physical activity Archives - Page 2 of 3

November 5, 2023 By Mohammed Tufail Qureshi 4 Comments

Get children active and keep them healthy

Being physically fit has many benefits. This is not true of adults alone but also true for children. I remember as a child I would love to play in the outdoors. Every day my friends and I would spend at least an hour playing all kinds of games from football to cricket to various other physically taxing games. But, today its sad that we hardly see kids playing in the outdoors.

Children of today’s generation are born with technology gadgets around them and by the time they are 5-6 years of age they are so hooked to these gadgets such as Ipads or laptop or mobile phone etc. Most are gaming addicts and are interested in indoor and cyber games than playing in the outdoors.

But, sitting at home in front of the computer or playing on the Ipad or mobile phone is not good for children. These have a bad effect on the child’s physical strength, growth and fitness. Children should play in the outdoors and exert themselves in physical activities for at least an hour (60 minutes) daily. This is the minimum that a parent should see to it that the child follows. And, you’ll soon discover all the easy and enjoyable ways to help your child meet this regime. Encourage your child to participate in activities that are age-appropriate, enjoyable and offer variety!

Three types of physical activities are very important that every child must follow

1. Aerobic Activity
Aerobic activity should make up for most of your child’s 60 or more minutes of physical activity each day. This can include either moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, or vigorous-intensity activity, such as running. Be sure to include vigorous-intensity aerobic activity at least 3 days per week.

2. Muscle Strengthening
Include muscle strengthening activities, such as gymnastics or push-ups, at least 3 days a week as part of your child’s 60 or more minutes.

3. Bone Strengthening
Bone-strengthening activities include jumping rope or running, at least 3 days a week as part of your child’s 60 or more minutes activities in the outdoors.

Tips to help kids get active

** Encourage walking to school and getting active as a family

** Get them to cycle or run instead of getting a ride

** Ask them to walk the dog with you

** Have them carry the groceries from the market

** Encourage them to dance to their favourite music

** Replace computer and TV time with something active

** Build active opportunities into daily classroom routines and encourage students to join a school sport team

** Take kids to the playground or to the park to play

** Reduce screen time

This will help them to achieve the physical fitness and stay fit which will help them throughout their life.

We hope these tips on promoting physical activity and health among children prove valuable for both you and your child. If you found this information helpful, we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. To explore more insights on children’s health, check out Healthy Reads or for further information or guidance, reach out to our certified experts by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce

April 10, 2018 By Palak Mittal Leave a Comment

Basic guide to stay healthy and fit

Getting-Fit-and-Healthy

In the light of the universal health coverage launched by the WHO, here are some of the basics that you can follow to stay healthy and fit:

eating healthy

Eating Healthy Is Important: What you eat, is who you are. Eating simple, cooked meals instead of packed or readymade food will keep you away from the unhealthy elements such as bad cholesterol and extra calories. Including a lot of vegetables and fruits and ensuring a balanced meal every day, is crucial for a healthy life. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and should never be skipped. Skipping breakfast can make you crave for food, thus leading to consuming more calories than required. Starting your day with a power-packed breakfast is the first step towards a healthy life. As a bonus, your day turns out to be more productive as well.

active sunday picture Picture Source: Active Sunday

Exercising Regularly Is A Must: Exercise and food are like two sides of a coin, and if you want good health, you can ignore neither. A minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity three times a week is a must to keep your spirits high and body healthy.

no-smoking- 3. Get Rid Of Your Vices: Smoking causes significant harm to your lungs and can result in several lung diseases including Lung Cancer. Hence, quitting is a necessity for a healthy and disease-free life. Alcohol abuse is another problem that you need to get rid of, as it increases the risk of problems such as liver disease, high blood pressure and in the worst case stroke & heart failure.

stress

4.Stress Needs To Be Managed: In the 21st century where the world is highly competitive than ever, stress has become the new enemy of both mental and physical health. Everyone experiences the stress of some kind day in and out, therefore it is essential to learn how it can be managed. Yoga and meditation can help in relieving stress. Also, indulging in hobbies and sharing a laugh with your loved ones are great stress busters as well.

