Qi Gong in the morning, metabolism test in the afternoon: Longevity at the Posthotel Achenkirch

By Kurt Tropper · 13 September 2026 · Reading time: 6 minutes

Before we get into the diagnostics, let’s take a look at what most guests actually do every day: work out. The gym measures 175 square metres, plus there’s a 150-square-metre yoga lounge and a class room of the same size. The space features everything you’d expect – and what’s often missing in hotels: a squat rack, a bench press and an incline bench, dumbbells ranging from one to thirty kilos, a cable machine and a lat pulldown machine, as well as kettlebells, TRX straps, wall bars and medicine balls. On the cardio side, there’s a Peloton bike, a treadmill, a rowing machine, a cross-trainer and an ergometer.

The weekly programme comprises around 60 hours of exercise, classes and relaxation. This includes HIIT, circuit training, back fitness, Pilates, fascia training, stretching and aqua fitness. Those who prefer to train on their own can book personal training sessions, training sessions or nutritional advice. Outdoors, there’s a calisthenics park, a bouldering wall, tennis and squash courts, a 20-metre pool and the Karwendel mountains.

And afterwards: red light therapy, an infrared cabin, compression boots, vagus nerve stimulation and the Schumann 3D regeneration system. Here, regeneration is not an afterthought but is given equal priority – which is only to be expected from a centre dedicated to longevity.

Alongside this, there are daily yoga, tai chi and qi gong sessions led by Shaolin Master Liang, whilst TCM expert Hu Ji provides treatments on the premises. Two systems, one timetable.

At the start of 2026, the Posthotel opened its Longevity Lab. Spanning 100 square metres, the facility offers uVida metabolic analysis at rest and under stress, InBody body composition analysis, infrared and light therapy, as well as coaching on vitality, sleep quality and mental balance. The facility also includes a biohacking room, its own medical practice and a supplements shop. Andreas Breitfeld, one of the best-known biohacking pioneers in the German-speaking world, and Christoph Schlick from SinnZENTRUM Salzburg were in attendance at the opening weekend.

How a measurement is carried out depends on what you want to know. The resting analysis takes around five minutes: you sit there relaxed and breathe through a mask, whilst your exhaled gases are analysed. This provides insights into your metabolic health and efficiency, your basal metabolic rate, your current stress level and your metabolic flexibility – in other words, how well your body can switch between different energy sources. This last figure is considered the most interesting at the centre.

The exercise test is the same measurement carried out whilst you’re exerting yourself, and this focuses on performance: VO₂max, and derived from this, your personal heart rate and training zones for cardio training. So what you ultimately take away isn’t just a few individual figures, but an assessment of how your metabolism is currently functioning and the intensity ranges at which endurance training makes sense for you.

Those who make use of this service cannot be pigeonholed into a single group. The lab attracts sport-minded individuals who want to optimise their performance and recovery, as well as guests who are already deeply committed to their health. Added to this is a third group that appears to be growing within the centre: people who have previously had nothing to do with longevity and biohacking and are discovering here for the first time how they are doing.

What is remarkable about all this is not so much the equipment as the location in which it is situated. Anyone who introduces a metabolic assessment into a centre that has been working with TCM and Ayurveda for decades must ask themselves what they were missing.

Karl C. Reiter, host at the Posthotel Achenkirch, says that, strictly speaking, nothing was actually missing. It is about a meaningful complement from new technologies and insights. “Many ideas from the longevity movement are, after all, already rooted in ancient health traditions. Today, new measurement techniques and treatment methods are being added, which bring much of this empirical knowledge to light and open up additional therapeutic possibilities.” For him, the lab is therefore not at odds with TCM or Shaolin, but rather a logical further development.

One might expect friction at this point. Reiter sees little of it: in his view, there are not many fundamental contradictions. Many concepts from traditional health systems such as TCM, TEM or Ayurveda are more relevant today than ever, and data can underpin experience and bring to light what was previously perceived mainly through observation.

His response becomes particularly interesting where the two sides diverge. When measured data and experience lead to different recommendations, one should first of all think: ‘Interesting.’ Without immediately agreeing with one side or the other, or denying the validity of either. For him, the optimal recommendation for an individual arises from this synergy – and, above all, through conversation and a close examination of that person’s life situation. After all, a single measurement alone does not tell the whole story.

From the Far Eastern part of the centre, the tone is similarly calm, only with the tables turned. What do they say there to a guest who turns up with test results and expects a training plan? Measurements are a snapshot; they help, but they don’t give the full picture. What counts is your overall well-being: how you sleep, how you breathe, how you really feel.

The most common mistake Western guests make with Qigong is therefore not a lack of discipline, but too much of it. Many view it as purely a fitness activity, wanting to push themselves to the limit or perform perfect movements – and overlook the essential: the interplay of mind, breathing and letting go.

And what can realistically be achieved in a week? Deep relaxation, better sleep, and the release of muscle tension. To bring about a noticeable change in one’s constitution or to alleviate chronic ailments, long-term practice is required. No transformation in five nights – given the promises usually made about longevity, this is almost a provocation.

The most revealing finding from the lab concerns, of all people, those guests who train a great deal anyway. Just because someone does a lot of sport and appears to be in good shape does not mean that their metabolism is functioning optimally.

