fitness tips Archives - Page 3 of 6

April 15, 2020 By Mamta Joshi 2 Comments

Practice Yoga Indoors For Good Health During The Lockdown

With gyms, parks and usual outdoor workout spots in lockdown, it is difficult for a person to even get as much as a morning walk. So how does one meet their daily physical requirement? The best way is to do whatever workout you can do indoors. Additionally, one of the best things you can do is practice yoga indoors! Let’s look at how you can start.

7 Basic Yoga Poses You Can Do Indoors

1. Tadasana or Mountain Pose

Stand tall with feet about 10cm apart and hands on the hips
Raise arms over head and interlock the fingers. Place hands on top of the head.
Look upwards and fix the eyes at one point.
Inhale, stretch the arms with palms facing upward.
Raise the heels coming up on the toes.
Hold the pose for a few seconds.
Exhale, lower the heels and bring the hands to the top of the head.
Practice six rounds.

2. Twisting Cobra Pose or Tiryaka Bhujangasana
Twisting cobra pose makes the spine flexible and strong. It improves lung capacity, tones the abdominal muscles and improves digestion.

Lie flat on the stomach with the legs straight and feet apart.
Place the palms flat on the floor slightly below the shoulder.
Rest the forehead on the floor.
Slowly raise the head, neck and shoulder.
Straightening the elbow, raise the trunk as high as possible.
Look over the left shoulder and gaze at the heel of the right foot.
Stay for a few seconds in this pose.
Face forward again and repeat the twist on the other side without lowering the trunk.
Repeat all steps six times

3. Fish Pose or Matsyasana
Fish pose opens up and stretches the chest and the diaphragm. It’s a great way to beat stress.

Lie down on your back with legs straight. Hands beside the body. Palm facing down on the floor.
Take the hands underneath the hip and press elbows on the floor.
Lift the back and head.
Bend the head down, arch back to bring the crown on floor.
Raise the chin as high as possible and push the chest upward.
Hold this position for a few seconds.
Repeat three times.

4. Seated Forward Bend Pose or Paschimottanasana
Seated forward bend pose helps to calm the brain and relieve stress. It also soothes headache, anxiety and relieves fatigue.

Sit down with legs stretched out straight.
Raise both the hands upwards and place the palms together.
Bend slowly and touch the feet.
Gently bend the head downwards with face resting on legs and breathe slowly.
Repeat this up to 3 times and maintain the bend position longer after each round.

5. Wind Relieving Pose or Pawanmuktasana
Wind relieving pose helps in aiding digestion. It also helps in reducing belly fat and enhances blood circulation.

Lie down on the back with feet together and hands by the side of the thighs. Inhale and raise both the legs.
Exhale, hold the knee joints and bring the knees towards the chest.
Press the thighs on the abdomen with clasped hands.
Breathe in again. On exhalation, lift the head and chest upwards. Touch the knees to the chin or forehead.
Maintain the posture as long as possible. Repeat this for at least 6 times and each time increase the span of holding this position.

6. Child’s Pose or Balasana

Sit on your knees. Place your hands on the thighs and palms down.
Exhale slowly and bend forward, stretching your hands
Breathe gently. Hold the posture for 2 to 3 minutes or less as possible.
Repeat this up to 3 times maintaining the bend position slightly longer.

7. Cat-Cow Stretch Pose

Take the position of cat pose.
Lower your head and raise your back towards the ceiling.
Gently exhale and contract your abdomen. Hold the breath for 3 seconds.
Inhale while raising the head and bring your abdomen downwards.
Expand the abdomen fully and fill the lungs with the maximum amount of air.
Hold your breath for 3 seconds.
Exhale and repeat step 2 to complete one round. Repeat 3-5 rounds.

Practising simple yoga indoors can help you stay fit and healthy during this lockdown and well after it too. Do yoga preferably on an empty stomach or 3 hours post a meal. Practice these regularly to see an improvement in your health. Before you begin, do consult your doctor, physiotherapist or health expert especially if you have any health issues.

For more guidance into yoga, tune in to LIVE sessions by yoga specialists on GOQii Play. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Stay safe, stay indoors and #BeTheForce!

February 3, 2020 By Asmita Maredia 4 Comments

At Your Desk for 6 Hours? Try These Office Workout Options

Most individuals in desk jobs are stuck in front of their computers for 6 hours or more on a daily basis. If you don’t believe us, ask yourself some simple questions:

Out of 24 hours in a day how many hours do you sit ?
Do you feel any back or muscle pain during or at the end of the day?
Do you feel a strain in your eyes or around your forehead area?

If your answer is yes to any of the above questions, it’s time to start with some basic office workout options which will help you remain active throughout the day. It doesn’t matter if you hit the gym in the morning for an hour, when you sit in front of a computer or TV, in a car or in a meeting, you’re not moving! This will increase your risk of obesity, heart disease, etc. Continuously sitting is bad for your health!

