Muscle Soreness with Heart: Daniela Katzenberger Brings Her Strength Program to Mallorca

Muscle soreness with heart: Daniela Katzenberger brings her strength program to Mallorca

From the living room to the beach – a book, a plan and the island as a training ground

On a windy morning on the Paseo Marítimo, somewhere between early joggers and the first coffee aromas from the cafés, you can now more often hear dumbbells clinking. No surprise: celebrity workout routines create trend waves on the island, and Daniela Katzenberger has just set one in motion. In her new book "Katze goes Muskelkater: Pfoten hoch, raus aus dem Körbchen! Mein Krafttraining für dich", which is available in stores from January 28, she gathers her experiences from recent years.

The facts are clear: since 2023 the 39-year-old has lost around eleven kilos, a narrative similar to Andrej Mangold: From Six-Pack to Beer Belly. The recipe sounds familiar but remains honest: strength training, targeted nutrition and perseverance. The book lists concrete exercises like hip thrusts, biceps curls, squats, sit-ups with a medicine ball and lunges. If that makes you smile, think for a moment of the muscle soreness that can color the next days after a first set of squats – Katzenberger describes it with a good dose of self-irony, which makes it likable.

An important part of her journey is the collaboration with trainer Tobias Wendeler, who prepared her for beach workouts, gym sessions and even competitions. Occasionally husband Lucas Cordalis is by her side for partner exercises or motivation on windy days in Santa Ponsa. The island offers ideal settings for this: from the shallow beach of Cala Major to the steeper steps of the Portixol bay – elements from the book can be replicated everywhere.

What does this mean for Mallorca? It is more than celebrity decor. Local trainers, small gyms and beach groups, and even studios like Mallorca Mindful Movement, benefit because people get inspired and ask right on their doorstep. On a walk through Palma I notice how conversations at the bakery no longer only revolve around the weather, but about training plans, the best post-workout breakfast and whether you can try hip thrusts on a park bench. That's a good tone, I think: activity moves into everyday life, and that has positive effects for body and neighborhood.

This impulse can also be useful for tourism. Mallorca thrives on a mix of sun, sea and small authentic offerings. Someone who goes on holiday on the island and takes a book like this might discover not only new exercises but also local trainers who offer classes on the beach. For self-employed people in the sports sector, these are opportunities – not just for Instagram pictures, but for real bookings.

A small everyday reminder: fitness doesn't have to be complicated. If you have little time, start with three basic exercises from the book, two to three times a week. Squat, rowing pull with a resistance band and a short core session with the medicine ball – that's it for a small program that strengthens muscles and posture. Combined with taking stairs instead of the elevator, that often makes the biggest difference.

Daniela Katzenberger is well known on Mallorca: her café in Santa Ponsa was for years a meeting point for locals and visitors, and her books have long been part of her portfolio. With over two million followers on Instagram she has a reach that reaches people – and at best motivates them. Those who follow her posts feel the fun in movement, the honest stumbling and getting back up, and that is contagious.

My tip to everyone who now strolls through the café reading with a slight giggle: try one exercise from the book on a windless morning at the beach. Take the muscle soreness as a souvenir – and as confirmation that you did something. Mallorca remains an island where you can live well and train well. And a little cat motivation never hurts.

Outlook: More beach workouts, more demand for local trainers and maybe another book or two from the shelf on the Paseo – the island breathes, goes for a walk and now also lifts weights. That feels right.