Healthy Habits for Lasting Well-being: Insights from Arie Boomsma

Arie Boomsma is a Dutch television presenter, author, and fitness entrepreneur who inspires with his holistic approach to health and vitality. As founder of the Vondelgym studios in Amsterdam and bestselling author of books such as Fit and Volhard, he combines physical training, mindfulness, and everyday routines into an authentic lifestyle philosophy. Beyond his media career, Arie is a father of three and a passionate advocate for balance, resilience, and personal growth—values he shares with a wide audience through television, social media, and public speaking.

[Arie Boomsma] (0:51 - 1:12)
People aim too high. For instance, they have never really run or ran and they say, I'm gonna run a marathon. I'm gonna go to the gym six days a week.

And now there are no days. It's too big of a difference. So I think people aim too high and it's just not something that's reasonable within their lives as they live it right now.

[Nils Behrens] (1:13 - 2:20)
Welcome to Healthwise, the health and longevity podcast brought to you by Sunny Natural. I'm Nils Behrens and in this podcast we explore what it truly means to be healthy. Together we will dive into topics such as medicine, exercise, nutrition and emotional well-being.

Always with a wise perspective on what generally benefits us. Developing healthy routines can be the foundation for a lasting well-being, helping us to navigate the challenges of modern life with more resilience and balance. By focusing on consistent small habits rather than fleeting motivation, we can create a structure that supports both physical health and mental clarity no matter our age.

Ari Boomsma is a well-known Dutch author, fitness expert and advocate for a healthy lifestyle, particularly known for his focus on routines that promote long-term physical and mental well-being. With a background in media and television, he has shifted his focus to health and fitness, authoring several books that inspire readers to build strength and vitality through practical habits. A warm welcome to you, Ari Boomsma.

[Arie Boomsma] (2:20 - 2:22)
Thank you, quite the intro.

[Nils Behrens] (2:23 - 2:26)
Yeah, Ari, do you have the same routine for every Sunday?

[Arie Boomsma] (2:27 - 2:50)
On Sunday, the most important routine we have, I live on a farm with my wife and kids and my mother-in-law, and the most important routine on Sunday is the breakfast we enjoy together. It's a little more extensive than the regular breakfasts, like with homemade croissants and nice fruits. And we take our time, and all the other routines are actually seven days the same, also on Sunday.

[Nils Behrens] (2:50 - 2:50)
All right.

[Arie Boomsma] (2:51 - 2:52)
That one is most important on Sunday.

[Nils Behrens] (2:53 - 3:02)
Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. So I love this Sunday breakfast. Honestly, I don't have croissants.

I'm from Hamburg, and in Hamburg we have something that's called Franzbrötchen.

[Arie Boomsma] (3:02 - 3:03)
Oh, like noodles.

[Nils Behrens] (3:03 - 3:13)
Really, really. It's with cinnamon, and it is really, really good, but it's a really guilty pleasure, you must say.

[Arie Boomsma] (3:13 - 3:14)
Only on Sunday?

[Nils Behrens] (3:14 - 3:29)
No, even not every Sunday. I would say I have maybe five a year, so something like that. But for me, it reminds me of my childhood.

It reminds me of my home and everything, so this is the reason. And it's so typical from Hamburg.

[Arie Boomsma] (3:29 - 3:30)
Yeah, nice.

[Nils Behrens] (3:30 - 3:40)
Yeah, nice, nice. So what does a healthy routine mean to you personally? So when did you start developing it for yourself?

[Arie Boomsma] (3:41 - 4:41)
I've always liked structure. I was a basketball player, first in the Netherlands and Holland, and later in the U.S. Oh, really? So then you must have been really good.

Yeah, small school. No MBA, no. But I learned in early age how nice it is to pull back in isolation and train and get better and start thinking, hey, I can shoot with left as well and get better at it, and it translates to the game.

And I saw the Rocky movies in the 80s, and I saw him train, and I thought, oh, that's wonderful. You could just work on yourself and get better. And at this time, I was 14, 15, so my body started changing, and the combination of seeing what training can do in movies, there was no internet yet, and also training myself and seeing the body change and having some kind of influence on that, it really triggered for me the love for structure and routines.

[Nils Behrens] (4:42 - 5:26)
It's really interesting how motivation comes from the movie because I think I've seen also the movies several times, like Rocky, I think it was one to four, and all the Jean-Claude Van Damme movies and Karate Kid, and it's all about routines and all about the people which have a challenge and then they are really strict in doing it. But unfortunately, I would say I have done it with several things, but unfortunately not with my, I would say, training, with my muscle training. It wasn't also not that common in these days.

This is really interesting. So we are more or less the same age, and when we grow up in the 70s, early 80s, I would say going to a gym was only for bodybuilders.

[Arie Boomsma] (5:26 - 5:43)
Yeah, yeah. And also, I think it's the same in Germany, but also working on the body was more for like workers, and then you had the intellectuals and the students. It's like they sort of looked at it with some disrespect as well.

[Nils Behrens] (5:43 - 5:43)
Definitely.

[Arie Boomsma] (5:43 - 5:54)
It's simple, and I think that changed a lot, even though if you go way back into mythology or the Greek Empire and the Roman Empire, it was their body and mind.

[Nils Behrens] (5:54 - 6:09)
Yeah, definitely, and we see it right now that when you listen to all the longevity experts, to all the doctors, to all the scientists, everyone is saying muscles are the best insurance you can have for having a healthy long life.

[Arie Boomsma] (6:09 - 6:19)
That's what I like about your work as well. You see what's going on in culture right now, and then all the science to prove it. When did you start working out, like lifting weights?

[Nils Behrens] (6:20 - 7:12)
Lifting weights, I would say it's approximately 12 years ago, or something like that, but never so ambitious like I do it right now. Because for me it was always just to, I always said I want to look good naked, but due to the fact that I'm running a lot, it's just to have some muscles but not really a lot of muscles. Now I would say my ambition to really gain more muscles just started I would say a year ago, maybe two, something like that.

Now I really see by always having heavier weights, so normally I'm trying not to stick to the same weight more or less, at least on one exercise I'm trying to go one up every time when I'm training. So I see the improvement and I see that I'm gaining more now.

[Arie Boomsma] (7:12 - 7:13)
Wonderful.

