Fitness Archives - Page 2 of 42

February 13, 2023 By Radhika Mehta Leave a Comment

Does Lifting Weights Build Mental Strength?

Exercise helps maintain healthy weight, control sugar levels, strengthen muscles and bones, and most importantly, it improves fitness and keeps you healthy! It also has an effect on our mental strength as it improves mood, helps in relaxation and lowers depression. This happens because the brain releases neurotransmitters called endorphins which regulate positive feelings and keeps the mood up.

What Is Good Mental Strength?

Having good mental strength means to have logical and realistic thinking patterns, decision making power and this helps manage your emotions and behaviour. Many studies have proven that people suffering with anxiety, mood disorders and depression benefit from including exercise in their routine. Hence, following a regular exercise pattern is essential to maintain mental health and improve mental strength.

Mental strength is as important as physical strength and the good news is that both can be improved with exercise. Hitting the gym or going for a run helps people suffering from heartbreak, loss of a loved one, less self confidence, as after training they report feeling good and positive by investing their energy in a positive place.

How Does Exercise Help?

Aerobic exercises like running, cycling, swimming are well known to reduce symptoms related to mental disturbances like stress and anxiety. Regular aerobic exercise improves blood flow to the brain and helps to strengthen brain health and memory. The increase in core temperature during aerobic exercise results in calmer mood after the activity. Aerobic activity even for 20mins a day results in positive mood and thoughts throughout the day.

How Does Weightlifting Help Build Mental Strength?

Weight training uses weights or external resistance for exercising. It is used to train and strengthen muscles, improve posture and bone structure, boost metabolism and help in better sleep. Lesser known benefits about lifting weights includes improvement in mind-muscle coordination which is an essential part of exercise. This coordination is associated with cognitive function of executive functioning which manages our command and control skills. Lifting weights also improves memory and cognition related tasks. It results in a realistic pattern of thinking, taking smart decisions and regulating behaviour. It also provides a sense of self efficacy and boosts confidence.

Resistance training is a highly effective way to manage symptoms of anxiety and depression. Because what benefits the body, benefits the brain. Just like lifting weights causes muscle gain, the brain has the capacity to change itself in response to internal as well as external influences, which is known as neuroplasticity. In the presence of weight lifting, the brain becomes active, hormone production and neuron production increases. All of this together improves mental strength and helps the individual recover from anxiety or depression along with the therapy.

Weight lifting teaches you to live in the present and be more mindful as lifting requires a lot of concentration and attention in the moment. Setting up the correct posture, controlling the body and performing the movement requires a lot of focus and concentration. Make sure to club weight training in your routine for a strong body and stronger mental health.

How To Get Started With Weight Lifting

Aim to weight train for 30-45 mins, 3 times a week
Start with low weights and focus on posture and consistency
Train at low to moderate intensity for maximum benefit from weight training
Do not miss out on 7-8 hours of sleep, meditation and a balanced diet which contributes majorly to staying fit

Even if you’re currently not depressed or anxious or have any goals of muscle building, I would urge you to consider weight training for all of it’s added benefit. We hope this article on lifting weights to build mental strength helps you. You can read more fitness related articles here. For tips from experts, subscribe for GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching.

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February 6, 2023 By Vandana Juneja Leave a Comment

Quick Fixes & Exercises To Prevent Aching Elbows

The elbow joint is a very important joint but is often overlooked because it is not a weight bearing joint and doesn’t develop arthritis generally as we grow old. But it can undergo wear and tear, get injured and the pain in the area can keep us from the daily activities of living like dressing up, combing, cooking, eating food, typing or any activity that requires use of the upper limb. So, taking care of this joint is equally important and one should not ignore the early signs of discomfort. Before we go into the remedies for aching elbows, let’s look at some common conditions of the elbow joints:

Tendonitis – inflammation of the tendons around the joints
Bursitis – affects bursae, small sacs of fluid that protect the joints
Tennis Elbow – lateral epicondylitis (affects the outer tendons of the elbow)
Golfer’s Elbow – medial epicondylitis (affects the inner tendons of the elbow)
Osteoarthritis – affects the cartilage, a type of connective tissue found in joints.
Ligament sprains and strains – may be the result of repeated stress or some trauma
Dislocation or Fracture of the Elbow – may occur as a result of an injury to the elbow.

