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Gyms are finally opening, but before you pull up those weights make sure you’re not about to pull a muscle…

We’re seriously pumped as today is the day we can get back to our natural habitat once more – the gyms are finally open! However don’t lunge into the workouts too hard, as you could walk away with strains instead of gains! Here are our top tips for getting the most out of your workouts without getting yourself an injury.

1.Half your weights

To prevent injuries you should drop your weights to 50% of what you were lifting pre-lockdown, then gradually increase the weights each week to get back to your absolute prime. Depending on how active you’ve stayed during the lockdown, you should aim to get back to your full weights between 4 and 6 weeks. Patience is a virtue!

2.Give yourself a break!

After your sessions, take it easy for at least 48 hours. In other words, limit your gym workouts to 3 times a week for the first couple of weeks so you’re not shredding those muscle tissues under pressure. If you’re really struggling to keep yourself out of the gym on those days off, then maybe move away from weights and so some yoga or floor work in between the heavy sessions.

3.Warm-up before every workout

This is important before any workout of course but especially now as we prepare to jump back into regular exercise. The warmup you do before a workout has a big impact on how you perform, so it’s important to carry out some routine stretches and dynamic mobility exercises. These types of warm-ups are particularly important in periods such as now when activity levels have dropped off and we have been sitting down a lot.

4.Sleep and eat well

Once you get back into the swing of things, your calorie output through exercise is going to be through the roof! This means you need to give your body enough nutrients to recover from the higher level of exercise. Make sure you eat well while maintaining a responsible calorie deficit, especially if you’ve gained a few pounds over lockdown.

And last but certainly not least, don’t forget to get between 7-9 hours of sleep each night while easing back into your regular workout routine – sleep is one of the best recovery tools there is.

Stay safe and enjoy the gyms!

We’ve endured almost a year of lockdowns and falling on and off the fitness wagon, so here’s how to return safely to a normal routine.

Getting back into a regular fitness routine will be no walk in the park, (we’ve had too many of those) especially after the turbulent rollercoaster of a year everyone’s had. And unless you’ve been in military training or similar, you will be very much used to the long periods of slumps in between all the motivational bursts of energy.

So, ahead of gyms opening on April 12th, it’s time to prepare for wearing real clothes, seeing people in real life and committing to those HIIT workouts on the daily, not just a hit-and-run basis. However, now that real structure and routine is returning it’s important to take it all in your stride – a year of uncertainty and stress can really take its toll on our body’s capacity!

1. Take the pressure off

Now that our world is about to open up again, it’s important to remember to go at your own pace and not put pressure on yourself to lose weight trying to achieve a ‘summer body.’ This will only lead to burnout, fast! Take away the unrealistic expectations, set some simple, achievable goals such as completing 10,000 steps or day, and gradually increase the intensity of weights/ workouts.

2. Lifestyle over results

Let’s be honest, we will all want to see immediate results as we slowly start to get our lives back to where they were. But as fitness professionals, we know better than most that this will not be the case! Instead of trying to carve out those abs, carve out time and space to simply enjoy the gift of freedom and regular exercise once more. The physical effects won’t appear quickly, but the mental effects certainly will.

3. Switch it up

If you go from doing no exercise to suddenly doing it everyday, your body will be in for quite a shock. It won’t be used to the frequency so you may feel drained and less energetic. In order to prevent you feeling unmotivated, try to switch up everything to do with your workouts. Whether this is the time of day, the type of exercise, or even just a different environment, this will all motivate you towards progress.

4. You’re only human

Even if you’re a fitness professional or personal trainer, surviving through a pandemic will have been a stressful time for your body. Take every day in your stride, know your limits and don’t hesitate to get in touch if you are still learning to become a PT with us.

Industry rumours have got us talking. A record number of people are now saying they won’t return to gyms in April after the effects of the pandemic.

Being on the frontline of fitness, we as professionals feel it’s now our responsibility to remind people of a life before the pandemic. One where gyms were a safe and happy place to flock to, not run away from!

Return to community spirit

Gym lovers feel stuck between a rock and a hard place when confronted with the idea of returning to the gym. While people have sorely missed their community and sense of belonging they also want to protect their community from contracting the virus.