[Nils Behrens] (7:13 - 7:30)
Yeah, it is really motivating right now, and this is what I really like about it. My daughter used to say that for the amount of time you're spending on training, you must look much more sportier. I know.

[Arie Boomsma] (7:30 - 7:34)
You're fit and you're slim. That's good. It's the foundation.

[Nils Behrens] (7:34 - 7:47)
It's never too late. It's never too late. So many people say they want to live a healthier life, but they often fail.

Why is it so hard? And what makes your approach in your books different from other self-help guides?

[Arie Boomsma] (7:47 - 8:49)
Yeah, I think for most of us our lives these days are full of priorities already. We have so many things we have to do and we want to do and we can do, and then all of a sudden this new priority, usually something to do with health, like eating better or working out more, sleeping differently. And this new priority, it needs to come sort of shoved in between all those existing priorities already, and there's no room for it.

So on motivation and adrenaline, we stick to it maybe a few weeks, a few months, but then life passes us again and there it goes. I think that makes it really hard. And also I think people aim too high.

For instance, they have never really run or ran, and they say, I'm going to run a marathon. I'm going to go to the gym six days a week. And now there are no days.

It's too big of a difference. So I think people aim too high, and it's just not something that's reasonable within their lives as they live it right now.

[Nils Behrens] (8:50 - 9:55)
Definitely. I totally understand what you mean, and it is so funny because we are recording the podcast right now, but I have recorded two episodes today already, and one of them was about the Wim Hof Method from your country. And I've met Wim several years ago, I think seven, eight years ago, something like that, and since then I'm just showering in cold.

But what I'm not doing at the moment on a regular basis is his breeze technique. I really like his breeze technique, but I'm not doing it at the moment regularly. I used to do it, but now I started to start my day with a meditation.

For me, it is now a kind of, let's say, conflict because even taking the time every day for the meditation means you have to stand up a little bit earlier. And now I'm so motivated after this podcast interview to going back to the Wim Hof routine and starting my day with the breeze technique. But honestly, I doubted that I can spend my time for both of it.

[Arie Boomsma] (9:55 - 11:07)
It's so hard because I think when it comes to sticking to something that you want to do, of course, you have this goal, what do you want to do? And then there's behavior, like the breathing. But there's also the surroundings, like our lives around it.

And a lot of times we forget to change or make changes in this life. For instance, if you want to do the breathing in the morning and you don't go to bed early, it's going to be hard to stick. And I think the challenge for all of us is that if we can make small changes in the surroundings, in our lives, to make some stuff fit.

And I really believe in daily routines. A lot of people say, I'll do it on Monday and on Wednesday and once in the weekend. But then you forget Wednesday or a child is sick or there's always something you're going to miss a day.

And then all of a sudden the whole week is gone. So every day is easier a lot of times. And for instance, for the example of breathing, if you do the entire Wim Hof method, it's 15-20 minutes maybe, depending on how long your retention is.

[Nils Behrens] (11:07 - 11:11)
Yeah, definitely. But I would say 12-15 minutes I need always.

[Arie Boomsma] (11:11 - 11:33)
Yeah. And now there's a day that, okay, you're stressed or you have to be somewhere. But even if you do just a minute of breathing, you can still put that check in.

Okay, I did breath work in the morning. And I think I really believe in that type of routine building. Like I want to do it every day.

If I miss a day, it's not a problem because I did it yesterday and I'll do it tomorrow.

[Nils Behrens] (11:34 - 13:01)
And it's so interesting because on the same conference where I met Wim Hof, I also met the guy who invented the seven-minute training. You probably have heard of it. So it was just a coincidence.

He was at dinner sitting next to me and then I said, hey, it's unbelievable I'm training to your program for so many years already. And then after that I was really motivated to do it again. And so I started and I did it for two years every single day, the seven minutes, two years.

And I was really – I was on a festival and it was so ridiculous because there was no place on the festival to do it, but I had to do it. And so I did it behind the toilet towers. And the same I was running early in the morning in Paris and then I just realized that I'm a little bit short on time and so I did it in front of the Eiffel Tower.

And so I really had some funny places where I did my seven-minute training, but I did it every day. And then after two years I had an accident with my bicycle and I broke some ribs and something else. And so I wasn't allowed to do any sports and so I stopped.

And now due to the fact that I have now already a track record of two years, I'm not motivated at the moment to start again because I have the feeling the track record to break the record is so hard that I haven't started yet again.

[Arie Boomsma] (13:02 - 13:07)
Oh, yeah, so hard. You probably know the book by James Clear, Atomic Habits.

[Nils Behrens] (13:07 - 13:07)
Yes.

[Arie Boomsma] (13:08 - 13:46)
And he has this wonderful example. It's by an author named Jacob Ries. He's a Scandinavian author.

And he has the example of a stonecutter. And it's the theme of the book because he says the stonecutter, if I don't know anymore, I go to the stonecutter and I watch him and I see him hit the rock over and over again and maybe a 99th or a 100th blow the rock splits. And then Jacob Ries says, and I know it's not that one blow but all the blows before that made it split.

And that's a wonderful metaphor for building routines and doing stuff daily.

[Nils Behrens] (13:46 - 13:52)
Yeah. So you mentioned in your book that routines are more reliable partners in your everyday life than motivation.

[Arie Boomsma] (13:52 - 13:53)
Yes.

[Nils Behrens] (13:53 - 13:56)
So have you experienced that also for yourself?

[Arie Boomsma] (13:56 - 14:06)
Yeah, because I love when we talked about the Rocky movies, everybody that loves the Rocky movies, when you hear Eye of the Tiger, it's like, okay, here I go, motivation.

[Nils Behrens] (14:06 - 14:15)
Which is funny that this was just the music from Number 3. So we all think that it is all the time, but it's just the music from Number 3.

[Arie Boomsma] (14:15 - 14:16)
It was most famous.

[Nils Behrens] (14:16 - 14:17)
Yeah, it is, definitely.

[Arie Boomsma] (14:18 - 14:46)
And also you can watch certain videos of people training or doing certain exercises and you think, yes, here we go. And it really gives you a good motivation. But motivation comes and goes.

So one day it will be there and the next day it won't. And for the people that just drive on motivation, what are they going to do when it's not there during the day? And I think if you build routines daily and you just want to put that check with, okay, I did it daily, that's something I can lean on.

