Most people are familiar with the iconic lederhosen, the traditional pants worn during the famous Oktoberfest in Munich and other traditional festivals. One might not know however, that they are actually traditional workers pants, worn mainly on the countryside until the beginning of the 19th century.
Munich now has ‘Lederhosentraining’, which is not for learning how to wear these beautiful pants, but rather, for getting fit for the summer and Oktoberfest. It’s a free outdoor fitness event initiated and run by Klaus Reithmeier, a renowned personal trainer.
And don’t worry, you can take part with your normal sports outfit too. Klaus is often the only one wearing lederhosen. It takes place in one of the nicest spots in Munich, the English Garden (see the map below) every Monday at 7 p.m. in summer AND winter. When the weather isn’t great, it gets moved to below a bridge nearby.
What can you expect? First of all, some muscle pain 2-3 days after this intense workout. Klaus does a great job in motivating a crowd and synchronizing up to 600 people. He is also successful in distracting you from the pain by being (most likely, deliberately) bad in counting or adding interesting details during the workout. He is less focused on cardio, but you can go for a run before the training, or jump into the Eisbach as a reward afterwards. Instead, he concentrates on building up strength, inner body muscles and coordination. You might end up doing 100 push-ups without even realizing. But don’t worry, you can join according to your fitness level and even for beginners it’s a great way to start getting fitter.
Being such a success, the movement has spread and there are now more ‘Lederhosentraining’ units around Bavaria. Please check out the locations ‘to-go’ on the map below and get the latest news from their website.
Make sure to check out all of these places when you visit Germany. Save this list for later:
