Tag: workout

Why you should include push ups in your workout routine?

Push-up is a evergreen exercise in the evolving fitness world. Many new exercises emerges and many disappears but push-up is right there enhancing everyone’s gain. Here’s some motivation to include push-ups in your workout routine.

Compound movement

It simply means that they targets activate multiple muscle groups at time instead of targeting muscles in isolation. Like bicep curls target only biceps but push-ups target whole upper body. Push-ups performed with correct technique chest, triceps, core, anterior shoulders etc. It maximizes your training efficiency. If you are skinny guy with ectomorph body type, focus on compound movements like push-ups to stimulate muscle growth.

Measure of cardiovascular health

According to a study by Jama network, men who could complete at least 40 push-ups under 30 seconds were at a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular problems like heart attack and heart failure. It means more push-ups you can do, the more likely your cardiovascular health is good.

Modifiable

If you can’t even do a single traditional push-up, no need to worry as there are many variations of this exercises and you can perform variation which suits your fitness level. Pushups can be modified up to 100 variations. If you are a beginner and find normal push ups very hard, start with wall push ups and than move to tougher variations like decline push up, knee push up and normal push up. Also there are many variations available for pros like one hand push ups.

No equipment needed

Push ups are a great way to challenge yourself without spending a single cent. While many exercises requires equipment like dumbbells and barbells, but that’s not the case with push ups. There’s always a push up variant to challenge your body irrespective of your fitness level. You can do it anytime, anywhere.

Helpful in improving posture

It is a great posture improving exercise. If done with proper form, push ups can help you in getting a proper posture helping in putting us in a good positioning instead of being hunched over or looking down. So to save your back bone, do push ups daily.

Beneficial for core and upper body and bones

Generally push ups are considered as an exercise for our limbs. But many people don’t know that they help in strengthening your core stabilization muscles. These muscles are foundation of any strength work we do and kay factor in getting stronger. They are also a great exercise to improve upper body strength. They will you in getting bigger and stronger chest biceps , triceps , shoulders and upper back. Also few pushups a day will keep your bone doctor away. They build bone density which prevents from osteoporosis specially for women.

They are empowering

As stated earlier push ups help in strengthening upper body. Big and strong upper body will make you feel more strong confident and capable. The fact that you can push your own body weight up off of the ground and hold yourself up is incredible—and something we should all aspire to do!

So next you do a workout, try to include any variation of push ups.

workout plan for beginners

The most confusing part after we start a great fitness journey is finding the right workout plan.We can ask for our new gym trainer or explore online.But the fact is no one knows more about your body than yourselves.Sticking to the right workout plan can create a great impact on your overall wellness and lifestyle.But as a beginner ,we all fail to do it right in the start.Here I have comprised a few workouts and a workout tips that can help you to start your fitness adventure.

1.Understand your body:

The first and foremost thing about starting your fitness goals is not straight away jump into workouts,instead research about your body how it reacts to certain workouts and to other.Not all sort of workouts will help you achieve you ideal body.We all have our weakness and strengths.So understanding your body is the first step to a long lasting goals.

2.Start small:

Start by having small workout circuits instead of spending hours in gym or workouts.Why not spend a lot of time if you are beginner .Point one,your body is not capable of accepting a sudden body change.So if you start small ,say for one week for five days with rest days in-between and you only do for 20 minute circuits.Your body will adapt to this gradual change and accept whatever it is.But say you workout for 1 hour circuit for five days.Your body couldn’t accept this amount of movements.Instead we force to accept it.So no matter what ,start small.

3.How your workout plan should look like:

It should comprise of three parts(that’s how i like and you might be too).

The three part can be categorised into

1.Cardio/strength(High impact)

2.Pilates/Yoga(Low impact)

3.Rest days(Very important!)

Dividing and adjusting these three factors in your workouts will not only help you make changes according to your body cues but also you will have a sustained routine for very long time.We need a lifestyle change and not for this moment alone.For example,you can have three cardio/strength days with two low impact days may be in the middle of high impact or after followed by rest days.

