Build endurance deliberately
Regular endurance training became a fixed part of the week: plannable, measurable and matched to what Günter could take.
Results from the team
Health first.
Success story · Günter Preis
Health first.
Then came the stage.
At 63, Günter is a world runner-up and a multiple bronze medallist at German championships. But this story does not begin in the spotlight. It begins with worrying blood results, a lot of medication, and one decision: health comes before competition.
- 2021
- First met
- 3
- seasons together
- 63
- years old
The beginning
A queue.
A good feeling.
And then, silence.
Sometimes a big story starts somewhere completely unremarkable. In 2021, Günter and Dominik stood in the registration queue at a competition. A short conversation, an immediate rapport, and then they went their separate ways.
Günter got in touch only after the season. He wanted to work with Camp Dörfl, get stronger and have another go at competing. But an honest look at where he stood pushed the stage a long way into the background.
“We did not start by talking about condition, weight or placings. We said: right now we have to stabilise your health.”
Health before competition
The most important plan did not lead to the stage, it led away from the health danger zone.
Günter was living with type 2 diabetes and taking a lot of medication. At the same time his kidney values were a concern, and dialysis was a serious risk on the horizon. So the athletic coaching became, first of all, a precisely structured reset, with health as the only priority.
Restructure the diet
The diet was built to be more carbohydrate-aware and adjusted consistently to blood sugar readings, daily life and training load.
Watch the numbers closely
Blood sugar and blood work stayed under continuous review, so decisions followed the actual trend rather than a feeling.
Manage medication with his doctors
The aim was to create the conditions for a medically supervised reduction in medication, starting with metformin.
Away from diabetes
Günter is my kind of person.
A fighter against type 2.
Günter's story is personal. The problem behind it affects millions: type 2 diabetes can go unnoticed for a long time and, over the years, damage the fine blood vessels of the kidneys.
“Away from diabetes” is not a promise of a cure here, but a direction: understand the numbers, change the habits, stay under medical supervision, and lock in every measurable gain.
Deutschland
Diagnosed diabetes among adults
Diabetes and the kidneys are closely linked.
According to the German Diabetes Society, around 40 per cent of people with type 2 diabetes develop kidney damage. Persistently high blood sugar can damage the small vessels of the kidney, and high blood pressure adds to the risk.
Source: German Diabetes Society, diabetes & the kidneyRemission is possible, but not guaranteed.
The randomised DiRECT trial showed that an intensive weight management intervention achieved remission of type 2 diabetes in some participants. Clinicians speak of remission when HbA1c stays below 6.5 per cent for at least three months without glucose-lowering medication. Regular checks remain necessary.
The biggest success
Two years of structure.
Today, good numbers across the board.
Week by week, many small decisions built a new routine: more endurance work, fewer carbohydrates, a changed diet and continuous blood sugar monitoring. Not spectacular, but consistent, controlled and carried through for two years.
Today, by his own account, Günter manages without glucose-lowering medication. He reports that his latest checks show long-term blood sugar and kidney values within the reference range of a healthy person, and his diabetes specialist discharged him from ongoing specialist care. For Günter, that is the biggest title in this story.
- 0
- glucose-lowering medications
- HbA1c
- within the healthy reference range
- Kidney values
- within the healthy reference range
The sporting encore
Once his health was stable, the stage became a goal again.
Only when the foundation held again did the old goal return. Stabilising his health turned back into contest preparation, now on an entirely different footing. Three seasons later Günter was world runner-up and had won bronze several times at German championships. At 63.
Runner-upworld champion
Multiplebronze medals at German championships
3seasons together
The medals are what make this story visible. Their real value is that Günter feels stronger and healthier today than he did a few years ago.
The road in between
Progress does not happen on competition day.
The stage shows the result. What decided it were the many controlled weeks of training, nutrition, endurance work and consistent feedback.
Personal training in Nuremberg
Your goal starts with an honest stocktake.
Health, daily life, training and goals have to be looked at together. That is exactly where working with Camp Dörfl begins.