Our body as a “high-performance machine” – How resilient are we? | DW Documentary
The human body is adaptable, resilient, and astonishingly capable — truly a “high-performance machine”. Humans have always sought to test their limits. But how resilient are we really?
This film explores the tension between our bodies’ impressive capabilities, and the moments when they clearly say ‘enough is enough.’ How resilient is the human body really? Where are its limits, and what happens when we cross them?
In his youth, Stefan Santifaller tested his physical capabilities so hard as a competitive athlete that he became seriously ill. Pushing physical limits can very quickly push a person to their mental limits as well. When that happened to Stefan Santifaller, it forced him to reorient his life.
Even in everyday life, we can reach our mental limits—whether due to worries in our personal lives or at work. When this type of overload happens, the body sends out signals, or “warning signs.” Those affected often feel nervous, restless, depressed, tired, or weak. Sleeping problems, dizziness, muscle tension, anxiety, and mental blocks are possible. Rapid breathing, heart palpitations, or nausea can also follow.
Sometimes, we reach our limits involuntarily, as a stroke of fate bring us to a halt. Markus Rehm experienced this as a young person, when he lost his lower leg in an accident. Today he is a para-long jumper and the newly crowned world champion in his discipline.
He had to learn the hard way just how definitive physical limits can be, and how much energy — both physical and mental — it takes to chart a new course to circumvent seemingly-insurmountable barriers.
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Video “Our body as a “high-performance machine” – How resilient are we? | DW Documentary” was uploaded on 08/27/2026 by DW Documentary Youtube channel.