Sooner or later, this day comes for everyone: you go to the mirror, look at your reflection and understand that this is impossible next. Excess weight or vice versa, skinny arms and legs, shortness of breath and weakness – with all this, something urgently needs to be done. And here a gym or a fitness club comes to the rescue: dozens of training programs, unfamiliar names for simulators, sports nutrition, equipment – it’s not so easy to get lost in all these terms and make the right choice.
Downtown is used to completing the matter and, together with the trainers of the Lion Strength and Functional Training Center, prepared answers to 10 key questions for those who decided to buy a gym membership and start a new life tomorrow.
1. What type of training to choose a person who decided to become strong, lose weight or vice versa gain muscle mass?
First of all, it is necessary to determine the goal. All workouts can be divided into 2 main types: cardio and strength. Cardio training develops the human cardiovascular system (hence the name), help to become faster and more resilient. Strength training is an exercise with weight (both with your own and with weights). Thanks to them, you can reduce weight, build muscle and become stronger.
One of the most effective types of training today is crossfit – a high-intensity training that includes both strength exercises and cardio .
2. What is crossfit?
CrossFit is a physical fitness system developed by the American Greg Glassman in 2000, which is now followed by millions of people around the world. Many of these exercises and complexes existed long before Glassman, but he was the one who managed to make them so popular. As a result, today CrossFit is a trademark, only for the use of which affiliated halls (now there are no more than 60 in Russia) pay thousands of dollars a year. Having a certificate doesn’t mean anything: in different rooms, the same workouts can be called high-intensity interval or just functional training (as in the Lion strength and functional training center).
The main advantage of this type of training over the others is that they help to comprehensively develop all the basic qualities of a person (strength, endurance, speed, dexterity and flexibility) and generally improve its performance .
3. What is power?
Strength is a person’s ability to overcome external resistance through muscular effort. It is divided into absolute and relative, but sometimes they separately distinguish explosive. Absolute strength is your ability to move someone else’s weight (for example, to lift the bar), and relative – your own. Explosive force also helps to push something, to throw, to make a jerk .
4. Is functional training suitable for a person who has never played sports and never went to the gym?
Everyone can start doing, regardless of gender, age, body weight or level of physical fitness. Each workout consists of several parts. Everyone can do the warm-up and stretching, there’s nothing complicated about it. But power and cardio loads will be selected for you individually. No one will be sent in the first lesson to pedal an hour on an exercise bike or to squat with a heavy barbell.
An important difference between functional training is scaling, that is, adaptation of loads for a specific person. Even if you and the whole group perform the same exercise, some will do it with dumbbells weighing 10 kilograms, others with five-kilogram ones, and they will give you the lightest. As your fitness level improves, your workload will increase .
5. What does a functional training lesson look like?
Usually a workout consists of 4 parts:
• Joint warm-up (exercises on dynamic flexibility, ie various jerks and swings) – you stretch all parts of the body in turn, starting from the head and ending with the feet. This rule is mandatory to observe, but exercises can be alternated from class to class, so as not to be boring.
• Strength training – work with weights (barbells, dumbbells, weights, medball) or own weight (pull-ups, push-ups, etc.).
• Cardio training – exercises aimed at the development of the cardiovascular system (rowing or exercise bike).
• Stretching (exercises on static flexibility) is an equally important part of the activity, which many neglect.
If warm-up and stretching are present in each task, then the second and third parts of the training depend on your planning: on one day it can only be cardio, on the other – strength, and on the third – all together.
In the center of power and functional training, Lion has another important stage – the study of the theory of physical education .
6. Why study the theory of physical education if you can simply trust the trainer?
To become strong (lose weight, gain muscle mass, etc.) does not always mean to become healthy. And if professional trainers understand the difference between these concepts, then for ordinary people it is almost the same thing.
A person must learn to understand how his body works, what, why, and why he does it in training. In most rooms of the theory, in comparison with practice, criminally devote little time, conducting rare seminars “for show”. At the center of strength and functional training, Lion theory is a complete part of training. What is physical culture, what factors affect human health, how to train with maximum benefit and effectiveness – each session begins with a discussion of these topics.
Another important point that many people miss is training diaries. Comparison of indicators and results will help evaluate your progress (or regression) and correctly plan planning.
7. How to choose the right gym and what do you need to pay attention to first of all?
The number and quality of simulators, the design and ergonomics of the gym, the general atmosphere – all this, of course, matters. But the main thing is a qualified coaching staff. When you meet or the first lesson do not hesitate to ask all your questions – a good coach should be able to easily answer any. Find out his skill level: it is better to choose a trainer with the presence of specialized education. And pay attention to what your future mentor looks like and whether he does it himself in the hall – you should not trust your health to a person with a beer belly who comes out to smoke every half hour.
Trainers teaching in affiliated crossfit halls must have a Level 1 certificate, which is obtained after passing a three-day workshop and passing tests. But the presence of this certificate does not always mean that you have a highly qualified trainer.
As for simulators, here it is necessary to pay attention to cycling and rowing – the effectiveness of your exercises will depend on their brand and condition. If weights, rods and medballs are the same in almost all the halls (or differ slightly), then it is preferable to choose an Air Bike model and a rowing model Concept 2.
Thus, the ideal gym is a combination of technologies and knowledge of the coaching staff in the field of physiology and physical education .
8. What is required for classes?
The main thing is desire, as most trainers say. But, of course, you will need a form. There is no single answer to this question – everything is individual. It is important to choose a kit (t-shirt, shorts and sneakers) in which you will be comfortable. Colors, materials, brand are personal preferences. But if you plan to deal with weights, then it’s better to buy sneakers on a flat hard sole (they are also called barbells).
A bottle for water, a bandage, wristbands and other little things are things you can do without. You also do not need to buy a weightlifting belt or boxing gloves – in a good gym this is all by default .
9. Do I need to take any supplements, drink protein and follow a diet to achieve results?
It all depends on the goal: if you just want to learn how to pull yourself 10 times, then this is useless to you. If your goal is to lose weight, then naturally you will have to reconsider the diet: you need to spend more calories than you consume. Those who want to gain muscle mass can not do without protein – the main “building material”: 1 kilogram of your weight should account for 1-2 grams of pure protein per day. As a rule, it is not easy to get such an amount with ordinary food – not everyone is able to eat one and a half chicken or a dozen egg whites a day – therefore, protein shakes containing up to 30 grams of protein per serving come to the rescue.
Whatever your goal, during physical activity for the normal functioning of all body systems, he needs a balanced amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, macro- and micronutrients, as well as water. But you should not completely trust the trainer in this matter , it is better to consult a qualified nutritionist (especially for overweight people) who will draw up a nutrition plan taking into account your body weight, set goals and the amount of physical activity.
10. When can I see the results of training?
With regular training (3-4 times a week), following all the trainer’s recommendations and proper nutrition, you can see the first tangible results after 6 weeks. If you do not stop and continue to work just as hard, then after six months, when you look in the mirror you will not have any questions, and they will begin to envy your physical form.