Seven rhymes of fitness exercise

"Seven Rhythms of Fitness and Exercise" is not a metrical poem written by a literati at all. It is a group of veterans who have been in the gym for almost ten years. They have survived injuries and illnesses and paid countless IQ taxes. They have collected seven iron rules of fitness. The title of "Seven Rhyths" is easy to remember and down-to-earth. Each sentence corresponds to a pitfall that most novices will step on. Following it can help you avoid at least 80% of fitness detours.

Let me start with the first sentence, "If you don't warm up before training, injuries will come to your door." Last spring, I was in a hurry to PR in the deadlift. I thought dynamic stretching was troublesome, so I just turned my waist twice and went up to 80kg. When I reached the third lower back, I cramped. I lay at home for three whole days, and it was difficult to even go downstairs to get the express delivery. Not everyone agrees with this. Academic fitness coaches say that warm-up must account for 10% of the training time, and all joints from top to bottom must be mobile before you dare to put weight on it. ； But Lao Zhou, who practices powerlifting in our gym, doesn’t think so. Before each practice, he only moves the parts he wants to train that day. For leg training, he squats for a few sets of empty bar and hip abduction, and for back training, he first pulls two sets of light weight lat pulldowns. He said that extra warm-up is a waste of energy. I have tried both theories. In fact, as long as you can ensure that the target muscle group is activated and the joints are not tight, you can do it in any way. I am afraid that if you just go to heavy weight without doing any warm-up, it will really be difficult for your body.

A more common pitfall than not warming up is that you can't help but compare weight with others, which is the second sentence "If you don't compare weight, compare your progress." Last week, I saw a young man in the bench press area who had just been practicing for two months. He watched the person next to him press 80kg, so he added weights to the barbell. By the second push, his arms were shaking like a sieve. If there wasn't someone holding him next to him, the barbell would have hit his chest. There are different opinions on this matter. CrossFit gym owners always encourage students to push their limits occasionally, saying that only by breaking through the comfort zone can their performance improve. ； But the powerlifting coach who retired from the provincial team repeatedly told the novices not to touch 1RM (single maximum weight) in the first half of the year. Steadily polishing the foundation of movements is better than anything else. My own experience is that if you are going for a competition, there is nothing wrong with pushing to the limit. If you are an ordinary enthusiast who wants to get in shape, you really don’t need to compare weight with others. If you can push 50kg as a standard, it is much more useful than someone who is dangling and pushing 80kg.

I think everyone has heard the following sentence, "Don't be fooled about your diet, practice three-quarters of it and eat seven-cents of it." But there are not many people who can really do it without going to extremes. In order to lose weight, I have seen girls eating boiled vegetables for three months and even stopped menstruating. I have also seen young men say they want to gain muscle. The fried chicken burgers are euphemistically called "muscle building". In the end, their body fat increased by 20% but they did not gain two ounces of muscle. Nowadays, the low-carb party and the high-carb party are quarreling on the Internet. Some people say that carbohydrates are the root of all evil, and some say that you can't practice without carbohydrates. I myself will eat a chocolate bar after training, and my body fat is stable at 15% all year round. To put it bluntly, there is no god-level diet. As long as you calculate the caloric deficit/surplus correctly, eat enough protein, and occasionally drink a cup of milk tea and hot pot, it doesn't matter at all. Don't make things difficult for yourself, then you can persist.

After eating enough, you must also sleep enough, which is the fourth sentence: "Rest without paddling, and you can gain weight only by over-recovering." Many people think that I go to the gym every day just because I work hard. I stay up until two o'clock to check my phone and go to practice on time the next day. After practicing for three months, there is no change, and they still wonder why I haven't made any progress. There are also people who do chest training every day, five times a week, but their chest muscles don’t grow much and their shoulders are injured first. The differences between different schools are even greater. Bodybuilding coaches require training in parts. After training each part, leave at least 48 hours of rest time for muscle growth. ； But young men who play street fitness practice pull-ups every day, and their latissimus dorsi muscles still grow quickly. It is said that neural adaptation is more important than muscle rest. In fact, the core depends on your training goals. If you want to increase muscle size, you really need to give your muscles enough rest time. If you want to practice movement proficiency, it’s okay to do it a few more times. But no matter what, staying up late every day training is definitely in vain. You don’t get enough sleep. Where do you get the strength to grow muscles?

After enough rest, you must also pay attention when training. "If the movements are not deformed, no matter how heavy the weight is, it will be empty." I have seen too many people squatting with their knees buckled in, deadlifting and arching their backs. After practicing for half a year, their legs are no longer thick and their waists are useless. They also say that they are hurting their bodies when exercising. The most common mistake for novices is to just add weight, regardless of whether the movements are standard or not. Some people say that novices need to use an empty bar to hone their movements for three months. Others say that it is more important to use light weights to find a sense of muscle recruitment. I don't think it is necessary to be so stuck. As long as your movements do not have obvious compensation and will not cause extra pressure on the joints, it doesn't matter even if the weight is lighter. Training the target muscle group is stronger than anything else. Otherwise, no matter how fast you add weight, you will end up giving results to the orthopedic surgeon.

If you practice the movements correctly, don't be too anxious, which is the sixth sentence: "If you don't have an anxious mentality, slow weight loss does not mean practicing in vain." Many girls get on the scale after practicing for two weeks. When they see that they have not lost any weight, they cry and say that they have practiced in vain, but their waistline is obviously two centimeters smaller and their pants are loose. They just stare at the two numbers on the scale and can't get past it. There is a lot of quarrel on the Internet nowadays. One group says that weight loss is all about looking at body fat percentage, while the other group says that weight is useless and depends on body fat percentage. In fact, to put it bluntly, the demands are different. If you want to lose the scale, then you can control the calories. If you want to dress well, then look at the mirror more and less at the scale. People are not on the same path. There is no need to convince each other. It is better to practice and be happy than anything else.

Having said so much, the most important thing is actually the last sentence, "Persistence without interruption, practicing twice a week is better than never practicing at all." I have seen too many people who were very ambitious when applying for annual membership cards and said they would practice six days a week, only to resell the cards in the second month. Instead, there is an aunt in our gym who is over 50 years old. She comes to aerobics and does strength training for half an hour every Wednesday and Saturday. After practicing for three years, her figure is tighter than that of many girls in their 20s, and her blood pressure and blood lipids are normal. Nowadays, there are always people on the Internet who say that not practicing five times a week does not count as fitness, and walking does not count as exercise. It is pure nonsense. Even if you walk two extra stops after get off work every day, and take time to do 20 minutes of push-ups at home twice a week, it will be better than if you apply for a card and don't go. Fitness is a lifestyle habit, not a high-end hobby that must be carried out.

These seven sentences put together are the "Seven Rhythms of Fitness" that are passed down by word of mouth. There is no common rhyme or golden rule. They are all honest words collected by a group of people after going through countless pitfalls. If you are new to fitness and can't figure out the way, you can at least avoid most detours by following these few sentences. If you already have your own training rhythm, it can be just fun. After all, when it comes to fitness, what suits you is the best.