Ice therapy, cutting out the greens and a ‘chewing trainer’: How I lost 5 pounds in 7 days on the ‘midlife MOT’ Austrian retreat that Sachin Tendulkar, Naomi Campbell and Rebel Wilson all swear by, reveals RICHARD GIBSON

As someone who routinely disguises herself to avoid excessive admiration, it is no wonder that the solitude of a week’s reset at the Vivamayr clinic appeals to Sachin Tendulkar.

When you’re the most famous sportsman India has produced, and still perhaps the most famous living Indian, my time is rationed, but it was here in the tranquil southern Austrian haven that a player who rewrote the history of Test cricket by turning 50 centuries earlier this year he was able to relax his mind and rejuvenate his body.

Achieving such a balanced situation, however, requires discipline, as Tendulkar made his trademark during an incredible 664-match international career.

Mayr Therapy is one of the most challenging detox programs known, but also one of the most rewarding, according to the A-list celebrities who flock to the alpine lodge – where the best suites cost £1,000 a night – located on the shores of Lake Wörthersee, 16 km from Klagenfurt, half an hour’s drive from the Slovenian border.

Liz Hurley, Naomi Campbell, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rita Ora and Tracey Emin all support the health benefits of home ownership. It was here that Australian actress Rebel Wilson shed her first pounds in a dramatic 36kg weight loss. Malaika Mihambo, the German Olympic and world long jump champion, attributes her post-race recovery to subscribing to her program.

My own motivation was to follow in Tendulkar’s footsteps, having recently completed half a century of my own. To get a reality check on how my 50-year-old self was really doing. Call it a midlife MOT.

It was a red-eye start to my trip to the community of Maria Worth, and one that wasn’t boosted by an early morning coffee rush. When I participate, I’m all in, and when I signed up to pursue wellness, I committed to seven days of pre-tox, including no caffeine or alcohol.

So there was no Costa call when I arrived at Manchester Airport at 6am. Other items on the banned list surprised me, namely raw fruits and vegetables. Cold Turkey on that front has entered its third week. During my last doctor’s consultation I was advised to sit on it again around December 23rd. What kind of man likes a Caesar salad at Christmas, you may ask? Well, this kind.

Omitting the vegetables may seem strange, but at the heart of modern Mayr therapy is a healthy digestive system.

Dr. Franz to delete. waste, such as raw produce and fruit juices, helps clean the engine.

Aligned with this is a reduction in the volume you consume and when you consume it. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are arranged in the build-up and then taken to another level when the meals begin in the medical center’s restaurant.

The staff is careful not to call Vivamayr a hotel, and for very good reasons. Of course there is no bar, but for four days there is a happy hour between noon and 1 p.m., during which you are given a menu with actual meal choices. Until then, it’s a diet of soups and oils, such as truffle or linseed, guided by a chewing trainer (bread, for you and me).

Like most guys, I’ve always devoured food like a snake, taking a few token sips of what was in my mouth before swallowing it. I quickly discovered that this was the biggest detriment to my health. As Dr. Adriana Fink said after she discharged me with the news that I had lost 5 pounds and 1.5 inches from my stomach between Monday and Friday afternoon: If we didn’t need teeth, we wouldn’t have gotten them.

In between, I had used them extensively, spending more time chewing (40 counts is the bare minimum for each bite) throughout the week than running, lifting or jumping. To be honest, the only lifestyle change that will stick with me is not what I eat, but how I eat it.

Suddenly, portions half the size I was used to were taking up to five times longer to come through, with eye-popping results. Breakfast on the second day – I chose a medallion of local fish and vegan feta cheese as my two supplements – defeated me. I got up and walked out, leaving half a soy bun behind.

A drastic reduction in the amount of food and therefore calories (the evening meal is the smallest of the day) is known to send guests into a state of shock, but the headaches and tremors I was warned about did not materialize. Instead, I developed a Ready Brek glow, enhanced by the extensive list of physical challenges and stimulating treatments.

