Human health is the most important fundamental thing. Both people’s welfare and the welfare of the state in general depend on it, because only then we can talk about development in all spheres.
Everyone needs to do their best to stay healthy. Sometimes it is difficult to deal with it alone and you have to call for specialists.
During the coronavirus pandemic, people think more about their health, and during the quarantine, the issue of returning to a normal busy rhythm of life without additional stress on the body is very important for everyone. So, we decided to talk about it with a specialist who can give valuable advice that will help everyone.
Read the interview about a healthy lifestyle, sports, motivation, online study with a lecturer of the Department of Sports and Tourism of the Lesya Ukrainka Eastern European National University, candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, an athlete, a coach Anton Yalovyk.
- During quarantine, many people did not lead a very active lifestyle. How, in your opinion, should we overcome this? How can we return to the usual pace of life? How should people do sport in quarantine restrictions?
- You need to begin with nutrition, daily routine. Today, everyone is used to sleeping longer. Therefore, the most difficult thing is probably to set the daily routine. However, you need to wake up at seven in the morning, start eating properly, and consume more vegetables, fruit, especially now when it is the season for these products. Cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries are all a must. At the same time, to establish the regime, you need to take a contrasting shower in the morning: wash with hot water, then cold, then hot, and finish with cold to wake up. Thanks to such persistent actions, you can return to a normal pace of life and daily routine.
- There are still a few weeks before the end of quarantine. They say that it will be continued. What advice would you give about proper nutrition that would help people to keep fit (maybe, lose weight a little)?
- Here we need to focus on complex carbohydrates - porridges, pasta made from durum wheat. If there are no contraindications, then include eggs and meat in your diet and, of course, you need to eat a lot of vegetables, fruit and berries.
You can also join online training. For example, my assistants and I organize such a comprehensive marathon, which consists of training, proper nutrition, obtaining useful information during webinars, and so on. The most important thing is to follow the instructions on nutrition. We always emphasize this. I describe the menu in great detail. These are average data, but they are suitable for people, and customers are very satisfied. At the same time there are exercises with explanations. Everything is very simple and clear. We conduct it on Instagram, so it's convenient and accessible. We also involve various experts. For example, our speakers were the owner of the modeling agency "Grace Model House" Anna Tril; the hairdresser from Kyiv Iryna Koval; the stylist Kateryna Kovalchuk, who told how to compile a
beautiful wardrobe; Yulia Fahiienko, the owner of “Yulia Pasta” brand. I also invited my fellow coaches, in particular Ruslan Tubialko from Vinnytsia, who told the marathon participants how to start running and how to do it right. We decided to make this marathon as accessible as possible to attract more people. We managed with that task, because we have participants from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Vinnytsia, Odessa, Ternopil, Lviv and Lutsk. Even from Italy, Canada, Poland, the UAE and Germany!
- Regarding distance learning, there are many different feedbacks from both students and teachers. How can you evaluate such a forced form of work?
- In my opinion, it is a very cool option. Such forms of work are very often used in the world. Teachers have many opportunities: the material can be filmed, lectures can be conducted online. This has been practiced for quite a long time. There are many platforms for distance learning, from the simplest (Viber,Instagram, Telegram) to more sophisticated ones, such as Trello, where the teacher controls the process. You can offer tests where it is impossible to cheat, because little time is given for the tasks. In my opinion, it is even better, because the learning process becomes as informative as possible. It is not about sitting for extra hours, but precisely, specifically, concisely. Theoretical classes can take place online, and practical ones can already be conducted live. It is very cool. What distinguishes a webinar from a lecture? Nothing. Students also sit and listen to the teacher.
In fact, it all depends on a teacher. If he / she is knowledgeable, then it is a great field for his / her scientific growth.
Students say, "It seems like we need to learn more now than when we attended university." This is because there is a specific task that needs to be done. You will not find excuses here. "I was not present", "I forgot", "I did not find the information" – it doesn’t work. The student receives information, a specific task and time. This is where I see the benefits, because this form of work is disciplining.
