Training
Train! It's Simple.
Five simple principles to start training today—no excuses, no perfectionism required.
Training
Five simple principles to start training today—no excuses, no perfectionism required.
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Everyone knows that exercise is important – but often it fails due to lack of motivation, time, or the belief that "proper" training requires a perfectly engineered plan.
For many people, a certain fear of doing something wrong is reason enough not to try. The well-intentioned excuse of not doing strength training—"because without professional guidance from a trainer you can really hurt yourself"—usually comes from those who would benefit most from strength training.
The irony? You're more likely to hurt yourself if you don't do strength training.
This belief unfortunately persists in many minds and often prevents people from starting, but the truth is that fitness—particularly strength training—doesn't need to be complicated or extreme to make progress. We'll give you 5 simple principles you can start applying today!
The most important thing about training is that you do it regularly. Just as a single healthy meal doesn't make you healthier on the spot, a single workout doesn't make you fitter. So the next time you want to skip a workout because you're tired or don't have much time, remember this principle. Do it anyway, even if it won't be the "perfect" workout. "A short workout is better than no workout!"
What happens when you load the same weight on the barbell every time you go to the gym? Probably nothing. At least not in terms of muscle growth and strength gains. The same goes for your regular running route that you do at the same pace week after week. If you don't incorporate some form of progression into your training, you'll maintain your fitness but won't improve it. Your body needs challenges to become stronger or faster.
Therefore, increase (slowly!) the intensity of your training. An extra 1.25 kg plate on the barbell, slower movement tempo, or an extra kilometer on your run—all of these will make you better in the long term!
Because without adequate recovery, your body can't adapt to the training stimulus. Those who neglect recovery quickly end up overtraining. The consequences? Reduced performance, injuries, weakened immune system, lack of motivation, and much more. Our motto and the title of one of our blog posts is therefore "Better 10% undertrained than 1% overtrained."
Try to cover as many different performance categories as possible with your training. These include not only maximum strength, hypertrophy (muscle growth), and muscular endurance, which you typically get from classic strength training, but also cardiovascular endurance, mobility, coordination, sprinting, speed and jumping power, and technique work.
In practice, this could look like:
And now, the most important point:
Training shouldn't be an unpleasant chore—it should be enjoyable. Unfortunately, even amateur athletes often overthink things, set themselves overly strict guidelines, and create even stricter training plans. Until the sport becomes more stressful than enriching.
Of course, a training plan isn't inherently bad, but if you feel like doing leg press instead of squats today, or would rather go for a ride in the sun instead of staring at the treadmill screen, give yourself that freedom and deviate from the plan. It keeps your motivation high and ensures you stick with it!
To sum it up: Find a sport (or several) that you enjoy, do it regularly, add variety, and progress steadily in intensity. And don't forget to rest afterward. That's it.
We wish you lots of fun and success with your training!