Home Remedies For Aching Elbows

Rest: If you’ve had an injury, best is to give the joint rest and let it heal naturally. Avoid any movements that put pressure on the muscles around the elbow and cause or aggravate the pain.
Ice- Packs: Applying an ice pack around the painful area can help reduce pain and swelling. You can apply ice packs 2-3 times daily for 10 minutes.
Use a Sling: If you’re not able to actively rest the arm, use an elbow sling to prevent movement of the arm and give adequate support. This will help reduce the inflammation and pain in the area. You can also remove the sling after regular intervals and perform gentle movements.
Massage: Gently massaging around the area, with your thumbs, will improve blood circulation in the area, reducing pain and inflammation.
Simple Exercises – Exercises that gently stretch the muscles around the elbow joint, give relief from pain. The stretches include –
- Wrist Extensor stretch – While standing, arms extended forwards at 90 degrees, flex one wrist and push it with the other hand (both ways- palm facing upwards- forearm supinated and then downwards- forearm pronated). Hold the stretch for 4-5 seconds and relax. You can do 3-5 reps and 1-3 sets each side.
- Wrist Flexor stretch – While standing, arm extended forwards extend one wrist and push it gently with the other hand (both ways- palm facing upwards- forearm supinated and then downwards- forearm pronated). Hold the stretch for 4-5 seconds and relax. You can do 3-5 reps and 1-3 sets each side.
- Pronation and Supination of the forearm – Sitting on a chair with your arm bent at 90 degrees, turn your palms inwards (palm down – pronation) and then outwards (palm up- supination). At the end of the movement use your other hand to assist and apple gently pressure). Hold the stretch for 4-5 seconds and relax. You can do 3-5 reps and 1-3 sets each side.
- Working the finger flexors – The finger flexors originate from above the elbow, so stretching them also gives relief. Sitting on a chair, rest your hand on the thigh and gently start lifting your fingers one by one, starting from your index finger, using the other hand to gently assist the stretching movement. Hold the stretch for 1-3 seconds and relax. You can do 3-5 reps and 1-3 sets each side.

How Can You Prevent Elbow Pain?

1. Strengthen your Elbows: Having strong muscles around the elbow joints, helps prevent injuries and undue stress on the joint. You can do various strengthening exercises using dumbbells, resistance bands or even using your own body weight. The exercises include:

Elbow Flexion
Elbow Extension
Supination of the forearm
Pronation of the forearm
Wrist strengthening exercises
Shoulder strengthening exercises

You can start with 10 reps, 3 sets each and then gradually progress further.

2. Maintain proper posture and use support while doing heavy workouts

3. Use the correct techniques or positions while doing activities that can cause strain to your elbows.

4. Avoid injuries: Following a proper warm up and cool down routine helps to avoid sports injuries.

5. Healthy diet: Including Calcium rich food and Vit D, helps build stronger bones.

While doing workouts, either at home or in a fitness center, it is very important to take control of your body and do everything you can to prevent any injuries, rather than going through the painful process of getting injured and then taking care of it. For best results, it is better to seek guidance from a physiotherapist or a trained fitness expert and then later do the exercises on your own.

We hope this article helps you find relief from aching elbows! For more tips and remedies, click here or speak to an expert by subscribing for GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching.

Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

#BeTheForce

January 30, 2023 By Swati Savla 1 Comment

Cardio For Weight Loss: High Intensity vs Low Intensity

We are well aware that Cardio is the best form of exercise to achieve any kind of weight or fat loss. But to understand the intensity required to achieve this, is still a little unclear. While researching, I kept coming back to the same question, what’s better – high-intensity or low-intensity training? There’s just way too much information trying to sway readers without considering their individual goals and needs.

Don’t worry! We’ve put together a few things you should know about in this article. It will give you a better idea of what low-intensity and high-intensity cardio training mean and will also help you decide which one you should go for!

Low Intensity Cardio

This workout encompasses consistent movements anywhere between 30-60 mins. It includes walking, cycling, swimming, light jogging, etc. The intensity is approx 40-60% of your maximum heart rate (your maximum heart rate = 220 – your age).

Benefits:

Consistent movements help maintain a steady heart rate (one can talk while doing any of these exercises)
You use more oxygen in these kind of exercises (hence fat is used as energy source)
Helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by promoting good blood circulation
Reduces hyperglycemia (elevated blood sugar levels) in people with diabetes
Builds muscular endurance

Disadvantages:

Due to the principle of adaptation, the body quickly adapts to become more aerobically efficient. So only doing low intensity training can eventually become counterproductive to your goals, especially if one of your goals is long-term fat loss or when you hit a plateau.
To keep up with the body’s quick aerobic adaptation process, a person would need to continually run for longer and longer distances and durations just to burn the same amount of calories they did when they first started.