2014-06-30-sleep

Sleep Is Crucial: Your job may not allow you to follow the circadian rhythm. Never mind, but at least, you must allow yourself a sound sleep of 6-7 hours. Sleep is crucial for your body parts to rejuvenate themselves and prepare for another 16 hours of efficient work.

health check

6. Health Check-ups should be a priority:‘Prevention is better than cure’ and that is exactly the reason why regular health check-ups are most important. As they do not just help you stay up-to-date with your daily health issues, they will also alert you to any future health risks. These check-ups will also enable your doctor to plan your treatment better in case of any health issues. Some common tests that you can go for our blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose level, body mass index, dental check and cleaning, self-check for changes in breasts in women and others.

As an individual, take a pledge to follow these steps and start living a healthy & happy life.

February 8, 2018 By Anusha Subramanian Leave a Comment

Being Active on a Sunday

active sunday on the beach

Active Sunday on a beach

Sunday’s are generally considered the day to laze around. But, did you know that it is actually the first day of the week and not the last day. Yes! You heard me right Sundays are the first day of the week. Hence, being active on the first day of the week keeps you going for the rest of the week.

GOQii introduced the concept of ‘Active Sunday’ 3 years ago. In Active Sunday, GOQii players are invited for a one-hour active work out session in the outdoor with the expert trainers and coaches of GOQii. This movement is not only for the players but it is seeing active participation from GOQii employees and the CEO Vishal Gondal himself being present and exercising with all. The movement caught on and we had many users who resonated with this thought process. This prompted us to get some of our regular attendees to take charge and start their own Active Sunday chapters in their vicinity.

Swarup Chougule, a regular at Active Sunday for the last 2 years says, “Active Sunday is the most fruitful way of engaging yourself on a Sunday. The nice chill in the air and gentle sunlight sets the mood for a good training routine. We meet many like-minded people and the group keeps motivating each other to stay healthy. The concept fits perfectly into the idea of a ‘Healthy Community Life’”.

Sundays have never been better Swarup training with Goqii at Active Sunday

Similarly, Anitha Rao, an active GOQii player in her 50s can give youngsters a run for their money. She is more active and energetic than most half her age. While in Mumbai Anitha, used to look forward to Active Sunday session where she could meet likely minded people. “This is much needed. Most people are too stressed out and at times lonely and shy too. They just need a bit of push and motivation to get out of their comfort zone. Also, each one is unique and one can learn from one and other. Anitha has been leading active Sunday’s in Bengaluru and is our first woman GOQii Champion.

anitha 1

Anitha’s Active Sunday ranges from walking, running, swimming, yoga and trekking

Research indicates that exercising is good for health. As per ACSM (American College of Sports and Medicine) guidelines, a person must involve himself in physical activities at least 3 days a week. The benefits are divided into three categories Physical, mental and social benefits. Exercise helps to strengthen the heart and the cardiovascular system. It improves blood circulation, as a result, it lowers the risk of heart attack and strokes.

For the regular like Swarup and Anitha, it is their self-motivation to remain healthy and fit that drives them to be active even on a Sunday. Anitha has been championing the cause of Active Sunday in Bengaluru and has already conducted two active Sundays with GOQii players there.

The early start on Sunday morning creates ample time to connect better with the family and the community at large. The benefits of Active Sunday are many. “It is not just a workout session, but a complete package with deep interaction with people aspiring for a quality life,” says Swarup.

Being active on the first day of the week brightens and cheers you up. Everyone attending the Active Sunday is pumped up and raring to go for the rest of the day/week. “The other advantage is that it is a great way to meet like-minded people with similar or some varied interests, there is an exchange of ideas and you can learn from one another and expand your horizon,” says Anitha.