However, for some people the gym was their one ‘ray of light’ and now record numbers are struggling with their mental health as a result of gym closures. It is now absolutely essential that gyms reopen sooner than later in order to save lives being lost to mental health.

Gyms must now adapt

To prepare for the eventual reopening of fitness centres, gyms must now immediately adapt if they are to survive the pandemic. At PT Academy we strongly believe that the industry has the capability to bounce back even better than before, with the right attitude.

Gym lovers should be made to feel safe in their old stomping ground when fitness centres finally open their doors. Gyms can adapt by reinforcing social distancing measures and upping hygiene standards. They should also allow flexibility in classes, moving equipment and facilities outdoors where possible!

Remain positive

No matter what happens, stay positive! Whether you’re a gym owner or personal trainer there is still work to be done in order to battle the virus. By staying upbeat and focused on keeping the nation fit safely we can storm our way towards a new normal.

If rumours are correct, gyms could be among the first facilities to open when restrictions in the UK start to ease. Which means we are getting closer to that new normal every day.

Don’t be a stranger

Keep in touch with your community and on the radars of your fellow gym buddies and clients. Even if it’s just virtually, human interaction is more important now than ever as we approach a year without normality.

At PT Academy we are experts in adapting to every ‘new normal’ and are still helping fitness enthusiasts to become personal trainers online. Get in touch to find out more.

Anyone got deja vu? Another lockdown has put a clampdown on our livelihoods as we attempt to get the country back up on our feet once again. The first time around was easier as we were blessed with wonderful weather, there was nothing to do except for exercise and the concept of the first National lockdown was inconvenient but new to us all and that was perversely intriguing. We all took setting fitness goals, cycling shops were struggling to provide stock and local parks were full of runners, cyclists and fitness enthusiasts, all exercising by themselves.

So what changed? As we find ourselves in the third National lockdown, many people have found that the darker evenings, wet weather and bouts of snow have really put a dampener on our exercise regimes. In reality, nothing should have changed, we just need to fall back in love with fitness. Here’s a few of our favourite suggestions

Turn up the volume

The seasons are temporary but good music is forever. Try to put together a brand new playlist for your workouts as music is proven to boost performance. You could mix in something with a hard beat or even thrash out to some heavy metal!

Get on the gram’

Instagram has a wealth of people from the Fitspo scene who provide incredibly motivation, tips and workouts throughout the year for people of all levels of experience. Use their knowledge wisely.

New year, new clothes

As the weather changes, so should your fitness wardrobe. It’s amazing how good you can feel if you freshen up your threads with something weather specific but also fashionable.

Stay chilled

Embrace the cold. In a chilly temperature, your body will respond differently and you’ll have to work harder to get warmer. The sooner your body heats up, the easier the workout will be. Just be careful when it’s icy.

Smash that goal

Set yourself weekly goals. If you want to relax over the weekend, smash all your goals at the start of the week. This way you can kick back and feel happy with yourself. If you have a hectic week, save your goals for the weekend. Just make sure they are obtainable and don’t be hard on yourself if things don’t go to plan.

You should love your regime but it should also be challenging. The feeling of overcoming these challenges will be the perfect motivation to get up and do it all over again the following week.

Stay strong. We got you.

Deja Vu? Unfortunately it’s true, gyms are yet again closed and we’re back to just one outdoor exercise a day. However, it’s important we know how to make the most of every day in lockdown.

Although being stuck indoors with only one exercise a day can feel limiting, the reality is that we can still stay on top of our fitness goals with a change in mindset and positive attitude.

It is absolutely vital that we don’t let strict regulations get the better of us and our health, especially as we are now on what seems to be the home stretch to beating the virus.

We still have our able bodies, the freedom to smash out those outside cardio exercises, whether it be cycling or running and of course unlimited indoor workouts, so that leaves zero room for excuses.

Because of the strict regulations being enforced once again, fitness enthusiasts should begin to get smart about their workouts, not sassy.

One of the best ways to do this is getting out of the house each and every day of course, but also by incorporating steep inclines in your cardio route where possible. Running or cycling up hills, steps and mountainous areas will be highly effective in building muscle in your calves, quads, hamstrings, and glutes. You’ll also strengthen your hip flexors and Achilles’ tendons.