[Nils Behrens] (14:46 - 15:01)
I really believe in strikes. I really believe in strikes. So this is for me the biggest motivation.

And this was also the biggest motivation for the seven-minute training. Yeah, of course. Because strikes are very motivating.

[Arie Boomsma] (15:01 - 15:20)
Oh, so nice. Because if you say I want to move daily, sometimes it will be a training in the gym for an hour, sometimes it will be a seven-minute training at home, and if today it's going to be tough, okay, I'll walk to the first car in the street and back and I'll still put that check because I did a little movement. Oh, it's so satisfactory.

[Nils Behrens] (15:22 - 16:26)
So I had an interview some months ago and I took it over in many of my presentations right now. It's the idea of making one push-up a day. Because when you are already started to do a push-up, one push-up a day isn't saving your life or health or anything.

But when you're starting to do one push-up, most of the people don't stop, do more. Sometimes you're maybe in a bad condition. Maybe you have a hangover or haven't had enough sleep or maybe you don't feel that well.

Then you make maybe ten. But normally you make, I don't know, an average of maybe 40 or something like that. But when you say, Ari, just do one push-up a day.

So have a strike with one push-up a day and then you started just to have one, so you make maybe 100 or 200, I don't know. But nevertheless, you can check every day, say, I've done one. Yeah, so nice.

Good. So let's talk about the basics, sleep, nutrition, movement. Why is it so important for the first to stabilize these pillars before we focus on more complex goals?

[Arie Boomsma] (16:27 - 17:16)
So I think it's the foundation. You sleep well, you eat well, you move well, you manage your stress. I think those four.

And we live in a time of quick fixes and shortcuts. So people, you know, they want the quick way there. They want the six-pack but not to do the work.

And a lot of times people really run after all the trends. For instance, pre-workouts with a lot of caffeine. Like they don't eat well, they don't sleep well, but they take the pre-workout and here they go.

And I think it's building on like loose grounds. But if you build a solid foundation of the healthy pillars of sleep, movement, and stress management, and nutrition, then you can build. And then you can start tweaking and use supplements.

And then it starts to work and to optimize your health. But the foundation needs to be there.

[Nils Behrens] (17:16 - 17:26)
It is so interesting because what I brought here for you is nicotinamide riboside, which is an NAD booster, NAD plus booster.

[Arie Boomsma] (17:26 - 17:35)
What is the NAD? Because I read about this new supplement and I thought, hey, that's interesting also for me and my age. But what is the NAD exactly?

[Nils Behrens] (17:35 - 19:41)
So the NAD, so I'm always explaining it like this because when you have your mitochondrial system, so this is where your energy is produced. And to produce the energy when you see it as a kind of power plant, then you need something like a fuel to put inside. So an NAD plus is what is burned inside.

The problem is with NAD plus that when you imagine it as a kind of oven, then the wood you would like to put into the oven is too big. It's like a whole tree. So you can't put the whole tree into an oven.

You have to cut it before. And this is the reason why there are two other, let's say, pre-NAD plus supplements. So when you're taking NAD plus, it won't go into your cells.

But when you're taking either nicotinamide riboside or NMN, this is the one which David Sinclair is promoting very much, then it is possible that it goes into your cells. Then it will be converted into NAD plus, and afterwards you can produce energy. And the thing is that we, with our 50 years old, we have just 50% of the NAD plus level as 30 years old have.

This is the reason why you're losing some energy when you're getting older. And this is the reason why people are now so bullish to taking this kind of supplements to produce more energy or have the same energy level like you have in your 30s. And the thing, like you said, what is the foundation?

Because at the end, when your mitochondrial system is not working well, then it is really useless to put good fuel inside. Because when you have a broken oven, you have a broken oven. Then you can have the best wood in the world.

It's not going to work. It doesn't work efficiently, and this is the reason why it is. Yeah, I brought you one.

[Arie Boomsma] (19:41 - 19:43)
Yeah, nice. Thank you.

[Nils Behrens] (19:43 - 19:54)
Yeah.

Let's come back to the routines. When you would say the top three routines that you have had in your life, what had the biggest impact, you would say?

[Arie Boomsma] (19:55 - 20:22)
If it would have to be three, because they come and go, you probably do the same thing. You test things and they go with you for a few months or a few years, and then maybe you change it again. But the three that are most consistent for me are sleeping in a rhythm, like a steady rhythm, same time to go to bed, same time to get up every day, daily movement, and meditation.

I think those three.

[Nils Behrens] (20:23 - 20:24)
Really? You're meditating every day?

[Arie Boomsma] (20:24 - 21:24)
Yeah. But that's also what we talked about before. I aim to meditate 10 to 20 minutes in the morning, and a lot of times it's only eight or two even.

But the aim is there, and I change my meditation around. For instance, now I'm doing a breath meditation where I just sit down. I have a spot in the house.

It's always there. I don't want to do it in bed, or I don't want to do it… I have to see the spot and know, okay, this is my appointment with me.

I sit there and I meditate, and I stay quiet, and I breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth, and the thoughts come like a carousel. They present themselves, and I think, okay, thought, okay, back to the breath. New thought, okay, back to the breath.

Sometimes I go on this train of thoughts a bit, and I notice, and it's like, okay, back to the breath. That's all it is.

[Nils Behrens] (21:24 - 21:41)
It's so interesting. I have more or less the same, and I don't call it a carousel, I call it clouds. It's really like clouds in the sky, and you see that you're following a cloud, and you're following it, and then you stop, stop, come back where you are, and then there's another cloud.

[Arie Boomsma] (21:41 - 22:09)
Don't you feel like it translates so well to everyday life when something happens and you feel an emotion or something with it, and meditation kind of trains me in not reacting right away. So there's a thought. I don't have to do anything with it.

Back to the breath. And the nature is more, there's a thought. Oh, I have to react.

I have to do something. I have to. So it's nice to train yourself in that sense.

[Nils Behrens] (22:09 - 23:06)
It is, and I just also get a very interesting hint from the person, from the Wim Hof trainer, because what I've realized, when I really would like to have this peace of mind, when I really want to meditate and just be and not think, I must say that I have had it for the longest time always when I'm sitting in the ice bath. And it's so interesting, and he said, try to feel yourself again in the ice bath, and then you will see that your meditation improves. Wow.

