Knowledge for your everyday training
Articles on getting started, equipment training and classes – written from day-to-day work on our training floor in Dortmund. For returning trainees and for anyone fitting training in alongside their job.
Our readers
Two starting points, one way back
Most questions we hear at the desk come from two groups: people after a longer break, and people with a full calendar.
Returners
After years without training, the problem isn't the exertion but the dosage. Our articles for this group cover small starting volumes, two sessions a week as a habit, and the difference between muscle soreness and a warning sign.
Working professionals
If you train between shifts, commuting and family, you don't need a bigger plan — you need a shorter one. This is about 45-minute sessions, training times at the edges of the day, and plans that survive a week that goes off track.
Returning to training
The first eight weeks
Anyone coming back after years off rarely underestimates motivation — it's recovery they underestimate. Muscles respond to a stimulus within a few days; tendons and ligaments need weeks.
That's why we split the return to training into eight weeks: first technique and range of motion, then the number of repetitions, and only at the end the weight. Two sessions a week are enough at this stage. Muscle soreness the day after training is normal; a sharp pain in a joint is not — please speak to the team directly if that happens.
Technique before weight
Every exercise is learned with the lightest resistance that still allows clean movement. Two to three sets, twelve to fifteen reps, with a full minute's rest in between.
Learning to set up the machines
We note seat height, lever length and stop position in your training plan. This way you can find the same setting again in the next session, even without supervision.
Six to eight exercises, not twelve
A short plan is more likely to be followed through. Legs, back, chest, shoulders, core — that's all the beginning needs.
Building up reps
If your technique stays solid, we first increase to three sets and towards the upper end of the rep range. The weight stays the same for now.
First class session
Many people now combine a machine session with a class. This adds variety and builds endurance without increasing the strain on the joints.
Fixed slots in the calendar
Two time slots per week, ideally always the same ones. For working people, the off-peak times before 8:00 and after 21:00 tend to be the most reliable.
Increasing weight
Now the resistance increases in small steps — and only where the last rep is still performed with control. After that, the rep count drops again.
Reviewing the plan
After about six to eight weeks, we review the plan together: what has worked well, where's the stimulus missing, and which exercise is unpopular and could be replaced.
A third session, if it fits
The third session is only worthwhile once two sessions have been stable for several weeks. Before that, it's usually the first one to get dropped again.
Work and training
45 minutes is enough
The most common reason for giving up isn't a lack of motivation, but a plan that demands too much time. A machine session with six exercises takes around 45 minutes including changing.
Because we're open Monday to Friday from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm and on weekends from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, this window can be fitted in before work, during your lunch break, or late in the evening. What matters is consistency over months, not the length of each individual session.
- Pack your bag the evening before — towel, shoes, water bottle, change of shirt
- Choose two fixed weekdays and enter them as appointments in your calendar
- Leave your training plan at the studio instead of bringing it along every time
- Time your rests with a clock, not by feel — this noticeably shortens the session
- Use off-peak times: early morning and after 21:00, the machines are usually free
- If you're on a business trip or in a busy project phase, keep one session rather than cancelling both
Ready for the next step?
We'll show you how to get back into training with ease during your trial session.