19 brilliant fitness tips from people living in sports

1. Measure their capabilities

Tip from Rob McDonald (Rob MacDonald), general manager of the gym Gym Jones in Salt Lake City.

Sometimes you need to arrange a test. Fitness test works better than trying to challenge yourself or something to measure your progress.

Regular checks bring you to the right path, help to overcome the desire to stop or give up.

Here is one of the favorite McDonald tests that can be performed anywhere.

Set a timer and run 100 burpee. First press, then stand and jump out, breaking away from the floor, at least 10 centimeters.

Repeat the test once a week and try every time a little bit to reduce the execution time.

2. Prepare your muscles for tightening

Skantalidesa advice from Artemis (Artemis Scantalides), trainer in the gym Iron Body in Boston.

To prepare for pulling up, hung on the bar for 30 seconds with intense pressure.

Then try to do the same, but already bent arm at an angle of 90 degrees. When will do 3 sets of 30 seconds, you can try to catch up.

3. Choose the right tempo

Tip from Greg McMillan (Greg McMillan), McMillan Running club owner in Mill Valley, California.

For workout runs 25 minutes at a calm pace. Then slightly fastens every two minutes. Turn up the tempo gradually, so that the 40 minute run fast enough.

After the 45-minute run at maximum pace, while there are forces. After that - 5 minutes of running at a calm pace. Repeat this exercise every week.

4. Try different methods

Advice from Alvin Cosgrove (Alwyn Cosgrove), Result Fitness club owner in Santa Clarita.

Alvin obsessed with new techniques of training and development in the field of fitness equipment. His innovations are always quite effective. No matter how he changed the training of its customers, their results are always improving. Here's what he recommends.

Do not watch the clock

Interval training is always made on time - you are performing the exercises, and then relax.

Cosgrove prefers to exercise on heart rate. You work until your heart rate is 85% of your maximum, and then relax until your heart rate drops to 65%.

The more you can do intervals for 10 minutes, the better your results.

Offset load from the middle

Imagine that you are doing the exercise "Walk farmer" with weights of 18 kilograms.

Easy, huh? Now, try to walk with a 36-pound dumbbell in one hand. Displacement of gravity on one side increases the load, especially in the muscle bark.

Try to apply this principle to the attacks, zashagivaniyami, squat and the majority of exercises to work through the upper part of the body.

Wake up your muscles

When you pick up a bag of sand, the weight is shifted. Your central nervous system has to react faster to set up your muscles.

This allows you to burn more calories and makes any exercise in muscle load on the crust. No sandbag? Use the TRX-simulator or fitness ball.

5. Upgrade your rear view

Advice from Contreras Bret (Bret Contreras), the owner and founder of a scientific degree Glute Lab.

Glute Lab - is a garage for four cars, which evolved into a hybrid of hardcore gym and science lab. Bret Contreras uses stabilometric platform to assess the strength, electromyography and ultrasound, to understand what is happening in the muscles, and video capture technology to study the motion.

He made several discoveries.

Pay attention to the ups and squats lying pelvis

Contreras study showed that squats pumped lower muscle fibers in the buttocks and pelvis during the ups and worked out the lower and upper fiber. To achieve the best results, it is necessary to do both exercises.

In addition, these exercises provide all-round development. Contreras recently discovered that squats help to improve vertical jumping, and lifting the pelvis - to increase the running speed.

trust your feelings

Using electromyography for measuring muscle stimulation, Contreras found big differences in how exercises affect people. He argues that his clients themselves often say, what exercise for maximum benefit, because they feel it.

Trust your instincts and listen to your body. If you feel that squats help better muscle pump, if you deploy the foot outwards, probably because it is.

6. To build muscle, do deadlifts with the correct weight

Advice from the founder of Rise Nation gym in Los Angeles, Jason Walsh (Jason Walsh).

Jason is training high-class athletes, including the models on the cover of Men's Health - Matt Damon and John Krasinski. To increase strength, they do slow repetition deadlift more weight.

Every few weeks they arrange exhausting workout: hang over the bar from 50 to 70% by weight, which can raise at a time, and do three sets with the greatest possible number of repetitions.

7. Runs sprints on the treadmill

Advice from the founder of the school Parisi Speed ​​School Bill Parisi (Bill Parisi).

It is possible to arrange high-speed races, not only the stadium, but also on treadmill. Gradually add speed and degree of lifting the track until you reach a pace that can withstand only 20-30 seconds. Then lower the tempo to a relaxing walk or run for 1-3 minutes, then try again. On the first workout do no more than 2-4 of these sprints. Gradually bring the number up to 8-12.

8. Allow the group to motivate you

Advice from an instructor gym SoulCycle Pendilly Robert (Robert Pendilla).

There are many specialized studios for group classes in yoga, Cycle, running, boxing and various forms of dance. What are the benefits of group training? In company. Group motivates you do best.

Also important is the music. Locate the soundtrack that inspires you and fits into your workout, and you'll be doing harder and better.

9. Go in hard, but not too often

Tip from Peter Park (Peter Park), the owner of a fitness club Platinum in Los Angeles.

If you are under 35 years, enough three intense workouts a week. If more is enough for two.

Presses yourself during interval training, and during rehabilitation sessions perform all the exercises in an easy pace.

10. Carefully engaged with free weights

Advice from the founder of the Movement of the gym in Minneapolis Dillanave David (David Dellanave).

