Entertaining fitness knowledge during your workout
Podcasts have grown increasingly popular in recent years. Why always read a book? That's impossible during a workout anyway, unless you're pedaling so slowly on your ergometer that you can still read a book in peace. But doing that would only sabotage your efforts. You can expand your (fitness) knowledge wonderfully during a run on the treadmill at home or outside in the park by listening to quick, short podcast episodes. Or maybe after spending countless work hours staring at a screen in your home office, you simply don't want to stare at anything after work and prefer to rest your eyes. Then it's your ears' turn for a change. And since fitness is closely tied to nutrition, and many successful podcasters gracefully combine sports and nutrition, let me introduce you to my top 5 (German-language) fitness podcasts, which are sometimes nutrition podcasts with a strong fitness or sports focus as well. Let's get started:
1. "Fitness mit M.A.R.K."
Mark Maslow is a phenomenon when it comes to THE fitness podcast in the German-speaking world. He is primarily a personal trainer and online fitness coach, has authored several books centered around his distinctive motto "Looking good naked", and has been publishing well-researched articles on training, nutrition, and motivation on his website marathonfitness.de for years. Plus, since 2014, he has released an incredible count of over 320 episodes on his podcast "Fitness mit M.A.R.K.". Wondering why his first name is spelled so oddly? Quite simply, it doubles as the formula he continuously shares in bite-sized pieces with his readers and listeners.
M stands for "Mental Training", A for "Balanced Nutrition", R for "Proper Strength Training", and K for "Cardio Training".
Together, that makes the M.A.R.K. formula, which he presents to his listeners time and again. Mark covers a wide variety of topics in his podcast. He either highlights a current topic, picks up aspects from the world of training or nutrition, addresses mental blocks, or invites interesting interview guests onto the show to discuss his topics. His podcast has been #1 in the German podcast charts multiple times, as well as #1 in the "Fitness and Health" category. Mark always backs up his topics comprehensibly with plenty of study research without losing sight of humor. He's simply a pleasure to listen to; he approaches each episode's topic in a focused yet never boring way. I've listened to his podcast extensively and read through his website, and I remain a fan.
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Where you can find the "Fitness mit Mark" podcast: Available on all major podcast providers such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, and others.
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Recommended episode: There isn't a single specific one—all episodes are great in their own way. Just take a look at the list of past episodes and tune in.
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Length: Everything from crisp 20-minute episodes to interviews over an hour long.
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Special feature: You can re-read many podcast episodes as articles on his website marathonfiness.de. There you will also find a complete list of all previous episodes, including a search function.
2. "schlank & gesund" with Patric Heizmann
The man is arguably one of the most famous nutrition and fitness experts in Germany. In addition, he is the author of several bestselling books, successfully coaches people wanting to lose weight in his online program "Leichter als Du denkst" (Lighter than you think), and is a fitness athlete heart and soul. That's why on his podcast "schlank & gesund" he covers pretty much all topics related to exercise, nutrition, health, and motivation. Since 2016, over 170 podcast episodes have been produced. Patric is an absolute entertainer, a popular speaker on conference stages, uses vivid and humorous language, and his newsletters and many podcast episodes end with the phrase "Stay healthy – but work for it, too!". In doing so, he can be polarizing with his tell-it-like-it-is approach. You either love it or you don't. I really enjoy listening to him because he possesses extremely deep knowledge along with a very clear opinion on certain matters. All in all, an absolutely entertaining podcast that also regularly features guest experts on specific topics.
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Where to find the “schlank und gesund mit Patric Heizmann” podcast: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher
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Recommended episode: Episode 17 “Muskeln – Deine Dauerfettverbrenner”. It gives you a good feel for HOW Patric Heizmann talks and how his podcast episodes are structured.
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Length: Everything from crisp 6-minute tips to 60-minute interviews.
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Special feature: Patric's trademark is his very own, sometimes quirkily funny vocabulary – let yourself be surprised and give it a listen.