Workouts You Can Do At Work

1. Walk: Keep an alarm for every 45 min and get up from your seat to take a 3-4 min break. You can walk till the dispenser to drink water or go to printer to get a print. Take a bio-break or just take a round in the lobby. The idea is to walk!

2. Neck Stretch: Tilt you head to the right so you feel the stretch on the left. Hold for 5 seconds. Similarly, do it on left side, front and back. Repeat this 2 times.

3. Head Rotation: Slowly rotate your head in clock wise and anti-clock wise 5 times.

4. Shoulder Shrug: Raise your shoulder to the max, take them back, squeeze gradually and relax.

5. Arms:

Sit or stand straight and place one arm across your body. Keep your arm parallel to the ground and pull your elbow towards your body.
Stand with one hand behind your neck and elbow pointing upwards, then use your other hand to pull your elbow behind.

6. Wrist/Hands:

Roll your wrist 10 times clockwise and anti-clockwise. If possible every hour or while taking on phone.
Extend fingers as far as possible and hold for 5 sec, then make a fist as tight as possible and hold for 5 sec. Repeat 5 times.

7. Back:

Place your hands on the edge of your desk and slowly push your chair back until your head is between your arms and you are looking at the floor. Feel the stretch and slowly return to normal. (Repeat 5 times)
Stand straight, raise your arms up to the ceiling, alternately extend 1 arm up to the ceiling.
Stand straight, lock your hands and extend them towards the ceiling by turning your palms upward. Slowly pull yourself back. (Repeat 5 times)

8. Legs:

While sitting on the chair, straighten each leg one at a time, gradually lower it, stop halfway and hold for a few seconds. Repeat with the other leg (Do this 5 times with each leg).
Stretch the front of your thigh by standing straight. Place one hand on the chair or desk for support, grab one of your ankles and bring it upwards to your buttocks. Remember to be in an upright position, keeping your back straight and knees parallel to each other. Hold for 10 seconds and relax. Repeat with other leg. (Repeat 5 times for each leg).
Place one feet on another chair or desk and bend forward until you feel the stretch in the back of your leg. If possible try to touch your feet. Flex your foot and then point it. Hold it for a few seconds and repeat with the other leg. (Repeat 5 times each leg).

More Office Workout Tips To Keep You Active!

Take stairs instead of the elevator – 2 at a time to maximize the burn!
Have a good posture as you work at your desk.
Sitting on an exercise ball will help your posture more.
Park away from your workplace so you have to walk farther.
When you can – stand rather than sit and walk rather than stand.

The above stretching guide is to reduce muscular stress and aches. Try doing as much as possible to get healthier. If you feel any unbearable pain while exercising, stop and seek professional help.

If you really want to get active, you can read these Lunchtime Workouts You Can Do. You can also tune in to experts on GOQii Play for more expert advice on staying fit at work!

We hope this article on Office Workout options helps you #LevelUp, get active at work and stay healthy! Do leave your thoughts in the comments below!

#BeTheForce

December 2, 2019 By Roopa Tandur Leave a Comment

6 Tips and Tricks to Help You Stay Motivated

Motivation is tricky. At one moment you have it and the next it’s gone! The enthusiasm with which you started off on your goals wanes and soon you begin to realize that your inclination to work towards a goal has completely withered. We’ve all experienced this and we all know it can be difficult to stay motivated.

Motivation or the motive i.e. the needs, desires or wants within an individual which stimulates them to perform or work towards a goal pertaining to success, money, business or fitness, requires a little more than sheer enthusiasm. Let’s look at how we can stay motivated and accomplish what we set our minds to.

Factors Which Help One Stay Motivated

While discipline is a key factor, there are many other tips and tricks that can help you stay on track with your goals. Let’s look at them in detail.

1. Set Defined and Realistic Goals
Setting goals which will outstrip your current lifestyle is more likely to disappoint you. You’re setting yourself up for failure. Make sure you set goals which you really want to achieve, which is not influenced by another’s opinion and wanting. The motive is to make your goals challenging and penalize you.

For instance, a realistic goal is “I will walk for 30 minutes for 3 days a week” or “I will cover 5000 steps a day in the beginning” instead of 1000 or 10,000 steps. 1000 steps is too less to achieve as a goal and will not give results whereas 10,000 steps is too tasking to begin with. 5000 steps or walking for 30 mins for 3 days a week is more manageable.

2. Break Goals into Smaller Tasks
The biggest hurdle starts with the mind. Many start by saying, “I have no time”. The key here is to break big tasks into smaller ones. For instance, a 30 minute exercise can be divided into 3 workout sessions of 10 minutes each through the day or with 2 varieties of exercises like walking for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes of stair exercises at work.

3. Keep It Fun and Free of Distractions
Taking new routes while walking or including a small variation in your daily exercise routine will make it more interesting. In fact, you’ll look forward to these new routes. Try not to follow too many things at a time. Stick to your routine without getting distracted with the results others have achieved using different methods. This will confuse your body and demotivate you. Each body type is different and requires different methods. So don’t get distracted and stick to the plan suggested by your Coach.

