The gym as a place of learning for sports science students: “Staying still for months is useless”

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Gyms in the Netherlands reopened their doors last Wednesday after 155 days. At the Zeeland Gezond gymnasium there was an immediate storm. “It was a full house, yes,” says Yannick Mol.

“People then ask me if I can make a schedule, because they have to get back into the rhythm.” De Vlissinger is in the final stages of his sports science studies and is now putting his knowledge into practice as a sports instructor.

The danger is that people want too much or too fast with strength training. Mol said. “People have a certain weight in their heads, since before the confinement. But staying still for months is no good for your body.

“What often happens is that the people in their heads want it, but the body protests.” This is often accompanied by physical complaints, which sometimes do not appear for a few weeks. “Especially around the shoulders, you see the irritation occurs a lot.”

Train different muscle groups for optimal recovery “

Either way, prevention is better than cure. “Good posture is more important than the height of the weight you lift,” continues Yannick, who chose the lifestyle orientation within his study. “Things like nutrition and rest are also important. And train different muscle groups, so that you can recover optimally.”

Cortisol

If you keep this in mind, you can take full advantage of the countless benefits that exercise brings. With exercise, the production of cortisol – the stress hormone – decreases. “After training a lot of people feel a lot better. That’s why it’s good that the gyms are open again.”

Good news for sports enthusiasts, Yannick is not the only student in Sports Sciences who wants to transfer his expertise. “The reopening of the gymnasiums was very good news for us”, answers Anton Engels, teacher-researcher at HZ. “Students can do an internship there again. Nowadays, a gym is more than a weight room. It also revolves around such things as health and vitality. This makes it a very suitable place to learn.