It is most vital to understand your body cues.If your body is so restless in a particular.Please rest.Don’t go for the results.Result oriented goals,it will never reap you any good.Hope this blog had helped you understand how to start your fitness goals.Stay fit and motivating.

Fitness Myths

The explosion of wellness as a mainstream trend has affected some positive change: healthier options at major restaurants, an influx of boutique fitness studios, and a renewed interest in self- care among them. But the invigorated interest in our health has also opened the floodgates for information – particularly around diet and fitness – that isn’t always the foremost reliable. There is so much information floating around about exercise, that it’s sometimes hard to discern fact from myth. And unfortunately for several folks, hearing is believing. Here are some common myths regarding fitness which are commonly believed and followed.

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Pexels.com

1. Stretch before you workout- We all must have heard this one and believed it without even questioning it. The importance of a pre-workout stretch is that the favorite most-believed myth, with nearly 3 in 5 believers. Studies have shown that the main advantage of stretching is maintaining or increasing range of motion through a joint. What about injury prevention and improved performance? Stretching has historically been prescribed for tight muscles as a way to get the body to relax but recently the fitness industry has discovered that stretching a ‘cold’ body could have negative impacts. But that doesn’t mean jumping right into your workout is the better option; instead, keep the pre-workout warm-up but change what it consists of. A proper workout schedule should be a cardiovascular exercise to warm the body up and get the blood flowing for about 5 to 15 minutes, followed by a sequence of dynamic exercises.

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2. Lifting weights will pump up your body- For a long time weight lifting was put in the spotlight by bodybuilders, strongmen, and professional athletes determined to be the biggest and worst on the block. It bred the longstanding misnomer that you lift heavy weights minimal times for size and strength and you lift little weight a lot of times to lose weight/lean out … not true. At all. It’s important to dispel this myth because strength training is a vital component of any fitness routine. Lifting weights regularly (and appropriately) will: improve your heart health, keep your tendons/joints/ligaments lubricated and feeling good, boost your metabolism, correct your posture, regulate your hormones and make you stronger. t does all this because lifting weights taps into all of your body’s energy/movement systems while challenging it in a way that forces the response of all that was previously mentioned. What lifting weights won’t do is give you unwanted bulkiness unless you are specifically training for that.

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3. Muscles turn into fat if you stop working out- This is a popular myth in part because of an optical illusion. If I transition from a lively lifestyle of building mass to whatever an alternate lifestyle seems like, there’s a chance. The muscles get smaller and therefore the body fat will probably rise counting on the diet. This leads most people to believe that their muscle is turning into fat. The real story is that muscle and fat are two different tissue systems with different functions. Muscle tissue is what gives you mass and what is constantly burning calories. The fat tissue is what gives you the ‘gut’ and is where excess energy is stored. Although energy is shared between the 2 systems, muscle and fat don’t convert to at least one another. They simply move up and down on a spectrum independently and in most cases simultaneously. The confusion for people probably come therein once they are inactive, their muscle size and productivity decreases. This results in less of a demand for ‘fuel’ or energy from food consumption. When your body has excess fuel from unused food its default is to convert it into long term storage, aka ‘fat.’ When you have an increased demand for storage your fat cells expand or grow larger and in some instances, new ones are created.

Remedies for Emotional Exhaustion

▷ Emotional health and wellbeing - Everything you need to know | Adia

Detection is important and once you know what is wrong with you, you can seek ways to treat and help yourself. First and foremost, it is important to accept that you are not in your best condition to work and go on with your life. Physical ailments are easier to detect but that’s not the case with mental ailments like emotional exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion is the state of complete hopelessness and emotional detachment. It is not something that can be overlooked and needs to be treated for an individual to continue to be efficient in whatever he does. 

Read: 9 Signs of Emotional Exhaustion

A person can get emotionally exhausted due to an array of reasons, some of which are relationship troubles, demise of a loved one, job related and financial problems. In the current pandemic situation, everyone – from front-line healthcare workers to people who are working from home – must have felt a wave of exhaustion due to the uncertainty and new working conditions at some point. Some people must have rebounded without any efforts and the good news for those who didn’t is, the condition can be reversed with some efforts.