And I just learned it today, so I will test it tomorrow, and I will tell you. But I'm pretty sure that this will work, because very often when you put yourself in a certain state of mind, that it helps you. And when you have experienced this really peace of mind in this situation, then it could be helpful to come back into this situation.

[Arie Boomsma] (23:07 - 23:32)
Yeah, nice. I really believe that. And also, when you talk about ice baths, I love it.

Also overcoming the hesitance, like you stand there and you see it and it's cold, and you know it's going to be cold. And then to do it anyway, it's such a nice way to train yourself to overcome obstacles, to overcome stress, to overcome fear. It's a very nice metaphor.

[Nils Behrens] (23:33 - 24:17)
It is, it is definitely. And definitely, especially when you have your ice bucket outside and when you even have snow, and maybe the surface is already ice and everything, and then you say, it is so ridiculous to go into the water right now. And when you're then sitting in there, and after, I would say, mostly after 90 seconds, you're getting used to it.

And then you're going down, and then you feel so peaceful. And what I really like about it is after approximately one hour, so not sitting for one hour in the ice bucket for sure, so I mean when you finish it after three minutes, five minutes, something like that. And then one hour later, you have such a good mood.

So it is so unbelievable how uplifting it is.

[Arie Boomsma] (24:18 - 24:36)
Yeah, it's the most wonderful thing to see when people do it the first time. First, they have this feeling of they conquered something, and they're proud of themselves. But then after a while, when the body starts heating up again, and just every cell is alive, and they feel so good.

It's nice to see.

[Nils Behrens] (24:36 - 25:03)
It feels so good. I have to stop to talk about it, because otherwise I definitely have to do it today, but I don't think we have the opportunity to do it. So uplifting for your mood might be also when I'm trying to pronounce the name of your book.

So in your book, Training for Hit Living, Yeah, nice. you focus a lot on aging and vitality. So first of all, what does the title mean?

Second, what does a good aging mean to you?

[Arie Boomsma] (25:04 - 25:07)
Training for Hit Living is like training for life.

[Nils Behrens] (25:08 - 25:09)
Ah, so training for life.

[Arie Boomsma] (25:09 - 27:10)
Yeah. My dad is 82, and my mother as well. My dad had a brain hemorrhage, like a bleeding in the brain.

He was in the hospital, and he got really weak, really weak. So weak that my daughter, who was five at the time, ran towards him a few weeks later, and usually he would just pick her up and hug her. And he looked at me, and he was like, I don't know if I can, but she kept running, and he picked her up, and they fell.

Oh. And he turned, so she didn't get hurt, he did. But he got so weak, and at that moment, he got up and he said, I have to get strong again.

And we started training together, weightlifting, and slowly but steadily he got stronger and more confident, and we worked on daily moves, like sitting up and down from a chair, lifting a plate of weight above his head, tying his own shoelaces, walking with kettlebells like they're bags, just regular stuff, but he got so much stronger, so much more confident. And now, a few years later, he's so much more vital and energetic again. And my mom and he, they trained together with me, and they also trained with a group of 70-plus people every once in a while, so twice a week they train, they get stronger, they get more energetic, and also more stable.

For instance, he was in the metro in Amsterdam, and he tripped, but he didn't fall. So he called me up, he said, I tripped, I didn't fall. He's like, my core stability is so much better.

So it's really, they get their quality of life back. And I saw this, and I knew it from the science and the publications, but I thought I have to write a book about it, like training methods, what can you do to age well, not to get as old as you can, but to stay good as long as you can. Yeah, definitely.

[Nils Behrens] (27:11 - 28:03)
This is what I really like about it, because I have the feeling sometimes that this whole longevity movement goes into a freak show in a way, so maybe because of Brian Johnson and people like him, and that's not what it's all about. Because first of all, you want to stay healthy as long as possible, not to live as long as possible, but healthy as long as possible. And everything you do today to stay healthy as long as possible helps you also to feel better right now, because lifting weights right now makes you more stable, more confident, more active in your daily life.

And so it helps you to stay healthy longer, but it also helps you today. And this is what I like about it, and this is what is for me so important to bring the whole longevity movement out of the freak show.

[Arie Boomsma] (28:04 - 28:06)
Yeah, definitely. I like the work of Peter Atiyah.

[Nils Behrens] (28:06 - 28:06)
Yeah.

[Arie Boomsma] (28:08 - 28:15)
Outlive is his book, it's wonderful. But he makes a difference between lifespan and healthspan.

[Nils Behrens] (28:16 - 28:16)
Yeah.

[Arie Boomsma] (28:16 - 28:19)
Lifespan is just age, it's just years.

[Nils Behrens] (28:20 - 28:23)
Lifespan is pretty clearly defined. So there's a date of birth and date of death.

[Arie Boomsma] (28:23 - 28:24)
Yeah.

[Nils Behrens] (28:24 - 28:25)
So it's pretty easy.

[Arie Boomsma] (28:25 - 28:31)
Extended. But the healthspan, you know, how do you stay well? It's wonderful, wonderful knowledge.

Yeah.

[Nils Behrens] (28:32 - 28:50)
No, I totally agree. I totally agree. And this is what I like about it, and this is also where my motivation came from.

And all the time when I'm listening to his podcast or his also, even when you're just following him on Instagram, it's really interesting to follow the snippets he is telling.

[Arie Boomsma] (28:52 - 28:54)
About VO2 max and about...

[Nils Behrens] (28:54 - 28:55)
Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Arie Boomsma] (28:55 - 28:57)
And this is really... Centennial Decathlon. Yeah.

[Nils Behrens] (28:58 - 29:24)
And especially when you say that, also this grip strength, for example. So I just wrote an article about it, about grip strength, because some people understood it wrong, in the wrong way, because they said, okay, grip strength, grip strength, I have to train my grip strength. I said, no, no, it's just an indicator, because normally when you have a good grip strength, then it is very likely that you are overall in good shape.

[Arie Boomsma] (29:24 - 29:24)
Yeah.

[Nils Behrens] (29:25 - 29:28)
But it doesn't help your longevity just to train your grip strength.

[Arie Boomsma] (29:28 - 29:29)
Just only the grip. No.

[Nils Behrens] (29:30 - 29:42)
No. Okay. So you say it's not about staying young, but it's about aging strong.

So what would you say, what kind of training can support us the most?

