So, you wondered how to start playing sports. Great, the first step has already been taken! However, from deciding to lead a more active lifestyle to developing a habit, you will have to go through a period of getting used to the new activity.
And, alas, it is at this moment that some people quit training forever. We will tell you in today’s material how not to break down, have fun and make progress in your endeavor.
Measure your capabilities
Advice from Rob MacDonald, general manager of Gym Jones in Salt Lake City.
Sometimes you need to check yourself. A fitness test works better than trying to challenge yourself or measure your progress in any way.
Regular check-ins bring you closer to the right path and help you overcome the desire to stop or give up.
Here's one of McDonald's favorite tests that you can do anywhere.
Set a timer and do 100 burpees. First, do a push-up, then stand up and jump, lifting yourself off the floor by at least 10 centimeters.
Gabriela Serrano/Flickr.com
Repeat the test once a week and try to reduce the execution time at least a little each time.
Try different methods
Advice from Alwyn Cosgrove, owner of Result Fitness in Santa Clarita.
Alvin is simply obsessed with new training techniques and developments in the field of fitness equipment. His innovations are always quite effective. No matter how he changes his clients' workouts, their results always improve. Here's what he recommends.
Don't watch the clock
Interval training is always timed—you do the exercises and then rest.
Cosgrove prefers heart rate training. You work until your heart rate is 85% of your maximum, and then rest until your heart rate drops to 65%.
The more intervals you can do in 10 minutes, the better your results.
Shift the load from the center
Imagine doing the Farmer's Walk exercise with 18-pound dumbbells.
Farmer's Walk with Two Dumbbells
Easy, right? Now try walking with one 36-pound dumbbell in one hand. Shifting weight to one side increases the load, especially on the core muscles.
Farmer's Walk exercise with one kettlebell
Try this principle with lunges, step-ups, squats, and most upper-body exercises.
Wake up your muscles
When you lift a sandbag, the weight shifts. Your central nervous system has to react faster to adjust your muscles.
This burns more calories and turns any exercise into a core workout. Don't have a sandbag? Use a TRX machine or exercise ball.
Create a plan
Despite the fact that people like to have some choice - it creates a sense of control over the situation - the process itself takes away a lot of effort from Making choices impairs subsequent self-control: a limited-resource account of decision making, self-regulation, and active initiative. Especially when there are many options and you don’t know what to rely on and what criteria to judge by.
This works in all areas: it doesn’t matter whether you choose a teapot, a dress for a corporate event, or exercises in the gym. Therefore, give up test classes where you just hang around from corner to corner, looking at the simulators.
The eternal question “What can I do?” will very quickly kill your motivation to do anything at all.
There are two options: find a trainer or download a training plan from the Internet. And the first, of course, is a priority. The coach will tell you what to do and how exactly, so you will immediately get rid of unnecessary worries and doubts. If this is too expensive for you, find a lesson plan on the Internet. And go with it, saved in your phone, for a run, to the pool, to the gym or to the horizontal bars in the yard.
Firstly, it will save you from choice, and secondly, it will help you break down your big illusory goal - to lose weight, get pumped up, become healthy and beautiful - into small manageable pieces: complete a set, run 10 kilometers, perform 20 burpees in a minute.
As a result, your brain will reward you with neurotransmitters for achieving your goals, you will feel right and good, and you will form a habit of exercise.
Improve your rear view
Advice from Bret Contreras, PhD holder and founder of Glute Lab.
The Glute Lab is a four-car garage turned hardcore gym/science lab hybrid. Bret Contreras uses stabilometric platforms to assess strength, electromyography and ultrasound to understand what's happening in muscles, and video capture technology to study movement.
He made several discoveries.
Pay attention to squats and lying pelvic lifts
Contreras's research showed that squats target the lower fibers of the muscles in the buttocks, and pelvic raises target both the lower and upper fibers. To achieve the best results, you need to do both exercises.
Exercises to work the gluteal muscles
In addition, these exercises provide comprehensive development. Contreras recently discovered that squats help improve vertical jumps, and hip lifts help increase running speed.
Trust your feelings
Using electromyography to measure muscle stimulation, Contreras found large differences in how exercise affected people. He says his clients often tell themselves which exercise provides the most benefit because they feel it.
Trust your instincts and listen to your body. If you feel like squats will work your muscles better if you point your feet outward, that's probably true.
Yoga
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- Yoga should never cause pain.