Here is a list of things that you can do for mental and emotional replenishment: 

  1. Exercise and eat healthy

A healthy being can overcome anything. Exercising not only distracts you but the physical stress leads to release of happy hormones that elevate your mood. The pandemic might not allow you to hit the gym but you can still workout at home.

Read: 5 Ways to Stay Fit During Quarantine

Indigestion is a sign of emotional exhaustion and even if you feel like eating a lot or eating nothing at all, try and stick to a healthy, nutritious diet as it will not only energise you and make your gut happy but also help with your sleeping schedule and workout routine. Staying hydrated is also a must for a healthy body.

  1. Indulge in calming activities

Meditation and Yoga are a few activities that lead to peace of mind. They are also effective in helping with the blood pressure and heart rate which are associated with stress. There are a lot of breathing exercises in Yoga Asanas that can help the erratic breathing associated with panic attacks and just hyperventilation, 

A diary can become an outlet for everything that you are feeling and going through and you won’t have to worry about what it would think about you. 

  1. Distract yourself

Everything and everyone comes after your own well being. Take a break and do what makes you happy. If you think, nothing makes you happy, think again! Do something different, learn something new. Hang out with your friends and talk to them about their life. Knowing that other people have it rough too and what they do to fix their situation can not only make you feel that you are not the only one but also give you ideas. Maybe, what you need is a solo trip. Try out everything that can help openly.

  1. Actively seek help

Talk to someone – be it a therapist or a close friend. Sometimes you just want to feel validated and empathised with. The person may not advise you anything but having someone to talk to about and someone who would listen to your pain and agony will definitely help you feel better.

Gym or no Gym……?

As we all know in this current scenario till 2020 which is quite a showbiz for modernization and 2020 being a really mean and sassy year to be honest gymnasium and fitness are something which are quite in trend nowadays well at least in teenagers and adults till their mid thirties but what about the rest? Well we all know this that as anybody starting from a student,to a working class person,house wives,stay at home dads and that also to anybody cross the fifty years mark as the age as octogenarians or whoever have gone through this dilemma of going to the gym or not, in a manner i don’t know about the other countries but I guess that is the scenario in India and many more countries as well. So at the end people believe in some preoccupied ideologies about the gymnasiums and body sculpting and stuff like that but trust me or at least trust the science,facts and psychology which will help you to live a better life. In a manner our body is always craving for some maintenance and support to get to our maximum potential of looks,strength and pride. But since the lock down our government and many more countries governments are thinking that gyms are just for fun and time pass but it is really important for a country’s human resources physical as well as mental well being and that comes with places for working out as gymnasiums to start reopening. There is no age limits to go to the gyms and believe me on this one gyms can help anyone who is ready to let go of those cages of agony and fear which covers their desires and what they wish to be. So lets talk about why gyms should be open in terms of our fear and non popularity about gymnasiums through our preoccupied myths about gymnasiums…

Now let’s bust some so called myths about gymnasiums and working out.

  1. People think that once they join the gym the moment they leave it something catastrophic will happen to their body

Well I used to go through this same phase when i was a bit young so I don’t blame you because I’m 18 and I used to be in this misconception so me saying this is foolish will be hypocritical. But I’m a regular gym guy or at least used to be thanks to corona virus but that being that this thing people say is to totally false and absurd, when you go to the gym you will lose weight you will have a good looking body and your skin will remain toned,you will feel fit and free. And maybe if you leave the gym for a month or two the most which will happen is you will put on some weight and you will feel not so enthusiastic the first few days without gymming but nothing more than that happens, this myth was created for those body building athletes who take steroids and strong proteins in their diet as in their case maybe something catastrophic may happen if they leave the gym for a considerable amount of time of course but if you want a good looking muscular body not the so called beastly body you won’t have any issues,that’s why it’s wisely said to have one or two weights at home all the time so that whenever a mean year like 2020 comes you will be able to take care of yourself.

2. I don’t have time.

Well my my my just tell me what do you do with your time. It doesn’t matter if you are a student or a working class person we all should think about our physical well being because a good body helps to produce good results both in academics and in your work place. Let’s talk about science exercise helps producing dopamine which what we call as the pleasure hormone and in turn that’s why after an intense workout there will always be a sense of happiness and elation so if you are a student it is definitely helpful to go to the gym and to be the best version of yourself. As workout will help you to do whatever you do in a best manner possible so that you excel in all your endeavors.