Bhavik shah

Bhavik from Pune loves cycling as an activity on a Sunday

Bhavik Shah, an active player of GOQii from Pune who is a runner and a cyclist thinks that active Sunday is a great kick-start to an otherwise lazy Sunday. He adds,”There are many reasons why I like being active on a Sunday as well, one of the primary reason being ‘Self Love via Self Care’. Apart from the obvious benefits, most people are already aware, exercise has been touted as a cure for just about anything that ails you. Frequent colds? Exercise. Poor digestion? Exercise. Feel depressed? Exercise”. Bhavik has taken the lead to conduct active Sunday workout session in his vicinity.

Lastly, the other big draw of Active Sunday is the picturesque locations where it is conducted. Sometimes it is a large park, sometimes on a beach and sometimes on the promenade along the sea. With a lot of positive energy all around, the benefits of working out in such locations multiply exponentially and more people are likely to join the regime. “There is a lot of physical and emotional contentment when we conduct an Active Sunday and encourage others to be active,” concluded Swarup.

Give their enthusiasm to help others and motivate others to get active on a Sunday, Swarup and Anitha have been inducted as GOQii champions to take this positive movement of forward in their respective cities of Mumbai and Bengaluru.

So if you have not been a part of Active Sunday, now is your chance to join the movement in the city of Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.

November 19, 2015 By Vrushali Athavle 1 Comment

Do you know about NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis)?

Are you one of those who know the importance of exercising but still give excuses for not working out regularly? Several research reports have indicated that like “Cigarette smoking is injurious to health”, there is a new saying in the health industry “Sitting is injurious to health” Sitting in one place for a long time can cause serious health issues.

Here is a quick fix for all the people who have sedentary lifestyle and job and do not get time to work out.
NEAT – also known as ‘Non-exercise activity thermogenesis’ include those activities which require to move the smallest muscle of the body due to which some energy expenditure occur. These exercises will not include very minimal movements like those while sleeping or eating and also will not include activities like sports where there is lot of calorie burning. Basically, it includes activities like walking to office, gardening, standing rather than sitting, gardening, doing household chores, carrying grocery bags in hand instead of using a trolley etc.
For more clarity on NEAT let’s take a peek into the various daily examples:

Brush to burn calories:

Instead of lazing around with a brush in your mouth stand near the wash basin with one leg lifted. This will help you strengthen your core and at the same time improve your concentration and balance.

Serve yourself:

Next thing which we usually do is to call out loud for tea/coffee or breakfast from the living room to the person in the kitchen. Instead, go ahead and serve yourself. This will ensure your sluggish metabolism is waking up slowing to burn more calories.

Catch up with some exercise on the way to office:

** Take the stair wherever possible and skip the elevators. This could be your building stairs or railway station stairs if you travel by train or walk up to the office in your building which is on the 7th or 8th floor. If climbing 7 floors seems tiring, climb 2 to 3 floors and take a lift for remaining. Climbing stairs is a great way to burn calories and strengthen your legs.”

** Sitting at the desk for long hours is the most dangerous thing as we just discussed in the beginning of this blog. Here is the solution- get up from your chair every 1 hour, do certain stretches, instead of asking the office boy to fill up your water bottle take a stroll and refill it yourself, talk to your friends and come back to your seat and continue with your work.

Stand up and stretch every time you hit ‘send’ on an e-mail.”

Use “Walk n talk method” i.e start walking while you are on long conversations on call.
(i) While sitting on a chair, raise one heel or both the heels then one leg and then both the legs while seated. This turn outs to be the best exercise for lower body, Similarly stretch out arms and do some free hand arm exercises or pick up water bottles and do some bicep curls which can be some good upper body workouts.
(ii) To strengthen the core, sit on a ball which forces you to balance yourself keeping your core engaged full time. If this is not possible in office, try out this ball method at home while watching television or eating dinner, playing video/mobile games or reading.

4) Get a Pedometer

Pedometer like GOQii band can be best used to motivate you by tracking the steps and kms everyday. To make this more interesting decide on certain weekly targets to completing steps target.
In a nutshell the above proves that there is no way you can say ‘I have a sedentary job’. NEAT exercises help you to shift your sedentary job to a bit active one with very simple efforts. Once you incorporate these activities, lot more will come to your mind.

Let me know “How do you squeeze extra activity into your day?”