More strength, endurance, fewer kilos on your hips - and all that in just ten weeks. This is what Prof. Dr. Martin Halle, head of the Chair of Preventive and Rehabilitative Sports Medicine, promises in the five-part feature of the BR magazine "Abendschau" on the project "LAUF10! How do I get fit in 10 weeks?". The project was founded in 2007 by the Centre for Sports Cardiology, the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation, and the Bavarian Athletics Association and has since been regularly accompanied in TV reports by the public broadcaster.
"Exercise is the best medicine!", announces Prof. Halle in episode one of the documentary. This is especially true for the four sports beginners, Michi, Lilli, Tom, and Bernhard, taking on this year's Lauf10!-Challenge - along with tens of thousands of other participants in Bavaria who want to take on the highlight, the 10k run in Wolnzach, together at the end. The four have one thing in common: sport has not been a big issue in their everyday lives for years, and they all struggle with being overweight. They now want to tackle the problem.
But first, they must undergo some tests with Prof. Halle: Stress ECG - lactate, blood, and heart values are measured and evaluated. "Of course, we want to see if the participants are healthy, especially if the heart is healthy. Are we putting the patients at risk, or is everything okay? It is essential to check this to prevent possible risks and overloads," explains the sports medicine specialists.
After the tests are before the training, a ten-week regular exercise program should lead the new athletes to success. But Prof. Halle also warns: "You have to approach the 10k challenge wisely. Start training slowly at first, then increase steadily, and in the end, everyone will make it." No, it is sooner said than done. The program initially includes easy walking rounds with various coordination exercises and technique training for the four participants. After all, walking has to be learned and, above all, done correctly.
The program developed by Prof. Halle is gradually increased up to the final run, which also takes place at the TUM Campus in the Olympic Park - accompanied at all times by the sports physician and other sports and nutrition scientists. A balanced diet is also part of the ten-week training program - necessary for the mind and body. This also affects the scales. In the meantime, Bernhard, one of the participants, has even lost twelve kilograms. "He has the absolute will to do more sport and fitness and is maybe even a little too dogged sometimes. If he now eats more protein and carbohydrates again, he will have created a good basis for taking part in the final run in Wolnzach," Halle explains.
But the documentation shows that the participants already had to deal with setbacks at the beginning. Minor injuries, illnesses, and heat caused the four to despair in between, and a test result for one participant was also a cause for concern - as is so often the case, joy and sorrow are close together. Still, there was a happy ending for all the candidates.
Review of LAUF10! by Prof. Halle in the "Abendschau"
In the one-hour "Abendschau" review of this year's LAUF10!-Challenge, Prof. Halle and presenter Julia Scharf, former student at the Department of Sport and Health Sciences with focus on Sports, Media and Communication, look back with pride: "I was very pleased with the candidates this year. All of them have different characters and have fully completed the program," says Halle enthusiastically. It was not only during the ten weeks of preparation that the runners had to overcome some hurdles. The final run was also with over 30 degrees Celsius - an additional strain on the body. But Prof. Halle adds: "I am proud of what the four have achieved. LAUF10! is not about any times, but about keeping up the pace and following through with the program," says the Centre for Preventive and Rehabilitative Sports Medicine director.
How Michi, Lilli, Tom, and Bernhard fared on their way to becoming 10-kilometer runners, whether they all managed the final run, and what other tips Prof. Halle has to offer can be seen in the BR-documentary and the TV report of the "Abendschau"
To the homepage of the Chair of Preventive and Rehabilitative Sports Medicine
To the BR documentary "LAUF10! How do I get fit in 10 weeks?!"
To the "Abendschau" report "LAUF10! That was the 2023 season"
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Martin Halle
Chair of Preventive and Rehabilitative Sports Medicine
Georg-Brauchle Ring 56
80992 München
phone: 089 4140 6774 (Klinikum rechts der Isar)
phone: 089 289 24441 (Uptown Campus)
e-mail: Martin.Halle(at)mri.tum.de
Text: Bastian Daneyko
Photos: BR-Abendschau//private