The fitnessmarkt.de partner MoveToLive has been equipping the German national soccer team with fitness equipment since 2006. Fitness training is particularly important for the players and coaching team before and during major tournaments. The World Cup kicks off in Brazil on June 12, 2014. F&G asked MoveToLive Key Account Manager Volker Lichte about the special challenges involved in equipping the DFB team.
F&G: MoveToLive has been equipping the DFB team with training equipment since the 2006 World Cup, so you now have a lot of experience. Is the tension still rising in your team so shortly before the most important tournament?
Volker Lichte: It's a mixture of tension and anticipation. We are delivering to Campo Bahia in Brazil and you can imagine that this is a logistical challenge.
Deliveries within Europe are now routine, so I am sure that we will also master the Brazil delivery perfectly. We have a well-rehearsed team and have been doing it for eight years with almost the same team in the back office, logistics and service. This will be our third World Cup, in addition to the two European Championships. That's why the team's processes are in place and everyone can rely on each other.
The whole team is really looking forward to it. You naturally look forward to a tournament like this in a slightly different way when you've been part of the preparation. I'm particularly looking forward to it because I'm so close to the DFB team during the preparations in South Tyrol and Brazil.
F&G: How are you currently coping with the logistical challenges in Brazil?
Volker Lichte: We are supported in Brazil by our local distributor, i.e. the devices go directly from the USA to Brazil. We are also right on schedule. Of course, I am in constant contact with my colleagues in Brazil, Campo Bahia and the DFB in Frankfurt. It's a round-the-clock job at the moment, and not just because of the time change.
Just today it was all about discussing how to get the equipment to the two destinations, namely the hotel and the training ground, via the access roads. The access road to the facility, which is around 500 meters long, is an earth road and the local residents want it to stay that way so as not to destroy the original character of the facility. We've never had conditions like this before; as I've already said, it's also a major challenge. But the surroundings are also particularly beautiful!
I will be there myself to coordinate on site on the day of delivery on June 5. I'm curious to see if I can already feel the spirit of "Santo Andre" then. Because that's what Oliver Bierhoff was looking for when he chose the accommodation.
F&G: How do you and the fitness coaches coordinate the selection of the required equipment in the run-up to a World Cup?
Volker Lichte: The fitness coaches around Shad Forsythe have clear ideas about their fitness concept.
Their challenges before a World Cup or European Championship are to make the players better in terms of acceleration, speed and strength. They then specify the training concept accordingly and I can make certain recommendations. The selection of equipment has basically remained very similar since the 2006 World Cup: we supply treadmills, bicycles, cross trainers, Schwinn indoor cycling bikes and power stations.
A new request from the fitness trainer team this time was to also request our StairMaster Airfit (Airdyne). That's the advantage of MoveToLive, that the national team gets tailor-made solutions for their training from us.
I then recommended the Cybex equipment for this World Cup, with the Octane cross trainer and the SCHWINN IC bikes. Shad was happy to follow this recommendation.
F&G: In your opinion, have trends from professional sport, soccer in particular, now also established themselves in the studios?
Volker Lichte: Basically, it is always difficult to pinpoint trends and changes, in this case in the fitness industry, directly to certain influences - in this case soccer. It is usually the influence of various sources and therefore multifactorial. The media coverage, including this World Cup, will no doubt once again impressively highlight the importance of our players' fitness.
What I am simply noticing in this context is the industry's increasing focus on training: time-efficient training with the clear aim of achieving goals. If we succeed in selling this to members as a clear benefit, then the industry will continue on its successful path.
F&G: Do you or does MoveToLive also take input from the cooperation with the DFB for the cooperation with the studios?
Volker Lichte: That's a good question. It's always exciting for me to work with the German national team and the "team behind the team". I see two things as crucial: Principles and goal achievement. Leading according to clear principles, both in terms of a company's own mission statement and values when dealing with customers or partners, such as respect, responsibility and mutual understanding. Companies can be managed very successfully with these basic principles. Transferring this to your own fitness facility is certainly a challenge, but very promising in the long term.
The second is goal achievement. Since the 2006 World Cup, I have seen the consistency and sustainability with which goals are pursued. They are clearly formulated and everyone in the team knows them. Every member of the "team behind the team" works to their strengths. How the agreed goal is achieved is irrelevant. In the end, it's the result that counts and in our case, that was 100% the case as far as devices were concerned. This can only be achieved at MoveToLive because of the good teamwork.
Conclusion: It is always good to get new ideas and synergies from outside the industry - this also applies to fitness studios, of course. Just think "out of the box".
Oliver Bierhoff always describes it as being open to new things. In other words, it's the search for new impulses based on solid core values.
F&G: Mr. Lichte, thank you very much for the interview and good luck with the preparation of "our boys" in South Tyrol and Brazil. <<
Oliver Bierhoff
"MoveToLive is once again our exclusive fitness equipment supplier for this World Cup in Brazil. Since the 2006 World Cup, this partnership has been working with high reliability and very good quality fitness equipment. This is due to the trusting and solution-oriented cooperation with Volker Lichte."
Shad Forsythe
"Training on the fitness equipment is an important component in the overall training program, both in terms of improving performance and regenerating the players. With the strength and cardio equipment from MoveToLive, we can carry out targeted and efficient training, and the Cybex and Octane equipment in particular fits perfectly into our training concept for the first time at this World Cup."
Hans-Dieter "Hansi" Flick
"In Brazil, the players' fitness will be crucial, not least due to the climatic and therefore physical exertions. I have full confidence in our fitness team, which has once again selected MoveToLive as a fitness equipment supplier that absolutely meets the requirements of the coaching team."
Source: F&G
Published on: 5 June 2014