A trick you can use is to go live on social media, as the pressure itself will push you out of your couch. Getting your family members into your journey is a big time motivation, especially kids who can give you an extra boost of energy to always try a little harder.

4. Reward Yourself
Treat yourself for reaching every milestone you’ve set, despite the hurdles! Rewards need not be a big cake or fancy items. It can be as simple as a message or a new pair of skipping ropes or dumbbells. Planning a reward ahead will do the trick as each individual’s rewards are very personal and should give meaning to your journey.

5. Visualize Your Success
Having a mental picture of yourself in the next 6 months will help you stay motivated. As you can see what is possible, you work towards achieving it. Set photos of yourself, in which you think you were at your physical best, as mobile screensavers. Have a poster of your favourite stars, listen to motivational speeches and inspiring quotes that will motivate you to keep yourself going and remind you of your goals.

6. Knowing, Understanding and Challenging Your Shortcomings
Start with understanding your weak points, be it food or friends or fear of pain or weekends or anything that distracts you from achieving your goals. Plan wisely – always store healthy snacks at home and pre-plan your foods which will minimise leftovers and prevent boredom of having the same foods. Plan no food or no eating social plans with friends or choose to meet in salad counters or healthy food eateries. Any new exercise is sure to give you pains which will self-cure itself, so be prepared for it and also understand that there are no special measures to get over the pain. Learn to enjoy the sweet pain as it is going to improve your health in the long run.

Whether in a group or solo, the main motto is increasing motivation and a sense of fun and enjoyment all along the route. Consistency is important but without a bit of fun, it makes the journey troublesome. So always have a laughter session in the end or to begin the session next time.

We hope these tips help you achieve your goals! For live video sessions on motivation, tune in to GOQii Play for guidance from experts.

Stay motivated and #BeTheForce!

November 25, 2019 By Roopa Tandur 2 Comments

Strengthening Exercises You Need to Include in Your Routine

Strengthening exercises, as the name suggests, paints a picture of big muscles and heavyweights but that’s quite far from what it actually is. Strengthening Exercises have different aspects to them depending on the goal.

Strengthening Exercises involve complex movements and work on major muscle groups as well as secondary muscle groups. Any activity that makes the muscles work harder than usual, improves muscle strength, maintains bone density and strengthens them. In addition, it also improves balance, reduces joint pain and helps one lose weight.

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need costly equipment or a gym membership to practice strengthening exercises. If your body is strong, you will be able to do any of your daily chores efficiently. Let’s begin!

Few Exercises You Can Practice

If you’ve not been able to visit the gym or get your workout today, try these strengthening exercises you can easily do at home!

You can perform Squats which are a great way to improve the strength of your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, abdominals and calves. You can also perform lunges or reverse lunges which work primarily on quadriceps, the gluteus maximus, knee joints and other leg and core muscles.
When we talk about upper body, the first workout that comes to mind are pushups – which work your chest muscles, pectorals, shoulders, deltoids, back of your arms or triceps and abdominals. By adding triceps dips and pull ups, you can engage the supportive muscles of your upper body.
Planks, crunches, reverse crunches, leg raises and Russian twist are exercises which help you make your core muscles, obliques, abdominals, spinal erectors and upper back (scapular stabilizers) stronger. By strengthening your core muscles, your spine gets much stronger to bear the excessive load and to transfer the force from the lower body to the upper body and vice versa. Strong core muscles can help you function without any injuries.
Mountain Climbers and Burpees are workouts which help you train your whole body in one go. These workouts work your upper and lower body together and engage your core muscles as well. These are considered as compound workouts. Some of the muscle groups that get worked out include the spine range, hip muscles, quadriceps, calf muscles, ankle, rectus abdominis and obliques, etc.
Balancing workout – you walk, sit, stand – to do any work, you require great balance in your body. Some of the workouts you can perform to improve your balance include: standing on a single leg, balancing a stick on your fingers and walking on a single line. These balancing workouts help you prevent falls, walk safely, avoid twisting your legs, etc.
Flexibility Workout – Bhujangasana, front bending pigeon pose, glute stretch, Warrior Pose – these are some examples of the flexibility workout, which is again a major factor of your fitness level. Good flexibility has many physical benefits such as less injuries and pains. When your body muscles are loose, relaxed, and less tense, you’ll experience fewer aches and pains and the chances of developing cramps will be very less. It helps you to improve your posture as well.

Benefits of Strengthening Exercises

Makes you stronger, making it easier to perform daily chores especially when aging
Protects bone health and muscle mass by preventing loss of lean muscle mass post 30 years
Helps keep weight off by increasing resting metabolism even on the days we are not exercising
Helps better body mechanism by developing better balance, coordination and posture
Helps with lifestyle diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and arthritis along with lifestyle changes
Boosts energy levels and improves mood

We hope this article helps you include strengthening exercises to your daily routine. To learn more exercises and workout routines, check out GOQii Play.

Before engaging in any physical activity or trying a workout, consult your doctor or physician.