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A Quick 6 Minute Workout You Can Do Anywhere

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Does hectic work schedule keep you pinned do your desk? Are you unable to squeeze in even a little time to workout in between your busy schedule? If you want to workout but are unable to crunch in the time, we’ve got this quick 6 minute workout to help you out!

This 6 minute workout is designed to help you reap all the benefits of a workout using only your body weight, a chair and a wall. You won’t need any special equipment and can perform this routine anywhere!

The Quick 6 Minute Workout

  1. Jumping Jacks: This classic cardio move is a great way to warm up. It improves strength and endurance, increases metabolic rate, burns calories and is great for your heart and lungs as well!
  1. Wall Sit: Wall Sits are great in working out the two groups of muscles in your thighs. Repetitions of Wall Sits would naturally give you thighs that can withstand prolonged strenuous activities.
  1. Push-Ups: work many muscle groups at the same time, giving your body a full workout! You can work the quads, hamstrings, calves, chest, shoulders and arms all at the same time with a few push-ups. It stimulates metabolism and blood circulation, allowing you to burn more calories throughout the rest of your workout.
  1. Abdominal Crunch: Crunches work on the Rectus Abdominis Muscles. It is a core working exercise and burns less calories comparatively but, they move in a controlled manner, flexing and releasing the core muscles, thus helping you build abs.
  1. Step Up Onto Chair: This exercise is great for targeting your quad and Gluteus Maximus Muscles, giving you strong, powerful legs.
  1. Squats: are great for a total lower body workout. They effectively work most of the major muscle groups of the butt, hips and thighs. Squats are also a versatile exercise. Squats engage the core muscles of the body. The result is a tighter, flatter abdomen and a stronger lower back.
  1. Triceps Dips On Chair: It is a triceps-strengthening and a most effective body-weight exercise. Dips target your triceps – the muscles on the back of your upper arm.
  1. Planks: help in strengthening the midsection, upper-body and lower-body muscles along the front of your body. Planks also strengthen the inner core muscles that support your joints. It helps in reducing belly fat and back pain. At a time, it works on all your core muscles.
  1. High Knees Running: This is a nice warm-up. High Knees Running on Spot is good practice for runners and athletes to improve running form and develop lower body muscles. It also enhances your strength, speed, balance and flexibility. What’s more? It provides you more energy, burns calories, builds muscles and enhances blood circulation.
  1. Lunges: are easy-to-learn, safe and an incredibly effective exercise. Lunges target the quadriceps, but involve additional muscles, including the glutes, hamstrings, calves and core muscles, making them an important exercise for toning the lower body.
  1. Push-Up & Rotation: This exercise is great for building shoulder stabilization and strengthening your entire core. Don’t let your hips drop when you go into side rotation. Try to keep everything in a straight diagonal line throughout.
  1. Side Plank: works your entire core but particularly targets an often weak muscle called the Quadratus Lumborum. It helps to reduce risk for lower back pains, improves your balance and structure.

Perform the above exercises in rapid succession with 20 seconds for each exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest in between. Don’t forget to stretch before you begin!

These 7 minutes that you will give to your body and your health are equal to 0.5% of your day! So go out there and get fit the HIIT way!

Want to learn more effective workouts? Join our fitness expert Tufail Qureshi LIVE on GOQii Play. Get the app here: www.goqii.com/app

#BeTheForce

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Lunchtime Workouts to Stay Fit Anywhere!

It is easy to fall prey to a sedentary lifestyle especially with a hectic schedule that revolves around work, home and stress. Somewhere, a healthy life and fitness has taken a backseat for most people. But, most people forget that staying fit and active is a mantra to being more productive at work!

There may be many constraints that might prevent you from working out but there’s always a solution. We call it the Lunchtime Workouts! These workouts can be done anywhere, including your office. They are easy and can be wrapped up within 15-20mins flat!

Remember that it is recommended to aim for 2 and a half hours of moderate aerobic exercise weekly, and strength training exercises at least twice a week.

Try These Lunchtime Workouts

  1. Warm up with rotations of the hand and legs. End it with a cool down like stretching
  2. 4 min Tabata Workout: To get the best out of this workout, perform the following in the same order:
    • Jumping Jacks – 20 seconds
    • Rest – 10 seconds
    • Squats – 20 seconds
    • Rest – 10 seconds
    • Lunges – 20 seconds
    • Rest – 10 seconds
    • Push ups – 20 seconds
    • Rest – 10 seconds
    • Repeat once more in the same order
  3. Resistance and Stretching: Stretching can help you increase your blood circulation and bring flexibility to your body. It is also a great stress-busting method and it can ease lower back pain.
  4. Yoga and Meditation: Yoga relieves stress and tension, helps you take a break from daily routine and makes your day more energetic! Deep breathing directly recharges your entire body!

With so many options to choose from which are way below 20 minutes, you can move away from your desk for a little while and work towards a healthy lifestyle.

Keep going and #BeTheForce

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Planks: The Quick and Easy Way to Stay Fit!

Benefits of Plank

With everyone’s busy schedule, even squeezing in a 15 minute workout seems like a stretch. Quite honestly, we all want to be fit, lose weight, gain muscle, reduce belly fat or increase stamina and so on but very rarely find the time to do it.

In such a scenario, it is necessary to think about which workouts consume less time but are more effective. There are many exercises that you can perform at any time, anywhere and with no equipment. One such workout that not only keeps you fit but improves your focus, posture, balance and core is a Plank.