[Arie Boomsma] (29:42 - 30:37)
I think just a regular strength training. Like a lot of times with the elderly, we kind of shove them to the margins of our society, like you're done, you're finished, you stop working, and you just die. And I think that's a waste, because there's so much knowledge there, and people get older, so they need to stay well.

And so strength training, I think, is the most intricate part of aging well. And just to see that the movements that we use in everyday life, sitting up, standing down, sitting up from the bed, standing up from the floor, walking around with bags or suitcases, picking up a grandchild, that those movements are the same movements we use in the gym. A squat, sitting down.

A lunge, tying your shoelaces. Putting something in a cupboard is a shoulder press.

[Nils Behrens] (30:38 - 30:38)
Yeah.

[Arie Boomsma] (30:38 - 30:58)
A deadlift or a squat you can use to pick something up from the floor. Running around with bags is a farmer's carry. So all the movements from the gym are everyday movements in resistance.

So I think it's wonderful for the elderly to see, okay, how can we train the movements we need in everyday life? And it's very possible.

[Nils Behrens] (30:59 - 31:11)
Everyday is a word you said already. So you are believing in doing something everyday. When you're following all the people which are telling you something about training, they're saying you need rest days.

[Arie Boomsma] (31:11 - 31:11)
Yeah.

[Nils Behrens] (31:11 - 31:13)
So what about rest days? Yeah.

[Arie Boomsma] (31:13 - 32:02)
Oh, so valuable. But I think you don't have to... You can train everyday, even if you put the emphasis on different groups of the body, for instance.

For instance, my own training is... The focus today was on legs. Tomorrow it will be back.

The day after I will do only conditioning training. So no strength training, but just VO2 max or Norwegian 4x4, that type of training. Then the day after might be just a mobility training, yoga, Pilates or mobility movements.

And then the fourth day might be chest and shoulders. So I train everyday, but I don't put the stress of iron, of strength training on the body everyday.

[Nils Behrens] (32:03 - 32:32)
Today was also my leg day. And honestly, first of all, I don't like leg days. But secondly, it's also a little bit, I would say, disappointing in a way because you're looking normally when you're doing upper body training.

Afterwards, you're looking really, really good in the mirror. And you have your leg day. You come back from the gym, so you're looking at yourself in the mirror.

It's a little bit disappointing. But the muscle ache is stronger usually.

[Arie Boomsma] (32:32 - 32:33)
Definitely.

[Nils Behrens] (32:33 - 32:39)
Definitely. Also for me, it's a day where I sweat the most because the muscles are so big.

[Arie Boomsma] (32:41 - 32:47)
Split squats and Bulgarian split squats and lunges and your hamstrings are just firing up.

[Nils Behrens] (32:47 - 32:47)
Yeah.

[Arie Boomsma] (32:48 - 32:48)
I love it.

[Nils Behrens] (32:49 - 33:07)
Definitely.

And it was a little bit late. I'm doing everything in Berlin with my bicycle. And you definitely see when you have your leg day early in the morning and then you are going on your bicycle and then you're also a little bit late.

It is pretty hard. It is pretty hard after leg day. So, yeah.

But everyday movement, I understand it.

[Arie Boomsma] (33:07 - 33:36)
That's a wonderful example because I think in everyday movement, like when you're saying you ride your bike, a lot of people will say, okay, I take the car or I take a metro or a bus and they miss so much daily movement. Even if you do take the car, you can park very far from the door that you have to be so you can walk a little bit. In our society where everything is convenience, it's so important to think, okay, how can I make sure I get extra movement in my daily life?

It's a wonderful challenge.

[Nils Behrens] (33:37 - 34:19)
Yeah. Really interesting because just before we met here, I went to the library here in Berlin and there was a blood donation day. And then I've seen after I finished my – after I donated my blood, I've seen that there's a shortcut to the place where I parked my bike, but it looks a little bit like the emergency escape.

But it was open. It was open. Nevertheless, I could imagine that when I walked through it, that someone would shout at me and saying, hey, it's not allowed, but I don't know.

And then I also thought about it and say, hey, do you really want to – don't want to have this extra movement? And so I decided to go the other way around.

[Arie Boomsma] (34:20 - 34:20)
The long way.

[Nils Behrens] (34:21 - 34:37)
The long way. But honestly, why do we do these shortcuts all the time when we don't have this time pressure? And especially, honestly, after donating blood, it's maybe not such a bad idea to walk a little bit before you start cycling.

[Arie Boomsma] (34:37 - 35:16)
Yeah. But I think we're programmed like evolutionary to always choose the road of least resistance. Like if you don't make the appointment with yourself, I always use the steps.

And you're in the airport or in the metro station and you see the regular steps in the escalator. If you don't think about it, you'll take the escalator. But if you have that appointment with yourself, that this is my rule, I take the steps always.

And I always take the elevator and people say, oh yeah, but I work on the 12th floor. Okay, maybe you can make the appointment. I always take the steps to the third floor and then I'll take the elevator.

[Nils Behrens] (35:16 - 35:40)
I have made an agreement because we are on the – our tower at Sunday has 10 floors and I made an agreement with our CEO to always take the stairs. And I don't know if he's still doing it, but I'm doing it. And it's good, it's good.

So 10 floors are really, really long. It's a workout. It's a workout.

It's a workout in a way, but nevertheless.

[Arie Boomsma] (35:40 - 35:57)
That's also piety with the exercise snacks, Andy Galpin. Several times a day, short movement bursts, like run up the stairs in the hallway or do some air squats 10 times. If you spread it out through the day, the volume altogether is quite something.

[Nils Behrens] (35:58 - 36:12)
This is also what is really, I would say in your books, you have a very pragmatic tone. So, and why do you think that this pragmatism is something missing in our world today?

[Arie Boomsma] (36:14 - 37:39)
I think because in fitness, a lot of organizations, a lot of brands, a lot of people are trying to sell a quick fix and try to sell quick fixes. You need new trends. You need the newest science.

You need – and it makes it very hard for people to say, okay, this is my path because the newest theory on food is no carbs. Okay, everybody goes. And I think when you make it simple, when you say, okay, let's sleep well, we go to bed at 10 and we get up at 6 every day, also in the weekend, we eat mainly vegetables, not too much meat, not too much fish, but every once in a while, not too much processed foods, simple.

