Dance, sweat and move your way to health and happiness through fitness. Exercise is ‘all about improving your quality of life, health and wellbeing’, says Michael Multerer, Head of Exercise Therapy at the Park Igls Mayr Clinic. The former top athlete and sports expert now heads up a team of 12 fitness instructors who look after guests’ every fitness need. The aim is to raise awareness and teach people how important it is to build sport and exercise into their everyday lives.

Park Igls Park Igls Health Retreat Tyrol Austria Mayr Clinic Dr. Peter Gartner

There can be some surprising side effects too. Multerer tells how an exercise programme in the indoor pool had one guest – a famous French singer – bursting into song. ‘There were no other guests around. Suddenly, she started to sing a medley of her most popular songs. The training obviously did her good, and the same went for me!’

Exercise is a central element of Modern Mayr Medicine, and just 30 minutes a day is enough to have a positive impact on your health and prolong your life. The Park Igls’ exercise programme includes 10 daily classes and 65 exercise units, based on the five pillars of strength, heart and circulation, mobility, coordination and regeneration.

Activity choices range from one-to-one coaching or group classes, sweating it out in the gym or hiking in the clear fresh air of the surrounding mountains. The key is finding the right option for each guest. The Park Igls offers a diverse range of fitness options, from gymnastics, Pilates and spine training to Nordic walking, showshoeing and Crossfit. As Multerer says: ‘Dance, sweat, move! Just 30 minutes of exercise a day is enough to have a positive impact on your health and prolong your life.’

Multerer’s tips for exercising well

  • • Keep it simple: you don’t need specialist equipment, complicated techniques or fancy gyms. Start with a simple exercise like walking and you’ll be more likely to keep it up.
  • Make it fun: the best exercise is the one you’ll enjoy the most. If it’s fun then you’re more likely to keep doing it regularly.
  • Change things up: vary the type and intensity of the exercise you do to provide your body and mind with new impulses to motivate and strengthen them. Try to cover each of the five pillars of fitness with different activities.
  • Regular is best: consistent training stimuli offset with rest periods gives the best results.
  • Be aware: understanding the impact of exercise on your quality of life helps you get motivated and makes you enjoy exercise more.
  • Set goals: choose clear and realistic goals and think how you can best achieve them.

‘I want to flick the switch and teach people how important it is to build sport and exercise into their everyday lives. It’s all about improving quality of life, health and wellbeing.’ Michael Multerer