It was during my first consultation, during functional myodiagnostics – or muscle testing – that the doctor noticed an important problem. My small intestine was a labyrinthine mess of undigested carbohydrates and byproduct gas, which meant that every punch to the stomach triggered a new part of my stomach orchestra. The bloated belly masked the positive aspects of my physique that emerged from a cardio scan that morning: my muscle mass was extremely good for my age and I had no excess fat.

Psychologically, it was a boost to know that the physical measurements were good, but every time I was hyped up by one doctor, another was lurking around the corner, ready to knock me down again.

At my first daily massage I was told that my ankles were too stiff for the amount of exercise I was doing and that I needed to run more. The osteopath was very critical of my chest and shoulder muscles, suggesting that I was exhibiting the ‘gorilla’ characteristics of someone who spends an hour lifting weights and walks out of the gym, neglecting the stretches the muscles need between sessions . Guilty, your honor.

But I felt more energized on this low-calorie, alkaline diet and determined to take on any challenge that came my way, including ice baths – swimming in the lake when the outside temperature dropped below zero.

This isn’t something I would normally queue up for, and in some ways the half hour of ‘fire breathing’ exercises to prepare the body for the shock made me more anxious. But as I walked along the wooden dock, inhaling deeply and choreographing each rapid exhale with a clap of thunder overhead, I knew I was ready.

Without pausing, I followed instructor Mauricio straight down the stairs into the water. Waist deep, the cold hits you. But once I commit to something, there’s no turning back for me, and after slowing my breathing to calm down, I took the plunge, swimming a few strokes before resurfacing.

It was so invigorating and the tingling sensation under the skin lasted for hours. The immediate effects of the swim were stark, too: The fact that I could kick higher, hit more powerfully, and generally feel lighter during the warm-down exercises that followed in the warmth of the yoga cabin amazed me.

Ice therapy is known to improve circulation, reduce swelling and promote muscle recovery, but it also provided a mental high.

The next day’s cryotherapy challenge had a lot less build-up, but still a bit of a head-scratcher. Dressed in swimming trunks, wool hat, gloves and socks, I was advised to employ distraction tactics from the moment I entered the first of two rooms and not to look at the countdown clock.

Thirty seconds in the first, at minus 30ºC, prepares you for the second, which drops to an unbearable minus 110.

I had no idea why, but from the moment the first door closed I started singing the Housemartins version of Caravan of Love and this Paul Heaton wannabe just kept singing – apart from a brief interlude halfway through the three minute mark in the second room . when, not heeding the warning about the digital display, I became aware of the time remaining.

For unknown reasons, at this point I made a sad attempt to recreate Usain Bolt’s famous lightning pose. However, the Vivamayr environment is all about success, not failure, and I was determined to push myself even when faced with Galileo, a machine with rapidly changing force plates that makes workouts 60 percent more effective on the body then makes training sessions. routine, because the constraining muscles are under.

By the end of the week the vibration frequency for sets of squats, planks and push-ups had increased from 12 to 18 Hz and I was sweating profusely, which I think should be the end result of any workout you undertake.

At each of the six appointments that make up your day, enthusiastic practitioners encourage you to incorporate their advice to prepare for your family life. But if emulating Sachin on a temporary basis was feasible, the practicalities of introducing this TLC on steroids to Yorkshire are a completely different story.

Yes, pulling oil through my teeth first thing in the morning to detox my mouth was quirky and fun, but who has five to ten minutes to spare at that time of day when you have three kids, a dog and the need to get in Nottingham or Manchester for a press conference at 9.30am?

Yes, I went out with a deflated belly, a nourished soul, and stronger tendons, ligaments, and joints thanks to the fascia training. I felt more coordinated and flexible thanks to hour-long personalized Qigong and Shiatsu sessions, with improved breathing and techniques to beat snoring after work with a voice coach, and quite zen after a series of yoga and pilates classes. I was relaxed enough to fall asleep during hydrotherapy and mud pack treatments.

But just as the exposed little master Tendulkar would have discovered, this was an escape from reality, and not the beginning of an entirely new one.