And we move every day. I think that's three really basic things. You make it really simple and I think for most people it's like, ah, okay, so I don't have to – Run a marathon.

Yeah, exactly. And I think people think it needs to be complicated in order to be successful. So if you give me this theory and it's really science there and science this and this is the new way, okay, it needs to be complicated, then it will work.

But I think making things basic and making things simple is like low-hanging fruits. People can pluck it easier.

[Nils Behrens] (37:40 - 37:59)
Definitely, definitely. I'm strongly believing in that because from my point of view, when you – so let's assume we really want to have this longevity game and we want to also become 120. So that means for us it's another 70 years.

So that's more years that we have lived on this life.

[Arie Boomsma] (37:59 - 38:00)
We're not even mid-lifers.

[Nils Behrens] (38:00 - 39:31)
We're not even mid-lifers then. No, not even then, no. So when you say, okay, you can achieve the 120 years, but you can only achieve it if you stick to the healthy habits.

Then the healthy habits have to fit to you because at the end when you have to do something that you hate for the next 70 years, I don't want to become 120 if I hate it. But honestly at the moment I love cycling. I love going to the gym.

I love running. I also prefer to have healthy food instead of processed food. So these are things I really like.

And also what you say about the sleep, I really now change my mind in terms of – especially on Friday evening very often when I'm staying at home, I have the feeling, okay, I can't go to bed at 10 o'clock because it's weekend. I have to. I have to stay awake longer.

But honestly I now see how much more valuable the time is when you have it in the morning, at 6 o'clock in the morning. And honestly when you're going for – I have a friend of mine, sometimes you go on a very early bike ride at 6 o'clock in the morning and seeing how the day starts and the sun is rising. Priceless.

Much better than, I don't know, spending my time from 10 to midnight watching Netflix. Yeah.

[Arie Boomsma] (39:32 - 39:48)
Well, that's the thing. And I think we've all done it. But we've all done it so many times that it's also interchangeable.

Like it's nothing new. It's no new experience. It doesn't feed you.

And I think the moments in the morning when you go to bed early and you have young kids.

[Nils Behrens] (39:48 - 39:50)
No, no, no. She's 23.

[Arie Boomsma] (39:50 - 39:52)
Oh, 23. Nice also.

[Nils Behrens] (39:52 - 39:54)
Yeah, it's pretty good. It's pretty good.

[Arie Boomsma] (39:54 - 40:03)
My kids – I was late starting with kids and my kids are really young. So I know 6, 6.30 they will be awake anyway. So it's also pragmatic.

[Nils Behrens] (40:04 - 40:04)
Yes.

[Arie Boomsma] (40:05 - 40:30)
But I just think you get so much back for energy. And I think for me that's one of the main reasons to focus on my health because I want to say yes to my kids. Like if I come home after a long days of work and they say, Dad, I don't want to say, Oh, wait, I have to lay down.

No, I want to say, Yes, let's go. And that's sleep, movement, food. You can't miss it.

[Nils Behrens] (40:31 - 40:48)
It's really interesting that you say that you're also changing some things. And I'm pretty sure that doing this experience with your routines and also you have your program as a coach and as an author. So is there anything you would do differently inside?

[Arie Boomsma] (40:49 - 41:42)
I have made quite a few mistakes. So, yes. But also I think the whole game is to try and make errors, to change.

Maybe I would have started with, I started with like when I was quite young, I already tried creatine and proteins. And I think those things are wonderful and I use them to optimize now quite often. But I think when you're young, it's really easy to just use food and sleep and smart training and schedules and programming to make progression.

And I think I might have started just a little bit too soon with external help.

[Nils Behrens] (41:42 - 41:42)
Really?

[Arie Boomsma] (41:43 - 41:43)
Yeah.

[Nils Behrens] (41:43 - 41:43)
Okay.

[Arie Boomsma] (41:44 - 41:53)
That might be one thing. But if I think about it longer, there are quite a few things probably that I would do different now at least. Yeah.

[Nils Behrens] (41:54 - 41:58)
I would say I just would have started with my strength training earlier.

[Arie Boomsma] (41:58 - 41:58)
Earlier.

[Nils Behrens] (41:59 - 42:21)
Yeah. So this is something. And also more efficient in a way because I've seen that I've done more or less the same routine and the same weight more or less all the time.

So it was quite comfortable to do it. So I don't have any motivation or program to going to the gym because it was so easy after a while.

[Arie Boomsma] (42:21 - 42:21)
Yeah.

[Nils Behrens] (42:21 - 42:32)
So because you have to do three times 10 reps with this weight, easy. Easy and boring. Yeah.

Easy and boring in a way but also not really efficient.

[Arie Boomsma] (42:32 - 43:32)
And I think also that's probably what people forget a lot of times that we think, okay, I have to work out because I want to lose weight or I want to get stronger. And they go to the gym and they put this pin in the machine and they do 10 reps and the pin in this machine and 10 reps. And there's no thought behind it because if we start thinking about our lives like a professional athlete.

A professional athlete knows why they have to train and what they have to train for. And we often don't ask ourselves the question anymore of what does my life, my work, my private situation need in order to be lived in an optimal way and then to train for that. That's wonderful.

They want to be strong. I sit a lot? Okay, then I have to compensate.

I have a lot of stress? Okay, then I have to… You know, it's so nice to think about your life as if you're an athlete and see how can sports and living healthy support my life instead of it being like a necessity and, you know, just…

It doesn't work that way.

[Nils Behrens] (43:33 - 43:42)
So at the end, you have to find your own way. And how would you say have you found your balance between, I would say, this discipline and this flexibility?

[Arie Boomsma] (43:43 - 44:15)
Yeah. I think there's, you know, Jocko Willink. He's like the old marine or a Navy SEAL in America and he always says discipline is freedom.

Okay. And it sounds rough, but I think it's true because in discipline is rhythm. Like for me, it doesn't feel like, oh, you have to.

You have to. I have two brothers that are addicted to drugs and alcohol. Oh, really?

And they're both sober now for 12 years. It's wonderful.

[Nils Behrens] (44:15 - 44:16)
Yeah.

[Arie Boomsma] (44:16 - 45:30)
But it was a life of sorrow and of pain and of misery. And to see when they picked up sports, attending AA meetings, like the structure and the discipline of the routines and it made them happier and productive and safer. So I've seen in many ways when it's in sports, professional sports or my family or in other senses, the importance of rhythm and the freedom it gives to make your own choices, to have the energy, to say no or yes to things.

