real relief. It was downhill and I was just able to “run” the last few meters to Sterlig Point, the final point of Te Araroa. My legs did not allow another step. I had already set my mind in Te Kuiti, on the North Island, to implement my plan to run a marathon as the last leg of the trail. Suddenly it was not just an idea, but within reach.
I prefer to work out outdoors, but even I have a finite resistance to nature. Here in the northern hemisphere, more specifically in central Europe, the temperature has dropped considerably over the last weeks. I don’t have a big problem with the cold, I just wear warmer clothes. But when I leave work it is…
The food industry never tires of presenting us with health claims on their packaging that would convince even the most health-conscious amongst us. As you will see the terms “light”, “fat-free” and “sugar-reduced” don’t necessarily mean what you think they do. I’m opposed to the claims of the “healthier”, whatever-reduced products because there is nothing…
Continue Reading Light, fat-free and sugar-free claims irritate me!
I’m not the only person that works out in Mannheim. We organize our training through Facebook and Whatsapp. Everybody is welcome to join. I met Matthias at one of those meetings back in 2014. He is one of the most dedicated people to sport and a well-balanced diet, in my proximity. This is Matthias’ story: (more…)
The legs are an all-too-often overlooked muscle group. But certainly, you wouldn’t be reading this if you wanted me to tell you to skip leg day. Our legs aren’t only attached to our upper body to move us from A to B. They are part of a very complex apparatus of muscles, bones, and sinews that…
“A diet loosely defined as one high in saturated fats, red meats, ‘empty’ carbohydrates—junk food—and low in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, seafood, poultry. The Western diet has been linked to hypertension, heart disease, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, obesity,and colorectal cancer.“ Western diet. (n.d.) Segen’s Medical Dictionary. (2011). The definition says that our diet is crap,…
Continue Reading The crap we eat – An assault on the Western Diet
Habitual non-activity Many of the things we do every day, we do out of routine in one way or another – a choreography we have practiced for years. Our brains just work more efficiently when they can outsource tasks to their central regions so that we don’t have to think consciously about every step we…
Out of control Nowadays the constant availability of food makes it easier to get more for less and less money. Unfortunately, the primary goal of food manufacturers is to sell in vast quantities to increase their profits. The consequence is that they produce what sells the best. Hence, for them to produce healthy products, there…
Continue Reading Healthy habits – In control of what you eat
We ‘should’ be more physically active, but ‘unhealthy’ behaviors – the comforts of the modern world – are just so ingrained in our lives that they can be hard to change. As I see it, getting off your a** is the biggest problem. Often it is not the sports in themselves, it is getting the…
As I mentioned before what we eat plays a much bigger role in maintaining weight than exercising. That’s why we tackle the matter of a better diet before we actually start to become more physically active – although that doesn’t mean we can’t already start moving, of course! 🙂 In the last article of this…
An attempt to change traditional diets through a series of articles that promote healthy habits! I’m not a fan at all of the diets promoted in magazines or on the internet. They often promise magical weight loss in no time. “Lose 10 kilos in 2 weeks!”. Lines like this should make one very skeptical. But…
Continue Reading Healthy habits – transformation towards better well-being!
The “only real” reason for a well-trained abdomen is to support overall body stability, which makes it necessary for a straight posture. A flat belly is not the right motivation, as I have explained before. Since every muscle has its antagonist, it is essential to work out the lower back as well. The muscles around…
“Tired of being fat and ugly? Just be ugly!” – gym billboard. There is a lot of truth to this ad. You can’t do much about certain aspects of your body – most are set in stone by your genes. Others, however, can be changed to a certain degree. Regardless of whether you are a…
Just as I explained basic exercises for the chest and triceps (upper body) in a former article, this one concentrates on basic exercises for the back and biceps. (more…)
Men, you are not off any better, though! The misconception/s below are based on what I’ve heard from friends. They are really hard to get over. This is my attempt to get you over them and to do the right thing instead. Misconception #1: Working your abs will let you lose belly fat! (more…)
Continue Reading Misconception: Women, you got it all wrong!
Over a period of about eight weeks, I gained around about seven kilograms of weight. I was curious to see how hard it would be. Now I know. Eating 500 kcal or more in addition to my normal basal metabolic rate was not an easy task. Sometimes I really had to make myself eat. Especially…
Almost four years ago I quit going to the gym and started working out with nothing other than my own body weight. The exercises I use are really basic, not super innovative, but very effective. For some more advanced exercises you can find aid in household items like chairs and tables. Also you are not…
I’ve never weighed more than a hundred kilograms. Reason enough to give it a try to reach that mark. This post seeks to introduce what diet means to me in general and how the challenge will work. In later posts I want to explore the different exercises that I do and the resulting weight gain.…
You don’t need much to practice sports except a point to start from. I get asked a lot what kind of workout I do and for how long I’ve been doing it. First I wasn’t really prepared what to answer. It has never been one type of sport, but rather several evolving from one to…
