Due to Corona, the second edition of the popular Rheinbach series "Fit sein - Fit bleiben mit Sport im Park 2020" started on Monday, several weeks later than 2019. Instead of six weeks in April and May, the sports weeks in the theme park will this time last only four weeks until Friday, September 4. Every day between 6 and 7 pm, sports fans can loosen and stretch muscles and joints during free training, or learn movement sequences in combination with breathing techniques during yoga.

All those who would like to take the German Sports Badge will also have the opportunity to do so on Thursdays from 6 pm to 8 pm until October 1 at the sports facility on Villeneuver Strasse. As at the premiere, the Stadtsportverband (SSV), in cooperation with the city and Barmer Krankenkasse, will be offering a mix of power training and deep relaxation in the coming weeks. Around 800 people took part in 2019 - a success story which, according to SSV boss Karl-Heinz Carle, "we would like to continue this year. It would be nice if we had more than 1000 participants in the end". However, the "Fit Mix" kick-off event was only half as well attended as in 2019 with only 30 participants: "This may have been due to the good weather and the high temperatures on the one hand. On the other hand, there was less advertising. Many people will not have known about it yet", said exercise instructor Jennifer Sabel from the Rheinbach Gymnastics Club in 1905. She had brought Cologne songs, the charts and hits to bring a little momentum into the exercises with aerobics for warming up, strength and endurance with bending and stretching of the arm and leg muscles and the final cool down with stretches.

Stefanie Schaller had come especially for the trainer, because "she's simply fantastic. And I simply enjoy sport," said the 39-year-old, who usually goes to the gym more often. Horst Onkels can only agree with this. He will use the offer as a sporting orientation. "Since I've been a pensioner for some time now, I wanted to have a look at the different kinds of sports, in order to perhaps find one that I can practice regularly." He was one of the men who liked to exercise in the summertime temperatures. Last year, the male rate was around 15 percent. Reason enough for Deputy Mayor Claus Wehage to explicitly ask men to participate. The 81-year-old local politician has prescribed yoga for himself and has entered Tuesday in his calendar.

With the tropical temperatures, breaks are more frequent. "Every day should be fun to exercise. It is a low-threshold offer for everyone. It's not about competitive sports or climbing Mount Everest," said Carle. The program is available on the SSV's website at www.ssv-rheinbach.de and on Facebook. Registrations are made on site at 5.30 pm in the list of participants. The offer is free of charge.

Original text: Susanne Träupmann

Translation: Mareike Graepel