Exercise is a vital part of my life. I am not sure why this is so, but I think there are worse habits one can choose. I am convinced that physical activity and exercise are necessary for every human individual to stay healthy. While in the natural environment in which humans lived for most of their evolutionary history there was no choice but to be active, it is a challenge to integrate physical activity in our modern technological environment. For me, exercise is a great way to improve my mood, socialize (and compete) with others and gain experience about and beyond myself.

SInce 2001 I train in both triathlon and strength training (since 2011 olympic weightlifting). Hence, I probably fall into the catogory of people who recently have been classified as "hybrid athlethes": Some of my personal records are:

Track:

• 100 m in 12.50 sec (Ramsthal, June 2023)
• 400 m in 58.7s (Schweinfurt, July 2023)

Road racing:

• 3 km in 10:08 (Heidelberg, July 2007)
• 5 km in 17:41 (Kürnach, June 2007)
• 10 km in 37:01 (Brühl, March 2007)

Long distance triathlon:

• Total time: 10:01:22 (IRONMAN Nice, June 2010)
• Best 3.8 km swim split: 1:06:59 (IRONMAN Frankfurt, August 2011)
• Best 180 km bike split: 4:50:17 (IRONMAN Hamburg, August 2018)
• Best Marathon split: 3:19:27 (IRONMAN Nice, 2010)

Olympic weightlifting:

• Best Olympic weightlifting total: 188 kg (Schweinfurt, March 2020)