Veronika Metelkova - Personal Trainer

28/07/2023

Eating and drinking the appropriate nutrition after an intense workout is key to recovery. Post workout food replaces the carbohydrates our muscles use during exercise and provides protein to repair muscle damage and help build muscle.

What is the best to eat after your training? A very frequent question, so I have prepared for you inspiration for 9 simple post-workout meals that will support your goal.

Post workout nutrition goals include:
- Replenishing glycogen stores - Carbohydrates - During long or intense workouts, the body burns carbohydrates that are stored in the muscle (glycogen). Eating carbohydrates shortly after you exercise helps the body rebuild glycogen stores.

Repairing damaged muscle - protein - During exercise, muscle is broken down, and the foods consumed afterwards can aid in tissue repair, as well as rebuilding and strengthening muscle. Eating 20-40 grams of high-quality, lean protein after a workout will maximize protein synthesis to repair muscles and enhance muscle growth.

Rehydrating - water - Athletes can lose a large amount of electrolytes and fluid through sweating, especially those lasting over 60 minutes. Sports drinks containing electrolytes and carbohydrates help replenish what the body has used up during the workout.

What about post-workout meal timing?

20-40 min after training
add a protein source of 0.25-0.4 g/kg (bodybuilders 0.8-1/kg) - ideally in the form of a protein drink - but it is not always necessary and depends on the specific goal!

1-1.5 hours after training
food containing all nutrients - carbohydrates, proteins, fats - the post-workout meal can also be in the form of a main course

If you know that you will not get to the main meal for more than an hour and a half, it is nice to have a protein bar with a quality composition.

20/04/2023

Do you want to loose weight or increase your muscles? You will find fitness tips every week. Do you need help with your training program? Don’t hesitate to contact me.

20/04/2023

20/04/2023

THREE BIGGEST SQUATTING MISTAKES

Eliminate these three biggest squatting mistakes and you'll be lifting more and safer!

Squats are probably one of the best exercises for overall strength and muscle development. And like any other exercise, learning the basic stance and movement pattern is crucial to preventing injury when squatting.
Not everyone's squat will look the same, but there are beginner mistakes that you can simply avoid.


MISTAKE 1 - bad stance or taking the barbell out of the rack

A good squat starts with good posture. The most common errors include:
- Barbell stored too high in the rack when you take it out on your toes.
- Failure to engage the centre of the body and lats before removing the barbell from the rack.
- Feet too far apart when removing the barbell from the rack. You will not get along well with it.
- Backing up too far with a barbell on your back.

https://youtu.be/nA006GteDC0

SOLUTION 1

- Set up the barbell in the stand at chest height. Under the heavier weight, your spine will shrink a bit, making you smaller. You don't want to take off the barbell in the tip-up.
- Take a deep breath, tighten your core, and lower down to complete the lats before starting the attempt. The barbell will feel lighter and the compressive forces acting on the spine will be smaller.
- Start with your feet hip-width apart. Only after the axis is brought out do you straddle your standard squat width. For most people, this will be a little more than shoulder-width apart with the toes slightly turned out.
- Take about 3-4 steps backwards. Longer dances with a barbell on your back will cost you a lot of precious energy.

https://youtu.be/UxZeL6PJ_0s

MISTAKE 2 - Kneeling and looking straight up

Start your squat lowering by moving your hips back. How far? It will be different for everyone. It will also depend on the type of squat: it will be different for front, back or high bar squat. The most common mistake of squatting too far into the knees is looking straight up.
For some exercisers, looking slightly upwards can be beneficial (especially in the front squat). A large tilt of the head, where you are de facto looking at the ceiling, forces you to move the center of gravity more towards the tips of your feet. And this is a problem for several reasons:

- It puts more stress on the tendon around the patella, which sooner or later will lead to the knee pain.
- Shifting your centre of gravity forward can lift your heels off the ground. This is a very unstable position. Ideally, you want your weight spread between your thumbs, little toes, and heels.
- Looking up can lead to excessive arching of the back. This puts more strain on the spinal erectors.
- It makes it difficult to get enough depth, especially if you're trying to get below parallel.

https://youtu.be/xMxxDDgqUzs

SOLUTION 2

Before bending your knees, pull your buttocks back a little. Try to look directly in front of you at a point, say 1.5 - 2 m away from you.

