Although, as he says himself, he is no longer the youngest, that is by no means a reason for Roland Aicher to take it easy or to challenge himself less. When he is not working as a chiropractor, he gives personal coaching through his company RAPT (engl.: enthusiastic, and appropriately also the initials of Roland Aicher Personal Training), supervises Muay Thai and MMA fights as a cutman or pushes himself into it to the limit in each of his training sessions. In doing so, he impressively proves that athletic performance and all-round fitness is in no way a question of age.
How would you describe your sporting career from the beginning?
Roland Aicher: I started with judo, then BMX, at some point I got into taekwondo, that was when I was 16, and I also had fights there. From the age of 18 or 19 I discovered extreme sports for myself, whitewater kayaking, canyoning, climbing, I went through everything there, and later became a teacher in these disciplines. Originally I always wanted to do Muay Thai, unfortunately there was no studio in Salzburg at the time. At the age of 25, I was lucky enough to be offered Thai boxing in a boxing club. Back then we always had to try desperately to get at least five people together before every training session, otherwise it wouldn't have taken place. As a result, I first trained Jiu Jiutsu, then MMA for a long time, but my heart has and still belongs to Muay Thai.
how do you train
Roland Aicher: I train six days a week, a lot of strength endurance, combination exercises, functional fitness. My goal is to train as holistically as possible, because this is the only way to achieve comprehensive fitness. I structure my workout differently every time to always challenge myself differently, I never train exactly the same twice.
How do you combine that with your job?
Roland Aicher: When I give personal training, I also train a part myself, and I'm already in the club. Otherwise after work. Whereby chiropractic is almost a kind of training.
How did you come to this?
Roland Aicher: Immediately after the apprenticeship I started with my instructor certificates, was at the sports academy, completed one of the first kettlebell seminars when it was still emerging and continued to educate myself in this direction as well as in functional fitness. I still do it today and try to improve my skills year after year.
I came to chiropractic through my therapeutic massage training.
In terms of personal training, I mainly gave group courses in the beginning, but I had a hard time with the almost non-existent motivation of many participants, which is why I then switched to personal training.
In the beginning, due to my close connection to it, I mainly coached martial artists, as I had already worked with Ruben Wolff and other very successful fighters. Over time I then started to support athletes from other disciplines, such as e.g. B. supports Tina Schiffer in achieving her goals.
And how did you get into your job as a cutman?
Roland Aicher: A Fights organizer drew my attention to a seminar on cutman training and I was immediately hooked. I love this job because it gives me the opportunity to be active on and in the ring, directly in the fight, even though I'm a bit too old for my own fights now.
What would you consider your biggest achievement so far?
Roland Aicher: It's hard to say, I've achieved everything I set out to achieve, even if others said you can't do it. For me, without becoming philosophical, this results in an inner satisfaction. It also helps me realize what I can achieve if I really want it and work hard for it.
And your biggest Tief?
Roland Aicher: For an athlete, injuries are always a setback and represent a kind of defeat because they slow you down. Accordingly, this was always something that I had to deal with. such as B. after breaking my fibula, when the doctors told me that I would probably never be able to train properly again. After a week I went cycling again and fought my way back. Exactly the same after my hip surgery, as a result of which I trained myself in a healthy way, so that I am now as resilient as if it almost never existed. For me, life is full of ups and downs and that's important too. Everything else is stagnation. I grow from setbacks or crises, emerge stronger from them and learn. You have to learn to consciously fall, then you lose the fear of it. Failure is part of life. However, you should learn from it and keep going, even if it is difficult at first.
how do you motivate yourself
Roland Aicher: I don't have to motivate myself directly for a workout. For me, sport is part of daily body care and inner cleansing, something essential like showering or brushing your teeth.
At the same time, it represents an intensive examination of yourself, through which you get to know yourself better and better.
How did you get to the Phantom Training Mask?
