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How to Turn Household Chores Into a Workout

Household chores into workout

Taking care of the house is a never-ending job! I still remember my mother being so caught up with household chores that she never got the time to workout. One day when I got home after working out, I saw my mother doing the regular housework and an idea struck me! What if we can turn daily household chores into a workout routine?

Benefits of Turning Household Chores Into a Workout

Most people struggle with the fact that due to the lack of time, they skip working out. If you turn household chores into a workout routine, you’re killing two birds with one stone. You find your chores as well as get a good, light workout.

Like any other physical activity, housework can tone muscles if done correctly and in the right posture. It’s already proved that short bouts of relatively mild exercise can help improve your fitness levels, especially for those who do little or no physical activity or are just getting started. To top it off, this can help you break the monotony of routine and add a little bit of fun to completing chores.

Here’s How You Get Started

  1. Lunges (Vacuum Cleaning): While using the vacuum cleaner, you can walk in a lunges posture. Remember to keep your knees directly above your ankles, your back straight and your abs engaged. You will know this is working by feeling the pressure in your thighs and glutes. Lunges are a good exercise for strengthening, sculpting and building several muscles/muscle groups, including the quadriceps (or thighs), the gluteus maximus (or buttocks) and the hamstrings as well.
  2. Squats: Pick up items on the floor or tables by squatting. Keep your back straight, squat deeply by bending your knees. Hold for 15 seconds before rising up again. A Squat is an exercise that primarily trains the muscles of the thighs, hips and buttocks. It also works the quadriceps (vastus lateral, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius and rectus femoris), hamstrings, and strengthens the bones, ligaments as well as the insertion of the tendons throughout the lower body
  3. Make Sweeping Movements: Instead of cleaning haphazardly when scrubbing glass doors or cleaning windows, make long, sweeping movements. For instance, when you are cleaning the doors or windows, take long swipes from top to bottom, squatting (not bending) to reach the lower spots. This will give you a fantastic shoulder workout and engage your entire lower body. If you want you can also hold a small bucket of water in your other hand to increase the strength of your arms.
  4. Sweeping: While sweeping, tuck your stomach and oblique muscles in, keep your back straight and bring the bristles of the broom as far as possible and pull in.
  5. Dance on the Beat: Turn on the music system while doing household chores and dance to the music the way you want. Try to use some fast music so you’ll be encouraged to pick up your speed and break a sweat. If you’re wondering how dancing helps your health, click here.
  6. Step it up: Use a stepladder, stairs or step stool when you need to reach high areas. Try to repeat the same steps 8-10 times. Trust me, this is a really great exercise for your hamstrings, provided you keep your back straight. You can simulate your own step aerobics session this way!
  7. Loading the Washing machine: When you are loading or unloading your washing machine, just twist and move more. This movement will help to strengthen your core.
  8. Sculpt and Fold: Lifting laundry can be the toughest part of your routine. Tone your arms by holding them raised at 90° angle as you carry the laundry basket. Use the squats and lunges posture with your legs as your fold.
  9. Take a Swing. Instead of cleaning your rugs, carpets, sheet using a vacuum cleaner, take them outside, hang them up, pick up your broom and show your muscular talent! Swing away to beat out the dust and dirt. Performing this activity will help you involve more muscles than vacuuming alone and help you get some fresh air as well.
  10. Always Prefer Stairs: Instead of making one trip up and down, try to convert it into multiple trips with the clean or dirty clothes. Remember, we have a target to do more work as a workout, not less work with the help of machines!

What are you waiting for! Make your household chores something to look forward to by turning them into a workout. Try this for a week and let us know if you see any changes. Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Find more tips on exercising and workouts here. If you need help with your workouts, learn from the best by signing up for an interactive GOQii PRO class where you’ll be guided in real-time by a certified expert. Book a class now from the GOQii App.

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Tired All The Time? Here’s What’s Causing It!

fatigueThe alarm is set for 6 am to go for a morning walk, filled with determination to start on a routine walk from the next morning, she went to sleep early. But, like any other day, the alarm went off, but as usual, she couldn’t get out of bed. With each passing day, it got difficult to even get up for work. This happened almost for 2-3 months when Ananya realized this was not just laziness but something beyond and decided to see a doctor. Ananya described that she had no energy to wake up in the morning and felt tired and exhausted by the end of the day. Sounds familiar? Yes! This happens to many around us or even to us. This syndrome is called Fatigue.