All of those things are a gift from structure and routines. So for me, the discipline is the freedom and the flexibility is in the fact that I know I'll do it. I did it yesterday.

I will do it tomorrow. If I don't do it today, it's not a problem. So it's not – that's where it's flexible.

It's not you have to, you have to, and otherwise I don't feel good about myself. No, it's a gift and it gives me back so much to live my life in the sense that I have the energy to do things, to love, to be attentive, to be alert, to be strong, to live.

[Nils Behrens] (45:31 - 46:22)
Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. In my last office, I had a pull-up bar. And sometimes when I really have the feeling that I, I don't know, I haven't done enough or I haven't moved enough or I just want to do, I don't know, doing something else because I was sitting for such a long time in front of the computer or something like that, I really just loved it and go to the pull-up bar and even if I just made, I don't know, five pull-ups or something like that, you feel the effect directly afterwards because it activates so many muscles in your body and, yeah.

It's like a switch. It's like a switch. So coming to the switch, let's talk about the importance of mental health.

So how have you found your way to mental health? Especially, I would say, you as a TV presenter, you're a public person. I could imagine that isn't that easy all the time.

[Arie Boomsma] (46:23 - 47:41)
It isn't. And for me, meditation is a very important tool in it to train myself not to act on the impulse but to take time between what I see, what I feel, and how I react. That's an important thing. I've used therapy with a therapist just to talk about my fears, my insecurities, my obstacles in life.

I really make set appointments with my wife to talk together about life and the things coming at us and what's going well, what can be better. And I also ask the people in my company, the work colleagues, every year I send them an email and say, what are my blind spots? What are the things I'm not good at and I don't see them apparently, so can you give me feedback on my weaknesses?

It's a very hard thing to do because the reaction when you get an email and you see these points, you go, no, that's not. Oh, wait. If you experience it that way, it's probably right.

So those are four things that I try to build in my structure.

[Nils Behrens] (47:41 - 49:49)
That's pretty good. I had it with my team, I don't know, we were on after-work beer some years ago and so sometimes, how would you say it, alcohol is losing the tongue. And then they just told me that I'm used to taking the same frame, I'm saying the same frame very often, so ignoring often.

And I said, I've never heard me saying something like that because it wasn't so familiar at all. So when they told me, you're saying all the time this, I said, no way. And then afterwards, I'm just explaining something to somebody and then I said immediately, I did it.

So it was such a blind spot. It was unbelievable. It was really unbelievable.

Did you change it? I don't know. I'm not having the same team anymore.

But I think yes, I think yes, because very often I realize that I'm saying it and so yes, I think I changed it. Maybe I have something else because interestingly the company I was working before, they're just saying that I'm using one word very often, very often. It was interesting because it was sensational.

And I said, how often could I use the word sensational? Sensational, sensational. So because normally it's not a word you can use that often in your daily life, but it seems to be that.

Unless you're really enthusiastic. It seems to be that I'm using it a lot. Okay, yeah, but anyhow.

So you often shifted readers to actively engage with life. So have you always lived this way or was there a moment that you shifted your perspective?

[Arie Boomsma] (49:50 - 50:38)
I think I've always lived this way, but now it's more channeled towards, it's more clear to me. I think as a kid I was often bored with situations and started to look for adrenaline or doing bad stuff or just trying to get this feedback from life, exploring new areas. And now I've channeled it more towards life optimization.

Now I know I want to get new knowledge, new experiences, try new things, get better at stuff because I know the self-development is so important and it gives me a lot of satisfaction to do it that way. Yeah. Yeah.

[Nils Behrens] (50:39 - 50:56)
It also changed your mind in a way, I think, because when you're really so focused on these, let's say, healthy routines and also eating well and everything. So after I had now today my blood donation, I got a bucket full of sweets.

[Arie Boomsma] (50:56 - 50:57)
Oh, yeah.

[Nils Behrens] (50:57 - 51:32)
And sweets I really loved in my past life and I don't want to be rude in not taking it, but I looked at it and I said it was pure sugar. And so when I entered the studio I said, hey, you have been so kind to me all the time, I have a little present for you. That's how it goes, yeah.

Okay, in a way you have to say, okay, I'm poisoned and maybe in a way with the sugar, but anyhow it seems to me they like it.

[Arie Boomsma] (51:32 - 52:07)
And we know more too. So for instance, as a kid I loved candy and I would just get it. Or when I was an adult, like experimenting with life, using drugs and trying stuff.

So I think it's also the exploring and starting to know more. At one point you think, okay, this is not serving me. And this is, so now I make better choices.

And when I do choose sweets or less nutritional stuff, I know and I also know how to compensate. So I think that's a big difference.

[Nils Behrens] (52:08 - 52:15)
Have you observed that your health-promoting routine had also an effect on your relationship or social life?

[Arie Boomsma] (52:16 - 53:18)
Yeah, definitely. Especially in the 20s, going out to clubs and parties, when that stopped you lose friends. Like some friends did keep going into that.

Or even when they're parents, they're still like, okay, put the kids with a nanny and we'll go party. So that changed. Also I notice when you're visible with health, a lot of times people already expect that you will judge them.

For instance, when they're a little bit too heavy and they'll say, oh yeah, I need to go to the gym before they say anything. Or you probably never eat this. So there's so much judgment when it comes to food or appearance.

So that really changed. I always try to be accessible and always try to say when it comes to health, you have to be invited to the conversation. You don't want to be like an evangelist.

[Nils Behrens] (53:19 - 53:28)
Not like a single vegan. So how can you identify a vegan? He will tell you that he's vegan.

Yeah.

[Arie Boomsma] (53:29 - 53:54)
So that changed, I think, in their relationships. But I think it also presents the challenge as well to always make stuff accessible, always go from fun. Like living like this will give you so much.

It's not a sacrifice. It's fun. You get energy.

You get to do stuff. You get to explore and be strong. So much positives from it.

But it did change, yes.

[Nils Behrens] (53:55 - 54:29)
So my personal hack sometimes when I'm going on an event and I don't want to drink any alcohol and it's like a cocktail party or something like that, I'm always taking the glass of champagne. But I'm not drinking it. But it's much better to hold the glass of champagne instead of having a glass of water because you're not drinking.