High Intensity Workouts

These workouts include quick, intense exercise bouts and short rest periods. Ranging from 4-30 minutes max. These types of workouts include a combination of sprints, burpees, squats, jumping jacks, pushups and an endless variety of other drills using only body weight or sometimes equipment like dumbbells or kettlebells. The intensity varies from 70-90% of maximum heart rate with 60-65% max heart rate in rest periods.

Benefits:

No equipment or gym needed as it can be done anywhere (great for frequent travelers)
Helps build muscle mass
Time efficient: energy is burned more quickly and even after exercise
Anaerobic exercise, since there is no time for oxygen consumption, the body burns more carbs
Because of the oxygen debt created, the body consumes extra oxygen post workout (EPOC- excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) and hence, continues burning fat post workout as well. So it has the dual benefit of carb and fat burning.

Disadvantages:

The body requires a day or two post HIIT for recovery, so this form of workout cannot be done daily.
It is physically intense! They are also harsh on your joints due to the high impact forces created in exercises like Burpees or Squat Jumps. So, if you’re just starting your fitness journey or have weak joints, HIIT cardio may not be the best place to start.

Which One Should You Choose?

It depends on you, your current level of fitness, your preferences and goals. Low-intensity is a great place to start if you have not worked out for a long time or are recovering from an injury. But if you already have experience and want to switch things up, lose some weight quickly or finally achieve your goal of going faster or further, give intervals a try. Don’t forget to be mindful of your body. Take breaks when you need to, don’t overtrain. Your body needs to rest, heal and progress!

We hope this article on cardio for weight loss helps you achieve your goals! To learn more, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to live, interactive sessions on GOQii PRO by booking a class via the GOQii App, where you can get one-on-one guidance in real time by certified fitness experts.

Get active and #BeTheForce

January 23, 2023 By Navnee Garg 1 Comment

5 Common Weightlifting Myths You Should Stop Believing

If you have already browsed through countless articles on the internet before taking your first step towards weightlifting, then there might be a lot of questions on your mind. More so, because of the contradicting and confusing nature of the content you get online. The most common one being that you need a gym membership for weightlifting.

In a country that’s rapidly growing, it’s time we leave these myths and series of false information behind with some facts shared by certified experts. So here, we will be sharing some common myths making the rounds on the internet about strength training.

Myth #1: Weightlifting Makes Women Bulkier

Fortunately for all the ladies out there, this is not true! The muscles in a woman’s body are different in composition than that of men. In fact, weightlifting along with a combination of cardio encourages more fat loss in women. One can begin with a minimum of 2kg and gradually increase the sets and reps along with weights.

Myth #2: No Pain = No Gain

You’ve probably heard this a gazillion times by now! If your body hurts or your muscles are sore, then your training is working. Ideally, that’s not true. Muscle soreness is common in the beginning but can be reduced within the recovery period. But, at times, it can also be because of incorrect posture or overexertion. Rest and recovery is equally important in weightlifting or strength training. In cases of extreme soreness, you need to rest and recover.

Myth #3: Lift Light Weights to Tone Muscles

This one is commonly known as the ‘Pink Dumbbell Myth’. The fact is that lifting lighter weights for higher reps will help you increase muscular endurance and it does have a place in training routines, but that lean, defined look comes from losing body fat. So, the weight will always depend on your fitness goal, but one will need to try a variety of reps and weight ranges to achieve results.

Myth #4: Older People Should Not Lift Weights

This is completely untrue. Elders can lift weights, keeping in consideration that the weight and reps should be advised by a certified trainer. An elderly person should also keep their medical conditions, risk factors and all in mind. Most importantly, they should consult their doctor before starting any training routine!

Myth #5: You Need a Gym

That is not true! You don’t have to empty your pockets and sign up to an expensive gym or service. All you need is dedication towards your goal! Surprisingly, you can train even in a small corner of your room. Your body itself is a gym. You can start with body weight workouts to break the ice. To take it a level ahead, all you’ll need is a pair of dumbbells or barbell curls to transform your body.

These were some of the common myths I have encountered so far. How about you? Have you heard anything on these lines? Share them with us in the comments below and let’s begin busting some myths together!

For more fitness related articles, check out Healthy Reads or join our live, interactive video sessions on GOQii PRO within the GOQii App, where you can get one-on-one guidance in real time by certified fitness experts.

#BeTheForce