What is Fatigue?

Fatigue is generally defined as a feeling of lack of energy and motivation that can be physical, mental or both. Fatigue is very common. Fatigue can be caused by Physical (around 60%) as well as Mental causes (40%). Unfortunately, it can also occur in normal individuals who experience intense physical or mental activity (or both).

However, in contrast to fatigue that occurs with some diseases and syndromes, normal fatigue in healthy individuals is quickly relieved in few hours to about a day when the physical or mental activity is reduced and adequate rest is taken.

What Causes It?

  • Sleep Problems: Sleep Apnea, insomnia, working in shifts or work shift changes, pregnancy, extra night hours at “work”, gadget time, etc. can cause fatigue. For such problems, including foods like nuts or milk that are rich in tryptophan (sleep inducing hormone) can help get better sleep.
  • Dysglycemia: Skipping breakfast, long gaps between meals is known to cause irregular fluctuations in sugar levels. To avoid such irregularities one must have a healthy breakfast every day preferably within one hour of waking up. Always plan for a mid-meal snack especially when the gap exceeds 5 hours.
  • Nutritional Deficiency: Eating a healthy, balanced diet (proteins, carbohydrates, fats and fiber) is an important part of maintaining good health. It can help you feel your best. Include fruits, whole grains, and protein rich foods and avoid junk food, processed/packaged food.
  • Gut Disturbances: An acidic body doesn’t allow oxygen to be absorbed and in turn causes fatigue. Gastric issues such as bloating, constipation, food sensitivity/allergy, leaky gut (gastric reflux) all create havoc in our body resulting in physical and mental fatigue. Including adequate quantity of fiber, probiotics like curd and a good intake of water keep your gut happy and healthy.
  • Caffeine Overload: Limit tea/coffee/green tea to 2 cups/day. Avoid having it post sunset and near bed time.
  • Dehydration: When dehydrated, the fluid loss causes a drop in blood volume, which makes the heart work harder to push oxygen and nutrients through the bloodstream to the brain, skin, and muscles. Maintaining a water intake to 2.5-3 litre is adequate for the majority of the population.
  • Metabolic/Endocrine causes: Vitamin D deficiency, Hypothyroidism, Diabetes, Electrolyte abnormalities, kidney disease, Liver disease can all cause varying degrees of fatigue.
  • Anemia (Iron deficiency, Vitamin B12 deficiency): It is one of the most common reasons of fatigue or tiredness in India and especially common among women.
  • Infectious Diseases: Viral infections, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis, cytomegalovirus (CMV), HIV infection, Influenza (flu), Malaria and many other infectious diseases can cause fatigue.
  • Medications: It might come as a surprise to you but many drugs like antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, sedatives, antihistamines, steroids and even some blood pressure medications can cause fatigue.
  • Mental Health: Stress, Depression, Anxiety, Drug abuse, Alcohol abuse, eating disorders, (for example bulimia/anorexia), Grief and Bereavement are all few of the most ignored causes of fatigue. Awareness and proactive management of mental disorders is a must for living healthy.

Depending on the above reasons, the right treatment must be decided as it is important that the root cause of fatigue be treated and not just the symptom.

In the case of Ananya, on taking a proper history and some blood tests, she was found to have nutritional and Vitamin D deficiency. Once these were corrected she felt strong and active enough to start with her healthy regime.

Fatigue is a natural part of our lives, because of which we tend to ignore it and instead learn to live with it. This causes more trouble in the long run. We must look out for tell-tale signs of things we could do earlier but can’t do anymore, unrelated aches and pains or headaches and if found positive we must seek the right help. Don’t let feeling tired today ruin your attempt to feel healthy tomorrow!

If you’re looking to relax, meditate or practice yoga to ward off fatigue, ask your GOQii Coach directly by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here.

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5 Simple Tips to Boost Metabolism and Lose Weight

boost metabolism

Ever wondered what metabolism is and why it is so important for your health? Metabolism is the process by which the food we eat is converted into energy. Going deeper into it, every cell in our body is producing energy through the chemical process of metabolism.

