57 HEROESWORLD But Magnus is not talking about a complete blood count of the kind your doctor might perform. “That gives you the basic data but nothing more,” he explains. The naturopath from Seesen wants more: information about his tissue hormones, his overall hormone status, everything down to the exact vitamins and micronutrients coursing through his veins. In the past few years, the state of analytics has evolved in quantum leaps. Rhüden, a district of Seesen: the entire hallway and all seven treatment rooms of Magnus Hirschfeld’s clinic are covered in certificates. The naturopath also works as a physiotherapist and teaches physical therapy; his specialization is pain relief through acupuncture. Also a qualified osteopath, he even offers traditional Chinese medicine. “I’m not quite satisfied yet – there’ll be more,” he says. Through Shaolin Coaching seminars, he has gained deep insights and come to realize: you cannot healthily compete in high-performance sports without replenishing your minerals and vitamins. Denn: If you train too much and replenish too little, your body may develop a deficit that is hard to treat. His advice: “You need to see past your own nose.” In his view, there are two conditions that absolutely must be met for anyone to achieve extreme athletic feats. “You must be physically well, meaning that your blood work must be good, and you need mental support.” To Hirschfeld, getting several consecutive nights of good sleep is essential before any endurance event. So is avoiding stress: “Your serotonin levels need to be good in the daytime, too, because low stress levels lead to healthy levels of feel-good hormones. And your brain needs the serotonin to produce melatonin, which helps you sleep well at night,” he explains. Melatonin, the sleep hormone, is extremely important to our brain. It is one of the most important antioxidants available to us, as it lowers our blood pressure. “Once it enters a cell, it says: sleep!” Magnus Hirschfeld further points out that a sensible approach to sport is key. “If I notice that it’s getting too much for me, I’m out right away.” He recalls the day his wife ordered him to take a time-out when he was attempting to spend 48 hours on the treadmill with Gerd Müller, carrying his full firefighting gear. “It wasn’t going to work. My life is too stressful for that sort of thing, what with the clinic and all,” Magnus admits. When he was younger, he was one of Germany’s fastest FireFit athletes. Today, skipping two nights of sleep would leave him “completely out of whack for two weeks”. To perform, you need to drink enough, keep an eye on your metabolism, and supplement with a few correctly dosed vitamins and, if necessary, amino acids, That definitely helps, Magnus assures.
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