So you're starting some discussions. And I'm sometimes not in the mood to have the discussion. And so I prefer to have the glass of champagne.

Exactly. You're still drinking?

[Arie Boomsma] (54:29 - 54:32)
You're still drinking, Niels? How many is that?

[Nils Behrens] (54:33 - 54:38)
So what goals have you set for your own health and fitness in the coming years?

[Arie Boomsma] (54:40 - 54:42)
I want to keep up with my kids.

[Nils Behrens] (54:42 - 54:48)
Okay, that's good. Especially when they're pretty young. So let's see if the next 20 years are safe.

[Arie Boomsma] (54:48 - 54:58)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the goal. And I want to up my VO2max, I think.

[Nils Behrens] (54:59 - 54:59)
You want to?

[Arie Boomsma] (55:00 - 55:01)
Make it better again.

[Nils Behrens] (55:01 - 55:02)
Make it better again.

[Arie Boomsma] (55:02 - 55:28)
How high is it at the moment? I don't know exactly how high it is. But I do notice that I haven't worked on it enough.

In my schedules before, there would always be real VO2max training, like the Peter Atiyah stuff. And now I do quite a bit of endurance, but I don't do many sprints. So I have to, first of all, test it again, so I know the marker.

And then in the next few years, I want to see, okay, how can I improve it?

[Nils Behrens] (55:28 - 56:23)
Same here. Because due to the fact that I was used to run, let's say, at least four times a week, now I'm more two times a week. So really running.

So I'm running also to the gym, but it's just four minutes. And four minutes back, so a total of eight minutes. I'm cycling every day, but just for transportation.

But I see that having this running routine four times a week is much more beneficial for your VO2max. But on the other hand, I took the time. I'm not running now for strength training.

So that means due to this, I would say in total, I have lose, I think, three points of my VO2max. So I was at 56, and now I'm at 53 right now. So I'm still good, I would say.

Especially in comparison to our age group. And nevertheless, I also see that it's going down.

[Arie Boomsma] (56:24 - 56:27)
You have to work for it harder when you get a little older.

[Nils Behrens] (56:27 - 56:28)
Yeah, definitely.

[Arie Boomsma] (56:29 - 57:12)
There's a real nice study in Norwegian 4x4. It's a VO2max training. And you sit on a bike or a rower.

It has to be steady or a running machine. You can't be outside because it has to be steady. And you run or bike or whatever for four minutes at about 80% of your max.

It needs to be stable. It can't go down or up. Stable.

Four minutes. And then you rest three minutes. And then you do this four times.

So Norwegian 4x4. But it's a nice VO2max booster. It was actually from a study that was done in Norway.

That's why it's called Norwegian 4x4. But that's the one I love.

[Nils Behrens] (57:13 - 57:42)
What I did some years ago now. So in Hamburg we have a river which is perceived as a lake. It is the Alster.

So in the middle it's so. And running around the Alster is 7.5 kilometers. And the 7.5 kilometers. So the goal is to run around in less than 30 minutes, which means you have to run 15 kilometers per hour, which is quite fast.

[Arie Boomsma] (57:42 - 57:43)
Steep. Yeah.

[Nils Behrens] (57:43 - 58:02)
And so I made a test, and I've seen that my lactate barrier was at 14.2 kilometers per hour. Oh. So 14.2. So I was one kilometer too slow.

[Arie Boomsma] (58:02 - 58:02)
Yeah.

[Nils Behrens] (58:03 - 58:37)
So I made something like this training. So really an interval training, but I'm good on high altitude, which was really, really good. And then after six weeks we made a test again, and I reached 15.2. Wow. So that means it was good. And so on the 1st of December some years ago, I don't know exactly how many years ago, but I then passed it with 29 minutes and 48 seconds. So almost 30, but nevertheless it was under 30.

Yeah.

[Arie Boomsma] (58:37 - 58:39)
It's so nice to put goals like that.

[Nils Behrens] (58:39 - 59:04)
Yeah. And measure. Yeah.

Just loving it. I'm just loving it to having goals like this. And this is the same as, for example, in my gym.

I know that the owner of the gym is lifting on the one machine 106, and now I'm at 96. So my goal is to come on the same level as the owner of the gym. You're breathing down his neck.

Only on this one machine, but nevertheless.

[Arie Boomsma] (59:04 - 59:07)
And then when you have that machine, there's another machine.

[Nils Behrens] (59:08 - 59:09)
That's how it works.

[Arie Boomsma] (59:10 - 59:10)
Exactly.

[Nils Behrens] (59:11 - 59:17)
Yeah. So finally, is there one habit you would recommend to everyone to positively change their life?

[Arie Boomsma] (59:17 - 59:46)
Yes, the sleep rhythm. Yeah. I think it's the most valuable.

Of course, strength training and food, it's almost impossible to disconnect them. But the difference in health when people start sleeping in a set rhythm, going to bed at the same time every night and getting up at the same time every morning, the difference in energy is unbelievable. And in health and immune system and all those things, yeah, that's the game changer, I think.

[Nils Behrens] (59:46 - 59:53)
That's the game changer. Yeah. Thank you very much for your time, Ari.

It was very much fun, yes.

[Arie Boomsma] (59:53 - 59:56)
Yeah, it was. I hope you visit me in my podcast as well.

[Nils Behrens] (59:56 - 1:00:06)
Oh, I would love to. Which supplement is for you the most essential? Oh.

Only one.

[Arie Boomsma] (1:00:06 - 1:00:28)
Only one? Oh, so hard. There are a few supplements I've used pretty much all my grown-up life.

Protein, creatine, vitamin D, omega-3, magnesium. And if I have to, if you really force me to choose from those five, I would pick creatine. Interesting.

Yeah.

[Nils Behrens] (1:00:28 - 1:00:28)
Really?

[Arie Boomsma] (1:00:28 - 1:01:13)
Yeah.

I think it's the biggest difference. And for me, vitamin D is very hard to derive from foods, of course. And in our climate, it's also very hard to make it.

But that one set aside, I think creatine, for me, is at least hardest to extract from foods. And I still believe, even though I'm a big fan of supplements, been using them all my life, but I really do believe that fresh foods and diverse foods are the basis of health. So I optimize with supplements.

And I think creatine, for me, is cognitive, muscle, endurance, overall health, most important for me.