The 21-minute physical exercise with which he managed to lose weight 18 kg

David Paul Kirkpatrick has been a storyteller all his life, and perhaps this is the most important of all. He was head of production in Walt Disney Pictures and president of Paramount Pictures, and with that busy schedule I didn't have much time to exercise. "A friend on Facebook asked me if I had ever run again with the freedom we all do when we are children," he says in 'NBC News'. "That made me reflect", Add.

He had been trying to walk frequently with a time application that told him the steps and although on one occasion he made more than 10,000, had not dared to run, but decided to try. "At the beginning it was horrible," he admitted, because instead of running without a clear goal, he ran with all his might in pursuit of a soccer ball until he was exhausted. "Unlike the long distance race, which is a aerobic exercise, what I decided to do was anaerobic, which means that my body was moving to such intensity that my cardiovascular systemr could not supply oxygen to the muscles quickly enough. I thought I was dying, "he says.

A ball that changed everything

Anyway, the soccer ball brought fun. "The ball spinning on the grass always gives me strength to continue doing it. After an hour I should start releasing endorphins and I felt very optimistic and confident ": Thus began his routine, something apparently very simple that, however, has helped him lose 18 kilos.

I only run three days and do seven 15-second runs. It's about 21 minutes a week, if you think about it it's nothing

Kirkpatrick runs three days a week and he takes a day off between each of them to give his body a good recovery, in total he usually completes seven races in a row and each sprint lasts about 15 seconds. "That is the time it takes, approximately, to catch the ball after kicking it many times. I also warm up about three or four minutes doing an energetic walk and some simple stretches. Equivalent to 21 minutes a week, if you think about it, it's nothing. "

Why chase a ball instead of running, without more? He thinks it is more like pursuing a goal, an ultimate goal. "That's more fun, I used to skate on ice when I was little, play ball, run … that kind of thing. Soccer is present anywhere in the world. However, when I started working it was a lot more difficult to combine those activities".

I follow the 80/20 rule, which means that 80% of what I eat are fruits and vegetables and the remaining 20 proteins

Of course, without a healthy and balanced diet Weight loss would not have been possible. Before starting with this simple training routine, he used to eat excessively due to anxiety, but ensures that the races now reduce stress and eat much less. Not only that, it also changed the way in which their diet is proposed: follow the 80/20 rule, which means that 80% of what you eat are fruits and vegetables and the remaining 20 proteins. Breakfast can be, for example, a toast with blueberries, at mid-morning you should take a piece of fruit, to eat salmon and broccoli, hummus snack and, finally, at dinner, scrambled eggs with vegetables.

"I have gained in quality of life," says our protagonist, who turns 68 this month. "I sleep better, I have good cholesterol, blood and insulin as the last tests told me … and the funny thing is that it all started with a sprint. The exercise brings us something that is essential and simply wonderful, "he concludes.