Osmany Juantorena and the NOI.5 Fitness Club: from athletic training for volleyball to the new gym in Civitanova Marche

Crusher of the Lube and the Italian national team, silver medal in the 2015 World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics, and an endless series of trophies and titles won at club level (including two consecutive Champions Leagues won with the Trento jersey): of theOsmany Juantorena volleyball player to speak for are certainly the results, which at 33 years of age consecrate him among the strongest and most successful in our country and beyond. Less well known, however, is his non-sporting activity. Dabout a year, he and partner Sheila Calcina started up a gym on the seafront of 'his' Civitanova Marchewhere he has been playing for three years for Lube: "Il NOI.5 Fitness Club is the brainchild of two friends who, albeit in different ways, have made sport their reason for living - Juantorena explained - We wanted to combine our skills and experience to create an environment where you can take care of yourself and to raise awareness of the importance of adopting a proper diet and a healthy, exercise-oriented lifestyle".

However, the 5, which has always accompanied him as the number on his shirt, is not the only link between the gym and the volleyball career of the Italian-Cuban setter: 'At NOI.5 Fitness Club we do athletic training for all kinds of sports, including volleyball. I think functional training is very important for volleyballas well as for many other disciplines. In our case, however is crucial, especially in the preparation phasesince once you start playing, you have neither time nor way to load and then let your body recover. The benefits in this respect concern the improvement of the entire performanceso strength, power, speed and endurance, and at the end of the championship it helps to withstand the stress of so many close matches'..

Juantorena's preparation for the Volleyball World Cup

Juantorena is currently engaged in athletic preparation for the upcoming Volleyball World Cup, which will be played in Italy and Bulgaria from 10 September: "It is an extremely important event and we are already working hard since early August to try to do our best and get as far as possible. I normally train about five hours a daywith my trainer handling all the athletics and individual exercises. Specifically, we focus a lot on jump resistancewhich is one of the aspects we focus on the most".

By necessity, Juantorena's volleyball commitments mean that the day-to-day running of the gym is almost entirely taken care of by his partner Sheila Calcinawho explained the offer that can be found at the NOI.5 Fitness Club: "Our approach is to provide our members with a programme that allows you to train your body using all possible methodsfrom 'fat burning', and therefore aerobic, to functional or isotonic, organising dynamic and fun courses such as those of functional training, of pilates, gentle gymnastics, pre and postnatal gymnastics e before and after surgery or injury. This is done both in groups and through individual lessons, always with the aim of improve both athletic performance and quality of life".

Between training and nutrition

However, it is not only training that is at the centre of the Marche club's offer, which also provides the opportunity to supplement one's athletic training with a correct diet: "Once you have registered - continues Sheila - each member is given a complete check-up, so that a personal file can be created on the basis of which a nutritional pathway associated with the training programme, body composition and functional characteristics of the individual. All this is then constantly monitored and updated to match the results obtained, so that the right motivation is constantly conveyed.".