Sometimes working with free weights felt like something was wrong. To fix this, you need to listen to your body.

Let's say you have a day of the feet. First, try to reach your toes. Stop when you feel tension.

Then try to do sit-ups with its own weight, and then stretch the legs. Were you able to bend lower? If not, move squats the next day.

11. Try squatting that does not turn out to spoil

Tip from Mike Robertson (Mike Robertson), co-owner of the gym Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training in New York.

Try squatting with two weights.

During these squat technique is almost impossible to spoil. The lower back is in an excellent position, well pumped quads, glutes and abs.

12. Monitor your workout

Council co-founder of New York gymnasium Mark Fisher Fitness Brian Patrick Murphy (Brian Patrick Murphy).

The best day for rest comes when you most want to go to the gym. Instead, take a walk or do something around the house. This proves that you control your training program, but it is not you.

13. Select a clear goal and aim for it

Advice from the owner of the gym Mountain Tactical Institute Shaul Rob (Rob Shaul).

Select any adventure that challenges your abilities, such as rafting on the mountain river, and then begin to prepare for it in the gym.

You will gain experience that will help you in your life, and the goal will have your workouts.

14. Find your limit with a simple test

Tip from Mike Boyle from the gym Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning in Woburn, Massachusetts.

Rotator cuff injury often associated with insufficient force pulling.

A simple test for athletes: while pulling you should lift as much weight as during the bench press. For example, if you weigh 80 kilograms, and doing bench press with a weight of 100 kilograms, you need to catch up with the weights 20 kilograms.

15. Use the mantra to cope with discomfort

Tip from the coach Crossfit New England Ben Bergeron (Ben Bergeron), among which are several winners CrossFit Games students.

You can work harder if you learn to overcome the discomfort. This is the key to physical changes.

Ben teaches his athletes to use the mantra - something short and positive, something that they can repeat to himself in the difficult moments.

Bergeron himself uses this mantra: "That's what it's worth."

16. Do not go to expensive gyms

You can become stronger and in a cheap gym. They do not have the new simulators, infrared sauna and a cooler with water, but even there you can become stronger and sturdier.

Dumbbells can find everywhere. With them you can do a variety of exercises: a deep squat with dumbbells on one breast, check lunges, squats into a lunge, deadlift on one leg, bench press with dumbbells over your head, thrust to the stomach and press lying.

Smith simulator you can do pull-ups with your feet on the floor. Using different pens, you can perform the upper block cravings for breast and thrust to the stomach.

17. Make home gym

Tip from Dan John (Dan John) of Salt Lake City.

John converted his garage in suburban gym Westridge Barbell Club and a few followers spends high-intensity exercise with basic equipment.

Once he had much more equipment, even a couple of Nautilus exercise machines to work out the biceps and triceps. But after the move, he realized how little is actually needed for a home gym.

Start small

John cut his equipment to a 28-pound weight.

"It was my personal home gym, - he says. - I could do bench press, kettlebell swings, squats, leap and many other exercises, including training with the weight of his body. "

Start with a single projectile, which can do all of these exercises.

Fill your fitness gradually

Before buying new equipment, think about what kind of exercise you can do with it.

At first John used the roller press, which he bought for $ 4. After that, he switched to the TRX loop. You can buy, for example, stand to pull the bar or pancakes.

Do not waste your money

Rich people buy expensive exercise equipment, and never do not use them. A good home gym starts small and grows slowly.

Cardio - a waste of money. People rarely use them, and a good walk much better and cheaper.

18. Turn exercise into play

Council co-founder of New York gymnasium Throwback Fitness Brian Gallagher (Brian Gallagher).

In New York, hundreds of gyms, but Throwback Fitness best reviews in town. Their secret is that they are trying to distract the customer from the very fact of the training with the help of team exercises and competitive elements.

It helps to work harder and get excellent results.

Fight with a

As the competition for one person can use a circular exercise consisting of push-ups, sit-ups in the press and squat with the weight of his body.

Each circle do two reps more - 2, 4, 6 and so on. Training continues for 5 minutes. Rest - 1 minute.

After a rest, start with the amount of repetitions that is already done, but now reduces repetitions - 12, 10, 8 and so on up to two. Your goal - to go back to two repetitions in less than five minutes.

Too easy? Then, increase the exercise time to 10 minutes.

Compete with your friends

Each group Throwback Fitness consists of 6 to 16 people. Participants are divided into groups and compete with each other. One of my favorite games, competitions in the gym - TBF-cup.

In this game, teams compete in zakidyvanii balls into the net. To gain access to the ball, the team needed to make a circle of four burpee, eight push-ups and sit-ups at the press of twelve. The faster you make the circle, the more attempts to throw the ball. The winner is the team which at the end of training more goals in the net.

19. Find your club

Tip from Doug Ada (Doug Eidd), gym founder Doug's Gym in Dallas.

Perhaps you are fit elite clubs, air-conditioned, modern exercise equipment, and a protein shake at the output.

Or do you still prefer the old room like Doug's Gym, where the equipment of only barbells, dumbbells and weights, and where it seems that nothing has changed since the emergence of the first gyms.

58-year-old Doug, healthy and strong, inspiring young people by example. He does squats and lunges with 22-pound weights in each hand.

Doug - is living proof that in fact to preserve the excellent form is not so important the gym. More important is that you do a few days a week, where feel comfortable.