At a young age, our muscle mass stores energy that can prevent unhealthy weight gain. But as we age, we lose our muscle mass, which leads to excess fat accumulation. Metabolism starts slowing down as we reach 40 up to about 5% every decade thereafter. Our challenge will be to beat the metabolic slow down which is not impossible either as long as you follow these 5 eating habits to boost metabolism.

1. Eat Your Meals on Time

Busy routines such as the early morning rush to work, busy afternoons coupled with a late dinner and unruly sleep timings throw our circadian rhythm off track. The body is balanced with our circadian rhythm and any disruption can slow the metabolism down.

Our digestive power is naturally strong during noon which is why our ancestors had lunch between 12-1pm. As the day passes and night begins, our digestion is slowed down. Eating dinner late can disturb the circadian rhythm. Many research studies have proven that disturbed circadian rhythm can impair metabolism with a raised risk of metabolic disorders and obesity. Having meals on time can address this issue.

  • Ideal breakfast time: Before 10 am
  • Ideal Lunch time: Between 12 pm – 2 pm
  • Ideal Snack time: 4 – 5 pm
  • Ideal dinner: Between 7 pm – 9 pm

2. Mindful Eating

Very often when we have to eat outside or during some special occasion, we are likely to overeat not because we are hungry but because the food looks appealing or we are distracted while eating, or we are in a bad mood.

As per research studies, mindful eating habits improved metabolism while reducing the metabolic risk factors like high blood sugar levels, low levels of HDL or high blood pressure and large waist circumference. We need to incorporate mindful eating habits in our routine. For instance:

  • Consuming food because we are hungry instead of eating out of habit
  •  Chewing food slowly and thoroughly, savouring the taste
  • Thinking about how the food with all our senses before, during and after eating can help our body and health

3. Spice up Your Metabolism

Many spices from our kitchen can be good metabolic boosters when included in our daily diet. Turmeric, Cinnamon, Jeera, Fennel, Ginger, Ajwain, Clove and Nutmeg, because of some special chemical component and their healing effect on our body, can easily jumpstart metabolism when taken in right amounts.

4. Eat Whole Grains & Protein

Including a variety of whole grains like oats, barley, rye, quinoa, ragi and bhajra, can offer us rich sources of fiber and a diet high in protein can rev up the metabolism by controlling spiking sugar levels and keep us full for a longer time. Apart from this, protein consumption can increase the metabolic rate by 15-30% by raising the thermic effect of food (TEF). Thermic effect of food is caused by the extra calories that are required by our body to digest, absorb and assimilate the food that we eat.

5. Drink Warm Water

We all know drinking plenty of water is good for the wellbeing of our body. From ancient times until recent scientific studies, it has been proven that drinking warm or hot water is one of the simplest ways to improve digestion and metabolism. Warm/hot water up to 98.6 degrees accounted for 40 per cent increase in metabolism which lasted for at least 30-40 minutes of raised metabolism after consumption of warm water. Sipping warm water throughout the day can keep your metabolism high.

Overall, making these simple changes rather than counting calories, can improve metabolism as well as boost weight loss efforts. Try incorporating them into your routine and let us know how it works!

Want more tips and tricks to boost your metabolism via exercise and nutrition? Find them here or get in touch with a GOQii Coach by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here.

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Ice Therapy or Heat Therapy: Which One Should You Use?

heating-pad-heat-therapy-joint

Whether you run a marathon or go for a trek, you come back with some amount of soreness of the muscles. There’s a possibility of soreness even after a strenuous gym workout. When some of my players experience minor aches and pains, I often tell them to “drink lots of water and stretch“. Apart from drinking water and stretching, there are 2 routes which are commonly used for pain relief:

  • Cryotherapy or Ice therapy
  • Thermotherapy or Heat therapy

Which therapy you use, depends on the situation and the kind of pain/injury. Let’s go over some markers which might be useful to you.

Ice Therapy: What Happens When You Do It?

Our body has skin receptors which pick up different sensations that include touch, pressure, pain and temperature. If you look in to these skin receptors, you will find out that the body has more cold receptors than heat receptors.