Planks strengthen your mid-section, upper-body and lower-body muscles along with the front of your body. It also strengthens the inner core muscles that support your joints. At a time, it works on all your core muscles.

In 2017, I was super excited to participate in my first ever 100km Oxfam Trailwalk. I began practicing regularly and then I realized that I was going through severe back problems. The result of the back pain led to my doctor forbidding me to participate in the Trailwalk and I missed the event.

I kept myself strong and promised that next year I will surely participate in the Trailwalker with a strong back bone. I started doing back strengthening exercises, worked on my diet and after some time I added Plank to my workouts. This workout has helped me to reduce my back pain, improve my posture, balance, and overall fitness.

How To Hold A Plank

  • Lie face down with forearms on the floor and hands clasped
  • Extend your legs behind the body and rise up on the toes
  • Keeping your back straight, tighten the core and hold the position for 30-60 seconds (or as long as you can)

Plank Variations and How to Perform Them

There are different variations for the plank which are a little difficult to perform. Let’s explore them!

  1. Side Plank: Roll to the side and come up on one foot and elbow. Make sure your hips are lifted and the core is engaged. Hang tight for 30-60 seconds (or as long as you can)
  2. Reverse Plank: Start by sitting on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Place your palms on the floor, below your shoulders, squeeze your buttocks and thighs, and then push your body up into a reverse plank position. Alternatively, you can begin by placing your elbows rather than your hands on the floor, for a less dramatic lift. Keep your body in a straight diagonal line from your shoulders to heels. Ensure that your hips are in line
  3. Dynamic Prone Plank: Starting with a standard plank position, raise the hips as high as they can go and then lower them back down. Continue this movement for as long as possible. Make sure the Back stays straight and the hips don’t droop.
  4. Plank to Push-Up: Starting in a plank position, place down one hand at a time to lift up into a push-up position, with the back straight and the core engaged. Then, move one arm at a time back into the plank position (forearms on the ground). Repeat alternating the arm that makes the first move
  5. Jumping Jack Planks: There are planks, and then there are planks with pop! Start in a traditional plank (shoulders over the wrists and the body in one straight line) but keep your feet together. Then, simply do jumping jacks with the legs, moving them out to the sides, then back together. Aim for 12-15 hops (out and in is one)

Fun Fact: Just by holding a plank for 30 secs a day, you can make your core stronger. It also helps you lose fat!

One word of caution is being careful when performing planks. Overdoing it could lead to injury. This is important if you have back pain or an injury. If you’re trying it for the first time, get into it slowly and gradually till you can hold the plank for longer duration. The duration can be increased with  practice.

Points to Remember

  • Keep breathing while doing the Plank. In essence, don’t hold your breath
  • Ensure that your hips, head or shoulders do not drop
  • Don’t place your hands very close, it can create internal rotation and instability in your shoulder joint
  • Try to hold the Plank in a proper position for a short duration rather than holding it in a wrong position for a longer time

What do you think? Try out planks and its variations and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

#BeTheForce

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Strength Training and It’s Benefits

strength training

Having covered so many topics across health and fitness, we wanted to focus today’s topic on Strength Training. I have always been fond of strength training. If performed correctly, strength training can provide significant functional benefits and improvement in overall health and well-being.

Weight training can increase Bone Mineral Density and Muscle Mass. It also increases the strength and toughness of our tendons and ligaments, improves joint function and range of motion, and reduces potential for injury. Strength training will tone your muscles.

benefits of strength trainingStrength training or weight training or anaerobic training all are same. In anaerobic exercise, cells use ATP (Adenosine Tri Phosphate) as a source of energy or glucose in the absence of oxygen. It usually lasts up to 2 minutes.

I began strength training at the age of 16 with traditional Indian squat, Surya Namaskar and push ups. At that time, my knowledge was limited. After some time I realized that my immune system is performing better. I used to fall sick more often with fever and/or cold but weight training really helped me make my immune system stronger.

Weight training can be done using body weight, elastic bands, dumbbells, barbells, and kettle bells. I prefer using my body weight as there is no investment which is required and sometimes, I use dumbbells for weight training.

If you are feeling depressed or stressed, try weight training. It helped me overcome depression and might work wonders for you! After a weight training session, endorphin levels increase in the body. Endorphins are the neurotransmitters released by the pituitary gland which makes one feel good. Neuro-muscular coordination improves.

One benefit of strength training is that during training you are burning calories but the effect will remain for more time because of the increased muscle mass. So weight training will help to increase the B.M.R. as muscle needs more energy to survive.

What Happens in Strength Training?

During strength training, there will be a wear and tear in the muscle fiber but that damage will be repaired after sleep and proper nutrition. Your muscles will become stronger. Your muscular strength and muscular endurance will go up after 2-3 sessions. For hypertrophy (increase in muscle mass), you need more training sessions, proper nutrition and rest.

During weight training, blood flow will increase to a particular muscle. There will be more supply of nutrients to that muscle and muscle will increase in size and strength. Smaller muscles need less time for recovery but bigger muscles like the hamstrings or quadriceps need more time and nutrition.

But before starting weight training you have to prepare your body and mind. Start with a good warm up. During or before you exercise, try ballistic stretching where you are not holding the stretch. After your training session, perform cool down and static stretching where you will hold the stretch for 10-15 seconds.

Want to know more about Strength Training? Leave your queries in the comments below!

#BeTheForce

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