Oksana. Fitness
When did you start training?
About four years ago.
Why did you decide to start?
Because I gave birth and I gained weight. I wanted to get my form back. I wanted to do strength exercises for a long time.
Was it difficult to start?
Yes, the body ached. The day after the first workout, I was lying the whole day, I could not get up.
Did you train with the coach?
Yes, for the first two years – with a coach.
Was it an individual coach, or were you in a group?
An individual coach worked with me.
Did he develop a plan?
Yes, he chose exercises, set technique and helped with the diet, of course.
How often did you train?
Three times a week. I liked it. I ran there. I had a little baby. I was resting there. My mother gave me two and a half hours, she came, walked with the child, and I went to the gym.
How long is a lesson?
With a warm up, with a cooling down – two hours.
Two hours? That’s impressive.
Now I do less, I separated the exercises into four days a week, about an hour and a half.
And when did you feel that the results appeared?
I got the first results in a year. I lost a lot of weight. I gained 20 kilograms during pregnancy. I dropped them in about four months. And then I started working on muscle mass, to get the muscles look good, to make the body beautiful.
Five kilograms per month? Is it more than a kilogram per week?
Yes, but this is mostly because of the food, not exercises.
Is there any system, what are the options for training?
All people have different goals, someone wants to lose weight, someone wants to gain weight. My goal at the beginning was to lose weight, then to gain muscle mass. I train for muscle growth for about half a year. After that, you need to lose weight for three months. And so in periods: first – mass gain, then – mass loss. You check the progress. That’s how you improve yourself over time.
That is, you increase muscle mass, then – lose weight?
The muscle mass is growing not only by itself, also the fat is appearing. When you increase calories, muscle mass grows, but also fat mass grows and water accumulates in the body. Then you go for “drying” – the water is getting away, the fat is coming off, then you can see the shape of the muscles. You look at your flaws, then you work on muscle groups that are lagging behind.
Do you do the same exercises or add new ones?
There are basic exercises – this is classic, I also add new exercises or change them so that the muscles do not get accustomed.
Do you do stretching?
I do not do much stretch, only in the warm-up. You need to be sure to warm up before training. Then – the main training and cooling down.
What do you do for cooling down?
Cardio – running, bike.
In the end – the most difficult?
No – this is the easiest. When you do squats with a barbell of 70 kg (this is my maximum weight) 10 times, the treadmill will seem like an easy exercise.
Do you have a company? Are you training with someone?
At first I went alone. Then, seeing my results, girlfriends began to come. Everyone wants a beautiful figure. Someone stays, someone lacks patience. We must also eat right. It’s hard for girls to give up on sweets, and not every girl likes to work with weights.
You work with weights to build up muscles or to lose weight too?
I also work with weights to lose mass. Taking into account my capabilities, of course. When I started, I squatted with the pole only. Now I use the weight of 70 kg, as an example. Everyone has his own weight.
Were there moments when you wanted to stop, to give up?
There were no such moments. During the holidays I sometimes get a bit lazy. I want to make a break sometimes. But I take myself in hands and still go. On holidays – I force myself, but I always go there with pleasure.
How do you combine training with work? Do you go after work?
No, I make a lunch break for two hours and go during the lunch break.
That is, instead of lunch?
Yes, instead of lunch.