Paulina Szymanska - Personal Trainer

20/07/2023

20/07/2023

20/07/2023

20/07/2023

20/07/2023

Rest and recovery benefits.
🔥 Training hard and pushing your limits in the gym is important, but so is taking care of your body and allowing it to rest and recover! 💪🏋️‍♀️

🧘‍♀️ Recovery sessions, rest days, and proper sleep are crucial to your training journey and overall health. They give your body the time it needs to repair and rebuild muscle tissue, prevent injury, and reduce the risk of burnout and exhaustion.

💆‍♀️ Some benefits of recovery sessions and rest days include improved muscle function, reduced muscle soreness, better sleep quality, and a stronger immune system. Plus, they can help you feel more energized and motivated when you're back in the gym!

🙌 Remember, rest and recovery are just as important as exercise itself. So make sure to listen to your body and take the time you need to recharge and come back stronger! 💪

24/12/2021

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 🎄🎄🎄

I want to wish all best to everyone from the bottom of my heart. ❤️
Yes, it's been hard.
Yes, it might not be perfect.
Yes, you might be tired.
But let's gather the energy and focus on what we have, rather than what we have not. ;)

I am grateful for this year. I am grateful to my family, friends, my clients. 🙏
Please stay safe everyone.

And smile!

Merry Christmas 🎄

25/06/2021

I had a pleasure to write another article for Jazmin, who runs The Mothership London 😊

This time we decided to focus on Postnatal time and exercising. Head to the her website to read it in full. 👇🏻

The article has a form of Q&A, so you can choose questions you are interested in or read it all. 📖

Enjoy!

Find the answers to some of the most common questions about exercising after childbirth.

22/04/2021

An article where you will find out what is the pelvic floor and how to protect it on the daily basis :)
You will benefit from these tips whether you're pregnant, in the postpartum period or non of the above. :)

Pelvic floor dysfunctions, diastasis recti… These 10 simple habits and exercises will help you protect your postpartum body.

21/04/2021

SMR techniques? SELF- MYOFASCIAL RELEASE TECHNIQUES
Foam Rollers, Foam Balls, DuoBalls, Lacrosse Balls, stick, barbell. YES? NO?
As always, it all depends.. . It won't fix you and your 'problems'. These comes from limited ranges of movements, tightness in joints, tendons, injuries, potential disease or others. But it will definitely help to activate your body, send signals that you are about to proceed with workout. As the whole body (70%), our fascia in majority is built with water, to keep it flexible and provide nutrients. Lack of any kind of physical activity, sitting in one position all day long 'disturbe' process of watering and general circulation of all microelements. As a oversimplification, this tightness combine with lack of products result with feeling tense and eventually pain. Using SMR techniques can help nourish your fascia with necessary ingredients and bulit up its flexibility. To understand, think of sponge left on the bathtube after having bath. Whole water goes to down part of it. Then press it from the top, it will suck water in through whole sponge again. That's what rolling and any massage does - to simplify.
Mind, that SMR is only one, first step, it won't increase your mobility as long, as it won't follow with actuall movements, cause that's what your body remember. Also, you must find the reason, not only cover damages.
To summarize, it is not remedium for pain and lack of mobility, but it is important part of realesing and building it up.
I do use it often before, during training or on days off and I do recommend it. You just need to know when to use it, how, what for and see the bigger picture. :)

19/04/2021

Feeling blue?
Everything looks grey , dull, black, dark, just bleeh...
Work(it)out, literally!
It really does help 😉
Many researche have been done about physical activity and its impact on dopamine and serotonin level. So just move and smile after.
Trust me, you will.
It's difficult to start, it's painful to keep going, but it's rewarding after. 🏋️‍♀️🏋️‍♂️🚴‍♀️🚴‍♂️⛹️‍♀️⛹️‍♂️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♂️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️

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12/04/2021

Now to the topic which luckily appears more and more among the whole fitness industry. Among Fitness Professionals as well as clients.

Women and weights, women and heavy lifts. Women who are scared to become bulky. I don’t like this adjective, but let’s use it for clarity.

First, let’s start with acceptance. It’s ok to have or not have as much muscle as you, as a Woman, wishes. That should be one and only ‘ceiling’ for your gains, what you want. Not what society thinks Women should or should not be.
Good,so we’re clear on that. 
If you want you will lift heavy, if you don’t want you will not.
Simple as that.
When someone comes to you with great advice to watch out, because you'll become too bulky, tell them to shove it up their… you know.

What does science say?
First of all, I want you to understand that it is very difficult to build a really big, ‘bulky’ body. It takes years of dedication, consistent effort in the gym (4-5 strength training a week) and kitchen (clean surplus). Add to it genetics, like being a mesomorph (building muscles easy). Sometimes there is too much body fat, which covers the muscles.
It certainly does not happen overnight and certainly not when you just start your journey and lift once or twice a week, without prioritizing your gains (sleep, protein, recovery, no alcohol, etc.).

So next time you’ll see Lady with lots of muscles give her a shout out and thumb up for all hard work! It’s her goal to which she’s dedicated and gives it all, day by day, year after year.

Let’s lift, Ladies!

Lift like a Girl!

Be more not less 💪🏻

07/04/2021

I would love to tell you that a fitness journey is always nice, easy and sunny like holiday in California ☀️, but it’s not. 

It’s more like everyday life. Built of repetitive doing the same thing, made of good and bad days with the majority of mediocrity ones. Sometimes it’s boring, sometimes it's overwhelming, hell, lots of time we don’t feel like doing it, but we still do. 

And that’s the beauty of it. 

We work through the year to be able to go for holidays which are a celebration of what we put up with every day. So do little fitness successes are. They are small wins which we all need, they keep us going. 

But like holidays can’t last 12 months, we need to first put work in to get to celebrate fitness milestones. These can be anything and are different to anyone. Starting with making a decision of changing eating habits, through running the first mile, losing one pound of body fat or gaining one pound on your barbell. 

Don’t quit when you had a bad day. Let it be a bad day, tomorrow is another one.
Don’t quit when you don’t see changes, wins you wanted. Keep going, reassess your actions, make a change if needed, but keep going. Like at work, you didn't become good at what you’re doing in a day, not even a month. 
I had the worst run ever today. From PB last week to stopping and almost getting sick after 2,5k today. Happens. It doesn’t validate me, it’s just a  bad day. But it doesn’t make me want to never run again. It is just a phase.
We all want to quit every now and then, that’s why it’s important to have someone to turn to, when we want to. Someone to keep you accountable. Someone who has our back and can get us through this little crisis. 
And like every crisis, it pases, but we stay. 
Stronger.
Fitter.
Healthier.
Believe in yourself. Believe the process.
Don’t quit when it becomes uncomfortable and inconvenient.
Fight. 💪🏻