This will improve your power transfer and balance and remove the strain from your knees.

https://youtu.be/6QNXYbn47Yw

MISTAKE 3 - Chest and hips do not rise together

When lifting from the floor, the chest and hips should come together. This means that you have a correctly tightened centre of the body, a manageable weight and you avoid excessive load on the spine.
The hips rise faster than the chest. It can be:
- a technique error, but usually it will be the fault of too much weight on the barbell
- insufficiently engaged canter of the body
- lack of quadriceps strength in the lower position

This is not just a beginner's mistake. Sometimes it happens to most people, and it is because of the loaded weight.
If it happens to you occasionally and at the end of a tough streak, it's survivable. But if your sets look like this from the first to the last rep, you're probably just exercising for ego.

This is the most common beginner problem and one day it will spell disaster for your spine!

https://youtu.be/PBpe5H5xwPo

CORRECTION 3

- Increase core strength and quadriceps strength.
- Practice technique with a lighter weight.

17/04/2023

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

20 REASONS WHY DRINK WATER WITH LEMON

If you regularly drink a glass of lukewarm water with lemon juice every morning, miracles will happen. Your skin will be cleansed, you will start your metabolism, and give your body a complete detox!

TIP: In the morning after waking up, squeeze half a lemon into boiled warm water. Drink before breakfast. Make sure that the drink is not hot, otherwise, you will destroy all the active substances. Add lemon to salads, yogurt delicacies, and fruit and vegetable juices.
Warm water with lemon serves as the perfect drink to start the day:

1. It starts the metabolism and thereby ACCELERATES WEIGHT LOSS
2. STRENGTHENS THE IMMUNE SYSTEM thanks to its high content
antioxidants and vitamin C and helps fight colds
3. helps AGAINST HYDROACIDIFICATION OF THE ORGANISM, balances the pH in the body (although it is acidic in itself, it has an alkaline-forming effect in our digestive tract.
4. It is an excellent source of citric acid, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, contains traces of iron and vitamin A
5. Prevents water retention in the body
6. It acts as a diuretic, which is related to the faster flushing of all toxins from the body - CLEANS THE ORGANISM, suitable for spring detoxification
7. Lemons contain pectin fiber, which is very beneficial for colon health
8. Supports the production of bile necessary for a HEALTHY EXPERIENCE
9. Stimulates the formation of gastric juices, which helps
FASTER DIGESTION (relieves heartburn, reflux disease of the esophagus)
10. It helps maintain blood pressure and can relax the body and mind, thereby REDUCING STRESS and depression tendencies, giving the body ENERGY
11. Lemon juice helps REPLENISH BODY SALTS, especially after strenuous exercise
12. Helps maintain HEALTHY EYES
13. REJUVENATES AND BRIGHTENS THE SKIN, is a huge benefit for the skin and prevents the formation of wrinkles and acne
14. Helps REDUCE PAIN and inflammation in joints and knees (dissolves uric acid)
15. It has a strong ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECT, helping to prevent the growth and multiplication of pathogenic bacteria that cause infections and diseases
16. Prevents problems with constipation and diarrhea (ensures good bowel function)
17. IMPROVES HEALING thanks to ascorbic acid. It keeps all connective tissues, bones, and cartilage in condition. Suitable for convalescence after injury or illness.
18. TAKES CARE OF THE GUMS, helps stop their bleeding, and relieves toothache. Lemon water works as a prevention against periodontal disease
19. CLEANSES and thins the BLOOD, is suitable prevention against thrombosis
20. Warm lemon water RELEASES THE RESPIRATORY TRACT. It helps with allergies and relieves asthma.

Why should the water be warm?
Warm water does not cause a thermal shock to our body like cold water. It is just as exhausting as stressful situations. Furthermore, it greatly stimulates the digestive process and cleanses the bowels in the morning so quickly that you will be surprised.