- The main object of your attention should be deep and even inhalations and exhalations.
- Your soft, focused gaze is also important: it will allow you to relax and help you cope with difficult poses.
- When performing standing poses, remember to relax your toes.
- You can borrow a mat for your first lesson, but you will need to purchase your own first.
- Bring a towel with you to wipe off sweat.
- Always wear special pants to help absorb more sweat.
- There is no shame in saying that an instructor's actions are causing you pain or discomfort.
- Do chaturanga push-ups to work your triceps.
- Choose faster types of yoga to burn more calories.
To build muscle, deadlift with the right weight
Advice from the founder of the Rise Nation gym in Los Angeles, Jason Walsh.
Jason trains high-level athletes, including Men's Health cover models Matt Damon and John Krasinski. To increase strength, they perform slow reps of deadlifts with heavy weights.
Every few weeks, they do a grueling workout where they hang 50 to 70 percent of the weight they can lift on a bar and do three sets of as many reps as possible.
Equipment
- Buy athletic shoes at the end of the day, when your feet are at their largest size.
- You don't need to break in your running shoes, they should fit perfectly from the very first moment.
- Write down the date you purchased the boots, and then carefully monitor their mileage.
- Choose gear based on quality and necessity, not appearance.
- Try out sportswear and equipment before you buy them.
- Moisture-resistant clothing is a must when fighting sweat.
- Never wear two sports bras, find a company that can offer you a model in your size.
- Wash your sports bra by hand on days off from sports.
- Buy several items you like at a time to replace them as soon as they wear out.
- Check your equipment periodically for safety and effectiveness.
- Invest in an expensive rug, it's worth it.
Sprint on a treadmill
Advice from Parisi Speed School founder Bill Parisi.
You can organize speed races not only at the stadium, but also on a treadmill. Gradually increase the speed and degree of elevation of the treadmill until you reach a pace that you can only maintain for 20-30 seconds. Then slow down to a gentle jog or walk for 1-3 minutes, then repeat. During your first workout, do no more than 2-4 of these sprints. Gradually increase their number to 8–12.
Running Tips
- Use the first five minutes of your run to warm up.
- Learn to breathe deeply to maximize oxygen flow.
- If you are trying to run at a certain speed, use music to set the rhythm.
- Run with someone faster than you to motivate yourself to perform better.
- When running up a hill, focus on the top, not your feet.
- Increase the incline of your treadmill to burn more calories.
- Vary your route with each run so that your muscles don't get used to the same load.
- Don't run every day, alternate jogging with strength exercises.
- Work on your form to avoid injury.
- To avoid damage as you increase your distance, always run a maximum of ten percent more than before.
- If you are running a long distance, you need to run faster in the second half than in the first.
- When you run outside, you not only improve your mood, but you also use uneven terrain to improve your running technique.
- Never skip the final stretch, it will prepare you for the next session.
Exercise carefully with free weights
Advice from the founder of the Movement gym in Minneapolis, David Dellanave.
Sometimes lifting free weights just feels off. To fix this, you need to listen to your body.
Let's say it's leg day for you. First try reaching your toes. Stop when you feel tense.
After that, try doing bodyweight squats and then reach back to your legs. Did you manage to bend lower? If not, reschedule the barbell squats for another day.
Damage restoration and prevention
- Don't stretch before your cardio workout; it's best to do it after.
- If you don't have time, you can stretch in the shower after your workout.
- Soreness is muscle pain that you begin to feel a day or two after training. It can be distinguished from injury due to the fact that it is symmetrical.
- Massage overworked muscles yourself.
- Find out when to use heat and when to use cold.
- To avoid common running injuries, work your glutes, calves, and abs.
- To avoid shin injuries, raise the incline of the treadmill by one or two percent.
- To avoid plantar fasciitis, do leg stretches while sitting.
- Remember the importance of rest!
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Don't go to expensive gyms
You can get stronger in a cheap gym. They don’t have new exercise machines, infrared saunas and water coolers, but even there you can become stronger and more resilient.
Dumbbells are everywhere. You can do a variety of exercises with them: single dumbbell deep squats, reverse lunges, lunge squats, single leg deadlifts, dumbbell overhead presses, abdominal rows, and bench presses.
On the Smith machine you can do pull-ups with your feet on the floor. Using different handles, you can perform lat pulldowns to the chest and pulldowns to the abdomen.
Cardio Tips
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- Always force yourself to study five minutes longer than you wanted.