Here it is, the cold truth! Working out in colder temperatures, particularly at night could actually help you get a more satisfying workout, and burn more calories. This is to do with your body being able to physically work harder when it’s cold.

Working out at night can also help you get a better sleep in order to perform at the top of your game the next day. To do this safely, make sure you have a cardio partner or take a well-used and lit up path.

While you’re focusing on your outside cardio, remember not to ignore the core! You can only go out once a day but you can still smash out all your strength training at home, which has no limit. Get those squats, sit ups and burpees done in the mornings to fire yourself up for the day with more overall energy and focus.

If you’re a personal trainer still wondering how to make the most of this lockdown then why not boost your qualifications and skills to take your clients’ progress even further with one of these CPD courses that are still on offer throughout January.

With 2021 finally underway we’re looking ahead at a year that is shaping up to change the PT landscape forever. Will it be for the better?

The fitness industry survived the brutal test that was 2020, and as we all jump out the other side stronger and prepared for whatever this year throws at us, it’s interesting to see how the landscape could have all changed by the end of 2021. Here are the five biggest trends fired up to change the game this year.

1. Training moving outside

Outdoor fitness and exercise is quickly gaining momentum as gyms continue to close so it’s not surprising that one of the predicted trends for 2021 is that gym classes and equipment could actually relocate to the great outdoors in efforts to make exercising safer for PTs and clients alike.

2. Digital Fitness

There wasn’t much luck about in 2020, however, we were blessed to go through a global pandemic in the digital age, making it easier for the fitness industry to step up and help the nation stay active through online streaming platforms. So there’s no doubt digital workouts will remain popular this year, and Personal Trainers will continue to have the opportunity to work and train from home.

3. Remote personal training

One-to-one personal training from anywhere in the world is becoming more and more accessible thanks to zoom and other virtual streaming platforms, meaning that the public will have qualified personal trainers on demand in 2021 ready to help them reach their goals. Get ready for fitness on the go!

4. Prioritising health

People are working out for more than just looking and feeling good, now they know how important it is to keep the body’s immune system healthy enough to fight off infections, so we can expect to see gyms and fitness professionals take on a more health-orientated approach. At PT academy we have already taken one step in this direction, by partnering with Tanita to bring our personal trainers the very first body composition monitoring course that helps monitor clients’ health.

5. Hello to Hygiene

Even though most fitness enthusiasts are raring to go back to their second home (the gym), it’s expected that most will only do so once gyms offer the highest possible standard of protection against contracting the virus. This means the hygiene bar standard in gyms is about to be raised through the roof!

2021 is geared up for big changes, but one thing that remains the same is that PT Academy will still be offering the option for Personal Trainers to qualify completely from home. Get in touch for more information.

Enforced closures, police raids and hefty fines – what 2020 has done to the gym landscape…

It’s safe to say that 2020 has been one of the most unpredictable years on record, worldwide lockdowns and closures for household-name businesses as they have fallen into administration. For the fitness industry, it’s been a mixed bag, fitness and the importance of exercise and health have never been more in the spotlight, thanks to the likes of home workout celebrities Joe Wicks and Courtney Black.

The Government has also been actively pushing the message of exercise and how important it is for mental health and more importantly in the fight against COVID-19, yet they closed over 7,000 gyms and leisure centres across the country. As a result, unlike the fitness boom of 2020, the gym landscape painted a very different picture, one that included hefty fines, police raids and even a protest outside parliament with a tank.

One of the most-high profile gym closure cases of the year was Andreas Michli who actively defied all the government lockdown rules by keeping his London gym open. Openly saying that keeping the gym open “felt like the right thing to do socially, morally and scientifically”. After the news spread about his gym, he received a visit from not one, or two but 30 police officers and was also threatened with jail time.

Now we know that safety is always a number one priority, but 30 police officers and time spent in prison? Was keeping his gym open really the act of a criminal? Not to forget that with the gym closures, of course, came the fines, as many gyms across the UK were threatened and given fines ranging from £1,000 to £10,000. Andreas was also publicly given a £67,000 fine and a closure notice, a staggeringly huge amount of money that could have perhaps gone to better causes in our current climate?