3. We have to take protein or artificial stuff to get a good body.

Yeah yeah i know these myths are the brain child of our so called excuse makers who don’t go to the gym on purpose. So no you can take protein for better quick results but you can deny that too as by going for a protein rich diet just eat a lot of greens if you are vegan or vegetarian or if you are my kind go for animal proteins they help, so no it’s optional to take those artificial proteins you may take it or you may not take it both of them will reap you the same results just the artificial one may give results a bit earlier than the natural one. Well every good thing takes some time to be made right.!

4.Accidents happen in the gymnasiums.

Well I guess for this fireball we should thank Final Destination movies, just kidding XD. Well it’s something which rarely happens and if it does then consider that day as just a bad day. As most of the equipment have fail safe or there will be a lot of people and trainers to assist you unless the gym is haunted or it’s in a really bad shape.

5.Gyms are not for me and I can’t have a good body because I was born this way.

Seriously you believe that or you want yourself to believe that huh..? There is no such age to go to the gym and there is no age limit to work on yourself and to get rid of your self esteem issues as you are skinny or chubby or et cetera we all deserve to live a happy and healthy life so make you choice quick because time and tide waits for none…………

5 Ways to Stay Fit During Quarantine

Now that you are spending less or no time outside your homes, it’s more important than ever to prioritize your physical health. Staying active can boost your mood and even reduce stress. How can you stay on top of fitness game without going to your local gym, doing weights and following your fitness instructors? Online challenges and videos, home fitness apps, creative at home swaps and the use of the safe outdoors, if available, can help.

Here are some ways to stay active while also staying home: 

Switch up your running/walking routines

Whether you’re a runner, jogger or a walker, try and keep your routine fun by setting a schedule and small goals. If you’re a walker, map out a different route of your house for each week of exercise or just stay in one place. If you’re a runner and have access to a terrace or a garden, select a goal such as run a 4 KM and set up a training schedule to achieve your goals, and with time you can increase up a notch and challenge yourself.

Check out this 1 Mile walk at home- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njeZ29umqVE

Try a bodyweight workout

You don’t have to grab weights to achieve a good workout. You can still feel the burn if you do a low impact cardio, bodyweight strength or a high intensity interval training circuit. 

Check out this 30-minute body weight workout from Greatist- https://greatist.com/fitness/no-gym-bodyweight-workout-infographic#1

Try a fitness challenge on YouTube

Want to build core strength? Tone your abs? Tone your arms? Find a fitness challenge on YouTube that targets the zone you want to work on. You’ll be surprised by how much stronger you can become in a week or more.

Check out these videos out

7 day workout challenge by Carly Rowena: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ixZnsKTErE
6 minute arm workout by The Uma Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpLA1tPwjXA

20 Min Total Core Workout (Equipment Free Ab Workout): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b2lNLq3EaA

Try a Fitness Website

Active.com offers 30-day fitness challenges including push-up challenges, ab challenges and more.

Greatist offers many detailed work out blogs- from workout plans for beginners to expert routines. For a start, check these out- 

https://greatist.com/health/back-workouts-at-home

https://greatist.com/health/calisthenics

https://greatist.com/fitness/chest-workout-at-home

Follow along with a studio

Many studios offer video easy to follow tutorials, try Zumba tutorials for high energy workouts or go with cardio dance workouts. You can also try free tutorials with simple, at-home equipment swaps like bags of flour or books instead of weights. Although these workouts will be different than the gym sessions that you’re used to, it’s an interesting way to break a sweat and re-connect with your own body.

Check out Keaira LaShae’s  dance workouts-

10 Minute Cardio Dance Abs Workout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTH5saFBDqA

Cardio Fitness Party Workout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhUP6FQj3t4

Check out the link to read more on at-home equipment swaps-

8 Household Items That Double as Workout Equipment for Your Makeshift Home Gym: https://www.realsimple.com/health/fitness-exercise/fitness-equipment-alternatives-home