- Try to burn more calories on the elliptical trainer.
- Intervals aren't just a term for running, they burn fat faster, improve your endurance, and increase your speed.
- High-intensity interval training (HIIT) burns tons of calories in a short period of time.
- Use different machines during the same session to target different muscle groups and add variety to your workout.
- Combine cardio and strength training to improve your metabolism.
Make a gym at home
Chiot's Run/Flickr.com
Advice from Dan John in Salt Lake City.
John converted his suburban garage into the Westridge Barbell Club gym and, with a few followers, conducts high-intensity training there with basic equipment.
He once had much more equipment, even a pair of Nautilus machines to work his biceps and triceps. But after moving, he realized how little a home gym really needed.
Start small
John reduced his equipment to one 28 kg weight.
“It was my personal home gym,” he says. “I could do bench presses, kettlebell swings, squats, snatches, and a variety of other exercises, including bodyweight training.”
Start with one piece of equipment that you can use to do all of these exercises.
Fill your gym gradually
Before you buy new equipment, consider what exercises you can do with it.
John first used an ab roller that he bought for $4. After that he switched to TRX hinges. You can purchase, for example, a pull-up rack or a barbell with weights.
Don't waste your money
Rich people buy expensive exercise equipment and never use it. A good home gym starts small and grows from there.
Cardio machines are a waste of money. People rarely use them, and a good walk is much better and cheaper.
Nutrition
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- If you're working out at home, you can workout on an empty stomach in the morning, as long as it's not a long exercise session.
- Research shows that a little caffeine can have a positive effect on your endurance, strength and speed.
- Eat an hour or two before your workout.
- It is very important to provide the body with fluid before training.
- To prevent cramps, try not to drink water in one gulp, take small sips.
- Sugary sports drinks are not necessary unless you are exercising at a high intensity for more than an hour.
- To replenish your energy, eat a 150-calorie meal with a 4:1 combination of carbohydrates and protein within half an hour after your workout.
- Chocolate milk is an ideal post-workout choice.
Turn your workout into a game
Advice from the co-founder of New York's Throwback Fitness gym, Brian Gallagher.
There are hundreds of gyms in New York City, but Throwback Fitness has the best reviews in the city. Their secret is that they try to distract clients from the very fact of training with the help of team exercises and competitive elements.
This helps you work harder and get great results.
Fight with yourself
As a competition for one person, you can use a circuit training consisting of push-ups, crunches and squats with your body weight.
Do two more repetitions each round - 2, 4, 6 and so on. The training continues for 5 minutes. Rest - 1 minute.
After resting, start with the number of repetitions that you managed to do, but now reduce the repetitions - 12, 10, 8 and so on up to two. Your goal is to get back to two reps in less than five minutes.
Too easy? Then increase the training time to 10 minutes.
Compete with your friends
Each group at Throwback Fitness ranges from 6 to 16 people. Participants are divided into groups and compete with each other. One of our favorite competition games in the gym is the TBF Cup.
In this game, teams compete to throw balls into a net. To access the ball, the team must complete a circuit of four burpees, eight push-ups and twelve crunches. The faster you circle, the more attempts you will have to throw the ball. The team with the most balls in the net at the end of the session wins.
Activate the dopamine system
You don't need to force yourself to do something pleasant: eat sweet or fatty foods, communicate with friends, have sex. All this causes increased production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that provides a feeling of pleasure. It is an important part of the reward system that motivates us to take action to get what we want.
After all, if you had a pleasant experience, you are more likely to do it again.
Exercise itself increases Neuromodulation of Aerobic Exercise—A Review, Does the difference between physically active and potato lie in the dopamine system? levels of dopamine, serotonin and endocannabinoids. But unlike stimulants like drugs, the effect is not so bright and noticeable.
Over time, you will feel the buzz from exercise, but until that happens, find something that will give you a dopamine rush and associate it with your workout. It could be:
- Music. It increases Dopamine modulates the reward experiences elicited by music, dopamine production, so why not train with headphones? When I introduced long runs after work into my training, I was often helped by the thought that I would listen to my amazing playlist while running. Without this, the idea was doomed to failure.
- Communication. Scientists have found Disclosing information about the self is intrinsically rewarding that talking about yourself activates brain structures charged with dopamine neurons. Indeed, communication is very pleasant, and it will serve as additional motivation for you.
- Public acceptance. Post photos and videos from your workouts. Public support in the form of likes will help you survive addiction.
