In our last article For those who decide to practice Aikido, we have sorted out a fairly large number of questions that arise from people who want to enroll in Aikido or enroll a child. However, we also often hear the question of how quickly results can be achieved. For example, parents decided to enroll a child in the aikido section in Kyiv and asked how long it takes to “become a real ninja”. Or an adult, coming to a trial lesson, is interested in how long it will take him to, if not become a Stallone, then at least be able to stand up for himself in the event of aggression. It is unlikely that someone will be able to give an unambiguous and accurate answer, but we have several recipes that will definitely help to achieve this goal.

Workout regimen

Perhaps one of the fundamental points is adherence to the training regimen. It is imperative that your training process includes:

• sufficient physical activity;
• the ability to practice self-defense techniques proposed for study and repetition;
• recovery period, which allows you to approach the next lesson in optimal physical shape.

Sometimes in life there are situations due to which you have to skip classes. We are all human, we all get sick sometimes. And in this case, our club has a system of working off missed classes. After all, the main emphasis on training in any case is on practicing, consolidating and repeating the technique of Applied Aikido. The training plan is always built taking into account the regular visit to the dojo. Whether you want to achieve results, or if you want your child to achieve them, remember that you can only do this by working hard every workout. Therefore, if you are forced to skip a lesson, you can always work it out and prevent gaps in learning. You can check with our trainers for all the details about working off missed classes.

Proper nutrition

Want to achieve visual results? Eat right. We will not agitate you to switch exclusively to buckwheat and chicken breasts, but it would be foolish to deny the importance of proper nutrition.

• First, you need to eat regularly. This applies to both adults and children. Interrupting coffee all day, and then eating enough before bedtime is a sure way to gain extra pounds, shortness of breath and deterioration of well-being. So you need to eat several times a day. Ideally, this is 3 full meals and two snacks. But again, not to the state of “breathing hard”.
• Secondly, regular nutrition will allow you not to overeat, and your body will not accumulate excess body fat “in reserve”.
• Thirdly, the diet must be balanced. We will not paint a detailed diet, given that each organism has its own characteristics. But the main thing is to do without fanaticism. After all, it is a controversial issue of what will bring more harm – an unhealthy diet or regular sitting exclusively on a protein diet. Eat vegetables, fruits, cereals, meat, fish and do it wisely.
• Fourthly, we highly recommend limiting yourself in the use of chips, crackers, sweet soda and other junk food. You can work out as much as you like, but stacking a packet of chips or a couple of cheeseburgers after your workout is unlikely to please you.

If you seriously decide to attend to the issue of healthy eating, then we would recommend contacting a nutritionist, who will first suggest that you pass all the tests and build an optimal diet for you.

Recovery and rest period

Want to work out productively? Get good rest. At each workout, you need to give all the best. But in order to give all the best for each workout, you need to recover from the previous one.

Classes in our club are designed in such a way as to first stretch all the muscles before training and be sure to cool down after. But that’s only part of the story. It is extremely important to give the body recuperation and condition. The most important part of recovery is getting adequate sleep. The average person needs 8 hours of sleep, but this figure can vary depending on the characteristics of each person. It is during sleep that the muscles recover, as does the body as a whole.

Complete recovery after exercise:

• allows you to be in optimal shape for regular exercise;
• significantly reduces the risk of injury;
• improves well-being;
• minimizes the possibility of problems with concentration.

Taking a bath is another good way to recover. Warm water helps to increase circulation and improve metabolic processes in the body, as well as relax muscles. Cold is less commonly used for these purposes, but helps to reduce muscle pain resulting from exhausting stress.

It is also good to use a contrast shower, which has a positive effect on the body as a whole, and in particular on the vessels, ligaments and connective tissue. The alternating temperature drop causes the vessels to expand and contract, which in turn improves blood flow and tissue oxygenation, has a beneficial effect on metabolism and, as a pleasant bonus, makes it easier to get up in the morning. Of course, if you have no contraindications to this method of recovery.

In a state of physical fatigue, the psycho-emotional state also worsens, which can also negatively affect the state of health in general and the training process in particular. Which recovery methods to use is up to you. You can safely combine them. The main thing is to remember that one of the most correct indicators that the body has recovered is the desire to go to workout.

All this advice is not a dogma or a panacea. But if you adhere to them or make sure that your children, who are studying with us, adhere to them, then the training process will be much more effective and productive. That will allow you to quickly achieve your goals.

An extremely important factor in achieving a result is the support of loved ones, but we will talk about this in one of the following articles. Do not forget to subscribe to our page on the Facebook social network in order to keep abreast of all the news and not to miss the next article.