3. "Der beVegt Podcast"
Katrin and Daniel Schäfer are passionate runners – and live a vegan lifestyle. That's also why the title is spelled so uniquely – it's a combination of the word “bewegt” (moved) for their passion for running and “vegan” for their diet and lifestyle. They are both very endearing and frequently share interesting stories from their lives in their podcast. The podcast has been around since 2016 and now comprises an impressive 260 episodes. I've actually been following them since episode 1 because I was already familiar with their bevegt.de website and have been subscribed to their newsletter for years. The podcast covers everything related to running, marathon training, running training, and movement and fitness in general. In between, there are (vegan) nutrition tips and info as well as interesting interview guests. But they also like to look outside the box, and even as a non-runner, I find the podcast extremely engaging. You can pick up inspiration and food for thought, get book recommendations, or simply be entertained and learn their perspective on certain topics. So from me, it's a definite recommendation!
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Where to find the “beVegt Podcast”: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict, Deezer, Overcast, Castbox
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Recommended listen: Episode 5 “Nutrition and Recovery”
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Length: Episodes start at around 30 minutes in length, but there are also some significantly longer (interview) episodes running 90 or even 120 minutes.
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Special feature: Katrin's “distinctive voice”. I admit I had to get used to it a bit at first, but the two are so thoroughly likeable that it quickly became a non-issue.
4. "CHANGE STARTS NOW" – The fitness podcast with your physique expert and fitness coach
Poli Moutevelidis is a three-time world champion in figure bodybuilding, personal trainer, and podcaster. He has already published over 160 episodes since 2017. I've been following his podcast for a very long time, and anyone who thinks Poli only talks about muscle building, supplements, and strength sports is mistaken. Yes, of course those are all topics that get discussed and highlighted in an episode here and there. But by no means exclusively. It also deals with things like weight loss, fitness, your own home gym, biohacking, mindset, listener questions on all kinds of topics, fitness trends, and Poli consistently hosts interesting guests on his podcast. He is authentic and likeable and makes listening really easy, in my opinion. A very well-made podcast for fitness-interested women AND men!
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Where to find the “CHANGE STARTS NOW” podcast: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and common Android podcast apps. For more information, visit his website https://polionstage.de/fitness-podcast-itunes-android
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Recommended episode: Episode 5 “Morgen fange ich mit Fitness an”
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Length: Most episodes are a pleasant 15 to 45 minutes long, with some interview episodes lasting around 60 minutes.
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Special feature: A very endearing pronunciation of the letter “s”, as well as language that is easy to understand even for non-bodybuilders and a wide variety of topics.
5. "Mehr als Fitness Podcast"
If you're asking yourself who Mareike Spaleck is when hearing her name ("Where do I know that name from?"), let me give you the answer right away. From 2015 to 2019, Mareike was one of the coaches on the SAT1 weight-loss show "The Biggest Loser". In everyday life, Mareike is a fitness and personal trainer, nutritionist, entrepreneur, and online fitness coach. Together with her husband Siggi, she runs a personal training micro-studio and a gym in Hesse. She is a fitness model, has written several books, released a genuinely large number of online training courses, and, together with her husband, launched her podcast in April 2020. A new episode comes out every two weeks. My insider tip! The two of them are very likeable, occasionally you hear their dog in the background, and they talk about their lives as personal trainers as well as nutrition and fitness topics. It's definitely worth a listen!
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Where to find the “Mehr als Fitness Podcast”: Apple Podcasts, Spotify
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Recommended episode: Episode “Die Zukunft der Fitnessstudios” from March 7, 2021. The two give a very interesting look behind the scenes as gym operators and wonder what the future of gyms could look like after a year of Corona.
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Length: On average, the episodes always last around 30 minutes.
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Special features: Imperfect is perfect. Mareike and Siggi essentially have a completely normal conversation; nothing is polished for perfection, but recorded honestly and authentically. Every now and then, they briefly mention what the dog is doing in the background.
There are naturally many more – the sheer number of health and fitness podcasts is huge. You surely have or will find your favorites, too. I hope these recommendations have sparked your interest to dive into the world of fitness podcasts. It's well worth it and makes an excellent companion during your workout, especially when you're doing endurance work and don't feel like counting exercise reps.
