Sweating together without many words: The participants follow the instructions of the trainer – different languages are no obstacle. © Antonia Reindl
Penzberg - Sport connects: There is a special workout at the Penzberg Mothers' Centre - Ukrainian, Russian and German are spoken.
Since the end of 2022, there has been a special sports offer in Penzberg from the Ukraine Aid Coordination Office at the Noah's Ark Family Center: A workout is offered together with the Mothers' Center. Ukrainian, Russian and German are spoken in it. But the language is actually secondary. Community is lived here on a different level. A sporty visit to the winter road.
Children playing
Gradually, the gymnastics mats are being rolled out in the room in the Mütterzentrum (MüZe) on Winterstraße. The tables of the parent-child café have long since been pushed aside, and children are romping around in the play corner. A carafe of water is ready, the glasses next to it are still empty, but not for long. In a few minutes the workout begins. Olena Hirzheva keeps looking at the clock on the wall. The trainer is motivated – and so are those who came. Among them, Kateryna Stadler. At the time, the coordinator of Ukraine aid at the Noah's Ark family center had the idea of doing something with sports, she had thought of a dance group, for example. A long-time friend advised her to set up the whole thing professionally.
She leads the workout: Olena Hirzheva regularly implemented fitness and health offers in Ukraine. © Antonia Reindl
Desire for more
And now Hirzheva is here on the mat. Next to her, on the floor, is a workout plan, next to it is a jukebox. Hirzheva used to give regular fitness and health classes in Ukraine, says Stadler. The first workout took place a few days after Christmas 2022. From then on, they met once a week. After a short time, however, the participants wished that they could meet several times a week, says Stadler.
In the meantime, the participants, most of whom are still women, roll out their mats every Wednesday and Friday. Up to ten or eleven active people come per workout, the Ukraine aid coordinator reveals. Children can also be brought along, they can play with each other during the workout. The child-friendly equipment of the MüZe makes it possible. A gym is often expensive, says Stadler, and there is no way to have the children looked after during training. It's different here. There is also a joint chat group. In it, the members motivate each other to do sports and report on their jogging tours.
Twice a week workout
The 50-minute athletic workout, organized by the Coordination Office Ukrainehilfe from the Noah's Ark Family Center in cooperation with the Penzberg Mothers' Center at Winterstraße 20A, takes place twice a week. Dates are Wednesday from 19:15 p.m. to 20 p.m. and Friday 19:30 p.m. to 20:15 p.m. Ukrainian, Russian and sometimes German are spoken. Women – with whatever background – are welcome to participate. Children can be brought along and play together in the rooms of the Mothers' Center.
It starts on time
The minute hand moves to the twelve, the hour hand to the seven. Wednesday, 19 p.m. sharp. Trainer Hirzheva taps her wrist as if she were wearing a wristwatch. Hirzheva points to her calves, her thighs. In these areas, sore muscles could probably become noticeable in the next few days. Stadler smiles and goes to her mat. "We always start on time," she says.
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All are welcome
On this evening, the group is a little smaller than usual. While four adults, led by Hirzheva, roll a tennis ball around with the sole of their feet, a warm-up exercise, three children roll around the room with a bobby car. Music comes out of the speakers. Most of the time, they speak Russian or Ukrainian, Stadler reports away from the exercises. But even those who do not speak these two languages understand what trainer Hirzheva is trying to achieve in her exercises. Everyone is welcome, not just Ukrainians, Stadler emphasizes. In the end, the focus is not on language. After all, it doesn't take many words to train together.