Time and again, it is found that a very large proportion of ambitious athletes’ training takes place in the anaerobic – that is, very high-intensity – zone. The analysis then reveals high carbohydrate metabolism and a metabolism that functions less efficiently than one might initially expect from a fit person.

The resulting recommendation sounds counterintuitive to those concerned at first: to carry out a larger proportion of their cardio training in Zone 2. In other words, to train at a lower intensity. Rather than making every session as intense as possible, they should focus more specifically on the zones that are actually suitable for them. For ambitious athletes, this is often the real surprise – that greater intensity does not automatically mean a better workout.

It is remarkable how closely this advice mirrors what comes out of the qigong studio. The metabolic analysis tells the ambitious athlete: train at a lower intensity. In the same building, the ambitious qigong student is told: stop trying to push yourself to the limit. Two systems that have nothing to do with one another arrive at the same recommendation for the same person.

At the Posthotel, one thing takes precedence over all others, and it is not measurement. When it comes to optimal health, sleep comes first. No matter how intensively you focus on exercise, nutrition and recovery, the foundation for all of this remains the best possible quality of sleep.

That is why the concept does not stop at the bedroom door. Bedding systems and lighting are all part of it, with the aim of creating the best possible conditions for sleep and recovery and ensuring that the focus on health continues seamlessly into the night. Here, sleep is not just another wellness topic, but a central component of the whole approach.

Anyone who does everything right in training but still isn’t making progress will often find the cause lies precisely there.

In 1918, the Reiter family took over the Posthalterei inn and restaurant; in 1975, it became the Hotel Post, and in 1982, the Posthotel Achenkirch. The decisive turning point came a generation before him: his parents, Karl and Karin Reiter, were among the first hoteliers in Tyrol to focus on wellness, at a time when the term was virtually unknown here.

A spa complex, a health centre and a beauty salon were established, alongside the family’s own farm and Lipizzaner stud.

Since 2004, Karl C. Reiter has been running the hotel together with Marianna Reiter, representing the fourth generation. What has been added during this time – TCM and Shaolin as part of daily life, the adults-only concept, and now the Longevity Lab – follows the same pattern as back then: being an early adopter of something that isn’t yet a trend. This explains the caution with which he speaks about the current hype. This family has already experienced what happens when a health topic becomes popular.

Reiter came to logotherapy via a detour that wasn’t really a detour at all: a long engagement with psychology, spirituality and the search for meaning, then Viktor Frankl, then training at the SinnZENTRUM with Christoph Schlick – the very same Schlick who was present at the opening of the Longevity Lab.

Behind this lies a principle that Reiter cites for almost everything at the Posthotel: experience it for yourself first. And if it turns out that something could be of value to guests, it is integrated into the hotel. This explains why a Shaolin master, a TCM doctor, a squat rack and an uVida analysis can all coexist here without it looking like a haphazard jumble. Nothing has been bought simply to fill a list of services.

Speaking of the coaching sessions, he says he enjoys them – partly because they’re less about providing answers and more about finding the right questions together.

For Reiter, mental health has a decisive influence on overall wellbeing. That is why it forms one of four interconnected circles in the centre’s concept.

For you, as a guest staying for five days, this initially means something quite simple: stepping away from everyday life and allowing yourself to think about other things and take in new ideas. Pressing the pause button, tuning into yourself, listening to your inner voice and asking yourself a question that doesn’t feature in any assessment form: What actually does me real good? And, even more importantly for riders: what do I want to be and remain healthy for? There’s plenty of inspiration for this at the centre. What you take away from it is entirely individual – and this, too, is stated without any guarantees.

That leaves the riskiest question we have asked: What is the biggest misconception in the current longevity hype? Reiter’s answer is straightforward. He says it begins when we start to view life and health solely in terms of prolongation and optimisation. Of course, it’s fascinating to see what’s now possible medically and scientifically, and the range of wearables, monitoring tools and methods that are now available. But for him, longevity mustn’t become a competition: who has the best blood test results, the lowest biological age or the perfect morning routine. Otherwise, health very quickly turns into a source of pressure and stress again.

The crucial question, therefore, is not just how old one becomes, but how one wishes to grow old – with how much vigour, curiosity, independence and zest for life. And above all: what one actually wants these extra years for. For him, longevity means not just living longer, but being able to live well for as long as possible.

That’s a remarkable statement from an organisation that has just built a hundred square metres of diagnostic facilities. But it explains why this lab at the Posthotel doesn’t stand alone, but is situated amongst the gym, the exercise studio, the qigong class and the TCM practice. The assessment shows you where you stand. The training takes you further. And, for once, it is the host who asks the question: why are you doing all this?

How does an uVida metabolic analysis work at the Longevity Lab?

There are two options. The resting analysis takes around five minutes: the guest sits in a relaxed position and breathes through a mask, whilst the exhaled gases are analysed. This provides an assessment of metabolic health and efficiency, basal metabolic rate, current stress levels and metabolic flexibility. The exercise analysis is carried out whilst the guest is physically active and focuses on performance: VO₂max and, derived from this, personalised heart rate and training zones for cardio training.