By Julian Loevenich
Mark (31) is lucky: he is the only one doing body training this week. Every Tuesday evening from 7 p.m., the tough full-body workout takes place at The Social Hub on Alexanderstraße in Mitte. The advantage: It is completely free. If you look around, you will find a number of free sports offers in Berlin!
“Sometimes we are up to ten people here,” says Rob Marino (35). Born in Brazil, he is a trained trainer and leads the weekly “body pump” course – this evening only for Mark. “So I have my free personal trainer,” says Mark, unable to believe his luck.
Goal of the training: Strengthen the muscles. “The program is designed for the whole body,” says Marino. It starts with light stretching exercises, then light dumbbell units. Sweat for 50 minutes, they say. Push-ups, keeping tension, balancing.
If that’s too excessive for you, you’ll find what you’re looking for at Angelika Jankowski. Every Monday from 11 a.m. she offers the full body gymnastics course in the Volkspark Lichtenrade. The target group: People who want to exercise a little in the open air. Sports clothing is not absolutely necessary there – but weatherproof! “We activate the arms,” says Jankowski, stretching them up again and again. The exercises are easy, everyone can participate. After an extended warm-up, a longer walk through the park follows.
► Jankowski’s offer is part of City Movement. The association’s website offers a large number of free courses for different age groups and target groups (www.stadtbewegung.de)
► In addition to body pump, The Social Hub also offers yoga for free. Further information is available at www.eventbrite.com under the keyword “The Social Hub Berlin”
► There are also free sports offers on the website www.bewegung-draussen.de. The courses are funded by the Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment, among others.