- You practice online training and have many wards who have shown good results. What is the secret of motivation at a distance, because many of your colleagues fail to encourage their students to work, even during live communication?
- You know how they say: "When the student is ready - then the teacher will come." Indeed, motivated people who have certain goals come to me. In any field, the best motivation is rapid change. People who work with me see them in the first week. You get on the scale and see minus one kilogram, minus two centimeters at the waist, hips, etc. This result motivates. In my program Bodyrunonline, the motivation mechanism itself is installed. I work through different moments, which I studied for a long time. There are coaching sessions. When I communicate with people, I ask questions, consider different situations. Very often problems with motivation or its lack are psychological. So we have to find a reason to train. I always say, "It is not for me, it is for someone who wants to get a result." A person, who has the desire and follows the advice of the coach, will get the 200% result. This is an additional plus. Often people do not set goals in offline modes. Well, a person just walks and walks. We set deadlines, goals and fix them. This is psychology. There is a goal and it must be written down. Also we move from simple to complex during training. As for nutrition, it is also controlled. People send me photos of everything they eat. We have a group in Viber, it looks like a magazine (laughs - author's note).
- You have been coaching for 10 years and you can compare whether the interest of young people in sports has changed during this time? Has it decreased or increased?
- Today I have more girls. I focus on the female audience. Therefore, the ratio is that sort. However, according to the general trend, women are more interested in their health than men. If you look at 2005, when I was a student, there were few women. The guys were more interested – the gym, pumping chest, biceps. But today it is still mostly women.
- To what extent is our University a good platform for promoting a healthy lifestyle and sports in general?
- In a nutshell, it is a very good platform. We have many specialists, in particular my colleagues, who apply various researches for trainings. They promote a healthy lifestyle. We also have an Athletics Core - a good place where you can do athletics and play volleyball, football, and basketball. The university encourages the development of team sports - there are basketball and volleyball teams.
We can also train at the Avangard Stadium. This is cool, because when I was a student, there were no such conditions for training.
- After the All-Ukrainian track and field competitions in Lutsk, our city has often become called the capital of athletics. Is there any human potential in our region for such an honorary title?
- The professionals do not appear suddenly, but are brought up. We have sports schools where all this has to be done. Honestly, there is a bit of a problem with the staff, because it is difficult to involve young people in athletics. Namely, the potential is great, but many young athletes, who have good strength, speed for their age, are difficult to involve. Today, young people can engage, but the financial component is very important. In order to earn 12 thousand hryvnias in sports, you need to work very hard. Therefore, athletes often lack motivation. When I was doing athletics, it was a bit prestigious, although athletes didn't earn much then. Today young people have many employment options, so often they, unfortunately, give up sports.
- How to establish a "supply" of good athletes who could compete for high Ukrainian, European and world awards on the basis of the Eastern European National University?
- The biggest advantage is that you can attract athletes of a certain level and educate them on the basis of higher education institution, make them masters of sports and so on. Anyway, if a student enters the first year of study at university without a category, then in 5 years, if he becomes a candidate, it will be just great. You need to lay the foundation which will be developed over the years. Therefore, as an option, there may be the involvement of athletes who have sports merits and categories, and then you can form the first results at the University.
- That is, it is impossible to develop a successful athlete "from scratch" at the University?
- There are, of course, some cases that deny this, and some sports that allow you to do so. For example, on the basis of the University training in race-walking is quite well developed. Volodymyr Trokhymovych Yalovyk has methodology and experience. Guys from Volyn villages, who have never been seriously doing sports, can obtain masters of sports in two or three years. This is not a single case of luck. Some people say that race-walking is an easy sport, but it is a stupendous work as I know how much these guys and girls are doing. If someone is ready to walk 200 kilometers a week, please do so and let’s see how easy it is (laughs, - author's note).
- What types of athletes training at the University predominate? What are the problems? Where is it necessary to add?
