Simão Almeida

Why did you choose artistic gymnastics?

My parents were both gymnasts. My mother chose the playful side and my father the competitive side, so they decided that gymnastics was an excellent sport to practice since childhood, to learn how to overcome fears, overcome obstacles and become responsible and autonomous. I started with classical gymnastics classes and after a few months I was invited to join a class to train and compete in artistic gymnastics. I was then 6 years old. I cultivated my passion for gymnastics and at the age of 14, 15 I decided that I wanted to be a top-level gymnast, to participate in the European and World Championships. I even wanted to go to the Olympic Games! It was around this time that I joined the national team and stayed there until the age of 32. I've had a lot of international competitions in my career. I participated in 7 World Championships, 12 European Championships, 1 European Games, 1 Mediterranean Games, 3 University Games, 15 World Cups and more than 40 international tournaments. In these competitions, I was part of the team that obtained the best results in the history of Portuguese gymnastics.

What is the most remarkable point in your career?

I like to say that the highlight of my career was my first European Championship in 2004 in Slovenia. I think that's when it became clear that that's exactly where I wanted to be. I wanted to compete on this stage, I wanted to compete alongside the best in the world, I wanted to show my gymnastics to the whole world. I can't fail to mention also the 2010 World Championships in Holland, which was my first participation at the world championships and where we qualified among the 24 best teams in the world, which was our big goal. It was a start with the "icing on the cake".

Is it difficult to reconcile sport and work?

In a way, I have an advantage, because my academic choice (Espace Sport) has allowed me to pursue my career at the highest level. When I did my professional internship, I went to live in Nottingham, UK. I chose a gym that allowed me to do the practical part of my training as a fitness trainer, while at the same time keeping up with the pace of my training. When I returned to Portugal and started working as a coach at Ginásio Clube Português, I was able to continue combining my professional goals with my sporting career. Of course, it's not an easy task, but with a sense of responsibility and ambition, almost anything is possible.

Do you pay attention to your diet?

Currently, the main care I take with my diet is related to water consumption, I try to avoid sweets (sometimes unsuccessfully) and fried foods, and I try to maintain a balance between the amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats throughout the day. I try to have a varied diet, alternating fruits and vegetables I eat daily, varying the different sources of protein and avoiding processed foods as much as possible.

Why did you accept the challenge to join the Super Vegan Fitness team?

When I was introduced to the concept of the Super Vegan Fitness LINK range, I found it very interesting. Beyond the quality of the product components, the variety and the healthy lifestyle that the brand promotes, I fully identified with the message that is conveyed to customers: "To all those who don't need an alarm clock. Who love a challenge. Who think about performance, energy and recovery". MANIFEST LINK For me, it's like passing on the principles of top-level sport and include them in everyday life. It's a fantastic transition! In a way, it made 200% sense for me to accept this challenge.

Do you think this issue of "clean" products, without chemicals or refined sugars, is important?

In my opinion, it is not just important but fundamental. Knowing what we really eat is often a real challenge. That's why it's very important to feel that we have some control over what we eat. For me, this has become very concrete during my career, because often, out of ignorance, I have found myself eating foods that promote inflammation. Instead of helping me to recover after the effort, they had a negative effect.

Do you have a routine that you follow every day, both in terms of sports and food?

As I said about sport, I always keep 1h/1h30 a day to train. When I think about it, yes, I do handstands every day. As for my diet, I created a routine while I was still competing, which is to drink a smoothie when I wake up, nothing super refined, just something that helps me wake up. I created this habit because I've always had a hard time eating solid foods and then going to training in the morning, even if it was an hour and a half later. At the time, my nutritionist suggested this alternative to me, and I have kept it ever since.

This year, you retired from competition. What lessons have you learned from it?

I guess gymnastics helped me become the person I am today. I've been living with certain priorities for 25 years and when you have that kind of determination, incredible things can happen. Gymnastics has helped me, from a very young age, to become very autonomous and responsible. At 13, I was already doing international training camps where I had to know how to live without my parents for a week and that is a fantastic experience for a young person. It allows you to grow faster and be mature much younger. From an early age, it taught me to face my mistakes, frustrations, injuries, surpassing myself, successes and failures, fears, joys of doing something for the first time. Gymnastics made me grow day by day.

What are you doing now and where can people find you?

I always wanted to be a coach. I got into human motor skills and graduated with a degree in sport science. I completed the high-performance portion of the master's program. One year before graduating (2011), I started giving training courses in men's gymnastics at the Ginásio Clube Português and I initiated the creation of training courses for 4-7-year old children. After a few years, I started to teach the next class 7-10 years old children and now, after finishing my career, I accepted the challenge to form the high-performance group, with young people aging between 13 and 20 years. All of them dream of being high level gymnasts and participating in the highest-level competitions. Furthermore, in 2016, I was invited to give a gymnastics training for CrossFit, and since then I have been involved in the sport. I have created my own project, called Gym4Cross, where I give workshops, custom training and planning. With this project, I try to share all the knowledge that I have acquired during my career, all the experiences that I have lived and that I believe can help athletes evolve in the field of gymnastics. At the moment, I am also working in two CrossFit clubs (Trend CrossFit and Off Limits CrossFit) as a gymnastics coach.

How do you keep your balance?

Currently, I try to make sure every day, as part of my professional schedule, that I have at least 1h/1h30 for my training, whether it is gymnastics, functional training, CrossFit, yoga, running, etc. This way I can maintain my body and release the energy I have accumulated. After so many years of competing and training twice a day, it is often the body itself that asks me to take a break and let the muscle memory take over for a few hours.

What gives you energy and what motivates you?

I like to pass on the knowledge and experience that I have learned and gotten over the years. I believe this is clearly my mission. It's something that comes naturally to me, I don't need to force myself, it doesn't cost me to communicate. On the contrary, my preliminary preparation is in the sense of organizing myself in the concepts I am going to talk about, so as not to disperse myself in all the things I want to transmit. And one of the things that motivates me the most is to see the athletes reach their goals. When you see in someone's eyes that all the effort was worth it, for me, that moment warms my heart.

Who inspires you in your daily life?

My father, to be an eternal dreamer. My mother, to always be true to herself. My brother, for his independence and creativity. My girlfriend, for constantly searching for her best version. These four extraordinary people are my daily inspiration.

Three words that define you...

Persevering, genuine and selfless.

A mantra that you try to pass on to all your students...

It's not a mantra in the literal sense of the word, but it's something that governs my everyday life: Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out. In a very simplified translation, it means that we should always try to make the best of what happens to us.

An ideal training for those who want to learn how to do the handstands!

To begin and give the body the stimulus to be upside down, for me the first step is to dominate the 3-point position. Then you gradually move on to stand with a support, with a wall, an assistant, etc. And then you start training by yourself. It seems super easy and fast, but the passage from one step to another takes a certain amount of time and in each of these phases there are dozens of other steps. It's a fabulous process that makes us question our own limits. But I'm sure that Super Vegan Fitness will organize a handstand workshop, so that I can talk with my arms and turn all the participants upside down!

What advice can you give to other athletes in gymnastics and even in other disciplines?

The main advice I can give you is very simple: enjoy the ride. This is what really matters, the end result is simply a summary of the path and when you get there you will realize that the real memories and experiences are not about the end of the path, but in the construction of that path. This is something that fortunately I realized even before the end of my career, and then I was able to appreciate and live each moment as it should be and as it is meant to be. It was this understanding that led me to the conclusion that everything was worthwhile and that if it were possible, I would repeat everything.