Roland Aicher: I've been in close contact with Phantom Athletics through martial arts for a long time. When the idea of developing the Phantom training mask came up, I was part of the team that was actively involved in its creation. Together with other athletes, we have tested a wide variety of prototypes, improved them, discarded them, further optimized them and optimized them. It was a lengthy, very careful process until we finally had a product that met our ideas and requirements, the Phantom training mask as everyone knows it today.
What were your thoughts when you held them in your hands for the first time?
Roland Aicher: Pretty cool. In no way cumbersome, but finally a handy tool from this category to further optimize my training. Of course, I "christened" them immediately after I received them with a first training session.
How did you go about increasing the intensity?
Roland Aicher: Of course, I tried my hand at first, but then increased from intensity 1 quite quickly. Now I train for at least 3, but often also for 4, although that always depends a bit on my condition on the day.
What's your favorite workout with her?
Roland Aicher: I use them in pretty much every type of training, be it endurance training or warming up. I also like to use them for a wide variety of combination exercises, functional fitness or rowing.
Your "most intense" experience with the Phantom Training Mask was...?
Roland Aicher: ...in various combination exercise circles, which are very demanding on my circulation. I sometimes had the feeling that I couldn't keep up with the panting and had small panic attacks. But even that can be easily solved if you just stay cool and calm. This is good training too.
How do you benefit from the Phantom Training Mask?
Roland Aicher: I use far more lung capacity. My respiratory muscles have become stronger and more efficient. As a result, my performance has increased enormously and I have much better stamina. I don't get out of breath that easily anymore. All this makes a much more intensive training possible.
I noticed this particularly at the XLETIX Challenge 2017 in Kühtai. I mean, I'm 46 now and I've been through various injuries. When friends asked me if I wanted to run with them on their team, I said yes, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
And I have to say, without my previous training with the Phantom training mask, I would not have managed the run either, especially not during this time or without being in the bucket for days afterwards. I've never run 10 miles in a row before in my life, even though some might laugh at that now. I've never been a runner to be honest. It's just not fun for me, this eternal running along a certain distance. I could never get used to that. In addition to this distance, of course, there was also the height, as well as the 25 obstacles, each of which was an extreme challenge.
But because I trained with the Phantom training mask almost every day for 8 months in advance, the run was relatively easy for me. Out of respect for the whole thing, I started very slowly, mentally I had given up with my role at the bottom and then in the end I rolled up my team from behind. I couldn't have done it without the Phantom Training Mask. I also didn't have to prepare too much for the run, and the exhaustion was also moderate.
Do you also notice a mental training aspect?
Roland Aicher: As already mentioned, these small, occasional attacks of shortness of breath also help to develop mental stamina. This will also help you in battle. You don't tap off as quickly when an opponent has you firmly in their grip, but keep trying to wriggle out of there, knowing that you can get by with less air.
The "best" comment you've heard about the Phantom Training Mask?
Roland Aicher: One wanted to insult me and asked what kind of SM mask I was wearing. But there are always ignoramuses.
What would you say to someone who is completely unconvinced by the concept of the Phantom Training Mask?
Roland Aicher: You should try everything first, I tell people that in my studio or offer them to try it out with my Phantom training mask. Only then can you really form an opinion. But it is also important to give the Phantom training mask a chance. As with everything else, you can't decide after maybe 10 minutes of training whether this is effective for you. Exactly the same as if you really want to achieve success with it. It's just not enough if you train with it once or twice a week for a maximum of 15 minutes. In order to be successful, you first need to put in a lot of effort, otherwise you won't get anywhere. This principle applies not only to sport, but to everything in life. If you want something, you have to work for it.
What's your next goal?
Roland Aicher: As already mentioned, I'm actually a bit too old to fight my own fights, but of course I would be tempted to do one or the other fight myself. In any case, I will remain true to martial arts, be it on or in the ring.
If you too, like Roli, want to improve your physical and mental abilities in order to push your body to peak athletic performance, you should take a look at our Phantom training mask!
Contact
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