As the frustration from the gym industry began to grow many advocates spoke out against the closures. England Rugby star James Haskell teamed up with Grenade to lead a protest in an orange tank to try and raise awareness about gyms being classed as a non-essential business. CEO of Grenade said ‘’Gyms and leisure centres aren’t just ‘another sector.’ After working in them for most of my life I’ve seen how they positively impact people’s lives – and not just physically.”

As 2020 draws to a close, gyms have finally reopened but with strict rules around classes. Looking back on the year it’s hard to see how these decisions were made regardless of the COVID data, which showed that gyms were in the lowest percentage of positive cases at only 2.8%, while supermarkets are 11.2%, pubs and bars are 7.4% and secondary schools are 6.8%.

Here at PT Academy, we hope 2021 brings some positivity to the gym industry!

PT Academy has partnered with Tanita, bringing the first recognised body composition course to personal trainers.

We’re excited to announce our brand new partnership which is a force to be reckoned with! PT Academy, Europe’s leading and largest fitness education company, is joining with world-leading Tanita to bring our personal trainers the first ever recognised body composition course.

This course will be available exclusively to qualified personal trainers, and you can pre order it now for just a £99 deposit! As a fitness professional you can lead your pack and apply an innovative approach in helping your clients reach their ultimate fitness potential.

With Tanita’s expertise in world leading body composition technology equipment, combined with our innovative approach in creating the new wave of elite personal trainers, the course will provide personal trainers and fitness professionals with the knowledge, skills and edge to take client’s progression to the next level.

Tracking body composition has grown of massive interest in recent years, particularly within the fitness industry, where the technology is now used in hundreds of facilities.

This exclusive course will cover all elements of body composition analysis, from how the technology works to how you can utilise the many clinical and medical applications with a range of clients.

At PT Academy we focus on providing expert education to personal trainers and are the only fitness education company to use active personal trainers as part of our delivery team.

Simon Wilkinson, Sport and Fitness lead for Tanita said: “Body composition analysis is now more prevalent than ever within the fitness industry, but the knowledge of how the technology works and how to get the most out of it as a health and fitness professional, has until now, been unavailable. Tanita wanted to work with another world leading provider in developing the most comprehensive and thought-provoking range of courses for the health and fitness industry.”

Adam Kiani, founder and CEO of PT Academy, commented: “Personal training is about education, motivation and achievement – once you understand your client’s body you can work smarter, not harder, to get the best results with the right exercise and nutrition. We are committed to being pioneers in personal training and Tanita’s body composition science and related testing is a massive step forward in first-class training.”

Pre order your body composition course here, or for further enquiries email: info@ptacademy.com

simon.wilkinson@tanita.eu

The silent battle gyms are fighting and lending the industry a helping hand.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it’s hard to avoid the online venting and frustrations that have surfaced after the pressure of a second lockdown, especially from those desperate to keep their gym rituals going. Fortunately for us all, there is now a light at the end of the tunnel, with gyms across the country now open!

Naturally, we are of course pumped for the gym to become a part of our daily routine again but at the same time, we are fully aware of the impact that multiple lockdowns will be having on our amazing industry.

Many people have already had the exact same concerns and so in efforts to keep the industry on its feet, people have set up petitions for the government to start a ‘Workout To Help Out’ initiative, similar to the ‘Eat Out To Help Out’ scheme that was put into place, earlier this year.

It’s safe to say that they are not alone as there are already many independent schemes being set up by active-minded people who are taking matters into their own hands, such as the Work Out Help Out website.

Through this website, fitness professionals and personal trainers can reach more customers who are keen to improve their physical and mental health, which at the same time, becomes hugely helpful when looking to boost their business in these trying times

Obesity is a huge concern in this country, as well as being one of the contributing factors towards what can make people susceptible to COVID-19. So what should the government focus on attempting to revive one sector without looking at the many benefits that can be provided from the health and fitness industry?

As a nation, there has never been a better time to focus on our health and well-being and with so many people who are actively trying to make a difference, we can only hope that the government take note, whilst also becoming educated to benefits that the industry can offer.

The best investment we can make at this time is investing in our health. It makes us stronger, both physically and mentally. If there are going to be more tough times ahead, let’s give ourselves a good head start by keeping the industry strong.