Answers to the most common questions I’ve been asked over the past 12 months.
Answers to the most common questions I’ve been asked over the past 12 months.
If we look at the constitution of a gymnast, obviously yes. Because bodyweight exercises also ultimately move weight - your body weight. For example, if you constantly do push-ups, your body will adapt to this additional load and build muscle mass accordingly. If you can do 5 sets of 20 push-ups without any problems, the adaptations with regard to muscle development will significantly decline. It is then time to subject the muscle to a new stimulus through exercise progression (e.g., different arm position, change in tempo) to bring about a further adaptation.
Unfortunately, it's not that easy. Abdominal exercises such as sit-ups undoubtedly strengthen the abdominal muscles. However, this does not mean that excess fat on the abdominal wall disappears, and a six-pack appears at the same time.
Unfortunately, we are unable to make the body target fat loss only in the problem zones that we want. If we want to reduce our body fat, we need a well-functioning metabolism and a negative calorie balance. This is best achieved by combining endurance training with strength training and a balanced diet.
Many believe that the body only burns fat in the aerobic zone, i.e., during relaxed training at a heart rate of around 130 bpm. This is a mistake. If you want to lose weight while training, you need to make sure that the body's power plants, the muscles, burn as many calories as possible during a training unit. It is therefore clear that you will burn significantly more calories during a 60-minute intensive strength training unit than when comfortably pedalling on a bicycle ergometer for the same length of time.
By no means allow yourself to be dissuaded from your endeavour to «get fit and stay fit». Success comes from your personal best mix of strength and endurance training, a balanced diet, and sufficient sleep.
If you want to be successful, you need to train over as long a period as possible. Continuity is the key word here. For many, however, it is a foreign word because they always need to break off their training. Sometimes it’s the heel, at other times it’s the back or the knee that starts twinging.
Our strength gradually decreases as we get older. After the age of 20, it diminishes by an average of four percent per decade. This is not only reflected in our performance but can also eventually become physically noticeable.