- If in athletics, then race-walking is well-developed. Also hammer throw (coach Roman Yevhenovych Cherkashyn). Mykhailo Stepanovych Moroz trains sprinters, Zhanna Stanislavivna Mudryk prepares a powerful team of jumpers. Kickboxing, basketball, volleyball are well-developed, but there is not enough football, although it would be possible to make a team.
As for athletics, I would involve more people, but it's all hard to do because you need support. It depends not only on the University. We have a lot of bureaucracy, which often hinders young talents from developing. In my opinion, we do not have a system, motivation. You need to set goals and understand what is done for this all. Not only athletes but also coaches and teachers need motivation. This is a global problem.
To raise the level of sports, a few points are enough - to increase the salaries of members of the national team of Ukraine in all sports. Professional athletes need money for recovery, equipment, nutrition, massage. They give back everything they receive. People are jealous, they say that the Olympians got apartments, but this is a huge amount of work.
- How, in your opinion, should Ukrainian sport be developed?
- I would take the US training system as a model. All sports are well developed there. University sports are placed at a high level. The athlete does not pay for training, but receives a scholarship, and a couple of universities are fighting for him. I believe that athletes need support and assistance. It is difficult to produce an athlete and a scientist at the same time. When you train twice a day, it is very difficult to
master something extra. I once had a choice: to train or to study. I wrote a thesis and participated in competitions. It is very difficult to switch from one task to another and focus on achieving the result.
- Many good athletes have been brought up at our University. What about the young generation studying at Lesya Ukrainka National University? Is there a worthy substitute for already titled athletes (for example, speedsters)? Maybe you can single out someone you hope for?
- It all depends on a person's intrinsic motivation. I can give many names, and in half a year they will, God forbid, give up sports. There are many good athletes, but it all depends on them. For me, an example of enthusiasm for his work is my father. I have always been amazed by his dedication to sports and respected him as a professional, because it is his passion. Unfortunately, in our sport, a coach must be a dietitian, manager, pharmacologist, psychologist, accountant. Sufficient funding is needed - and then people will beg and want to get into sports.
That's when everything will be fine and there will be no problems with staff.
- How has the quarantine affected the athletes, their training and form? Will it affect performance after the return of competition?
- It definitely affects. During quarantine, athletes were given a maintenance load and, of course, the pace of cardiovascular system and readiness was slightly reduced. We conducted research, and the recovery time was 30-35% worse. If earlier they could restore the pulse rate of 160 to 115 per minute, now this period is longer. During the training itself, the pulse rate has increased by 15%. This can be explained by the fact that athletes did not have the same intensity as during normal days. But it's not scary.
We do not know when the competition will take place, but we hope that everything will be fine. Now we are waiting for the comeback of training. It is unknown whether the Ukrainian championship will take place in Lutsk, but we will train.
- As a coach, you have prepared many masters of sports of Ukraine and masters of sports of Ukraine of international class, winners and prize-winners of both all-Ukrainian and international competitions. Can you tell us what determines the further success of an athlete: the natural talent or still work on oneself? What comes first?
- Here everything depends on the level. If we are talking about a very serious level, then, of course, there must be physiological parameters. The body must have a stable immune system, good blood counts, initial levels of endurance, speed, flexibility. Of course, such things are gained. It depends on the sport.
Many people say that you need to find talent - and everything will come. Of course, it matters, everyone has a certain level of training. For some it is higher from birth, for others it is lower, but there must be work on oneself, diligence, patience, psychological stability. I would say that you need three components: psychology, physiology, motivation. There are people who have desires, but it is not their cup of tea. Not everyone can become a musician, English teacher, and entrepreneur. A person must find his or her true self and work on it. If I saw the movie "Rocky" today and want to become a champion, it will not happen. There are exceptions. There is no guarantee that a person with talents will become a champion. In my practice there were cases when the athlete performed the first category of candidate for Master of Sports and after graduating from the University left everything and due to certain circumstances went to work. Here everything has to come together: conditions, desires, inclinations, ability to tolerate, good technique, psychological moments, pharmacology, recovery, massage, sauna, proper nutrition. If this all is there, then we can talk about training an Olympic champion.
Interviewed by
Andrii PETRUSHKO
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