When you use ice therapy or apply ice, your skin activates the cold receptors and they block the sensation of pain. After an injury, the area might be red and swollen. Applying ice will help in reducing or preventing the inflammatory response. Ice causes vasoconstriction (narrowing of blood vessels) which reduces blood flow temporarily.

How Do You Use It? 

  • Ice packs (frozen packets): These are the best and most portable option as it will adapt and mold to the body part accordingly
  • Ice in a towel: You can also hold ice in a towel and apply it on the injury. The towel will provide additional compression
  • Using a light cloth: If you have sensitive skin, keep a barrier between the skin and ice. A thin cloth or light cotton one can help

When Should You Use Ice Therapy 

You can use ice therapy under the scenarios mentioned below:

1. If the injury is sudden and acute: Ice therapy will help in preventing swelling and will provide relief from the pain by reducing the blood flow to that area.

For example: If you sprain your ankle during a marathon, trekking or while working out in the gym, apply a pack of ice to reduce the swelling. The sooner you apply the ice, the better.

2. Soft tissue injuries: Applying ice after a strenuous workout will help in relieving the muscle soreness and aid the recovery process.

Try using ice therapy 4 times a day for 2 days. If the pain persists, you should visit your doctor or physiotherapist.

When Should You Avoid Using Ice Therapy?

“Ice is good, but not always!” Below are scenarios where ice therapy might make your situation worse.

  • Avoid applying ice on open wounds
  • If you are a high B.P patient, avoid ice therapy on the shoulder and near the neck region. It will raise the systolic and diastolic pressure because of decrease in blood flow
  • Do not apply ice before a workout but if your workout consist of stretches, then apply ice for healing the acute injury
  • If you have issues with blood circulation
  • If you have stiff joints, applying ice will increase the stiffness
  • If the pain becomes chronic i.e. more than 72 hours, it is not a good option as now ice is not needed to stop the blood flow
  • If you have a persistent lower back pain, ice therapy won’t work.

How Long Should You Continue With Ice Therapy?

You need to be careful about the icing duration as excess of icing might cause pain due to lack of blood flow. If you have sensitive skin, applying ice directly to the skin might not be a good option.

  • For a minor post workout injury, 15min is the most optimal time
  • To deal with acute soft tissue injury, 10min session is optimal
  • Deeper the injury, longer the icing time. For example, hamstring injury might need longer icing time then an injury on the finger

Heat Therapy: What Happens When You Do It? 

Like Ice therapy, heat therapy is also used for relieving pain and aids the healing process. When you apply heat to the injury, unlike ice therapy which first causes vasoconstriction and then vasodilation, heat therapy directly causes vasodilation which increases the blood flow to the injured part.

How Do You Use It? 

  • Whole body heat therapy: This includes steam, sauna or a jacuzzi which can be used to relax your entire body
  • Heat packs: Applying a heat pack without direct contact to the injured part is a great way to aid the healing process.

When Should You Use Heat Therapy?

  • You can use heat therapy for chronic pain. After 72 hours, once the injury has crossed the acute stage and the inflammation is reduced, heat can be giving to aid the healing process.
  • Heating can reduce your stiffness as well because it increases the blood flow to the stiff part making it more flexible.

When Should You Avoid Heat Therapy?

  • Do not apply heat to a fresh injury. This can cause increase of blood flow which can increase the inflammation.
  • Never apply heat to the places where it is swollen. Only ice should be used till the swelling reduces.

How Long Should You Continue With Heat Therapy?

  • 18-20 mins is the most optimal time for a heat therapy session. Please note that this doesn’t remain the same for all as it entirely depends on the type of heating method used.
  • It is advisable to keep a barrier between the skin and the heat pack to avoid direct contact and feel a burning sensation.
  • Comfort level is very important in heat therapy sessions. You should get optimal heat, excess of it might make you uncomfortable. 

These are the basics about Ice and Heat therapy. It should help anyone who is working out or running a marathon or goes for a trek very often. So, the next time before reaching out to any painkillers or pain relief ointments, reach out to the things mentioned in this article! But if you are not sure about your injury, it is always better to speak with your coach, doctor or any physiotherapist.

If this article helped you, let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Find more articles on fitness here.

Still not sure whether you should use ice therapy or heat therapy? Speak to one of our experts by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

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