IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH & FITNESS AT HOME

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Sports Appeal, Supplements, Training & Equipment

Home Gyms.

Regardless if whether our lives will soon get back to normal or not, one thing many of us have learned with this pandemic: to value our health. Don’t you agree?

Health is the most important thing in life, and without it, everything else is pointless, impossible or more difficult to achieve.

Due to COVID (whether we like it or not), we are forced to spend much more time at home, and because of that, home gyms and virtual classes have become far more common.

As a result, health and exercise professionals begun to rethink how to train clients, taking also in consideration, both the equipment and the space clients typically have available at home.

And although exercising without professional supervision can be harmful, when done carefully, it has great advantages.

How to Get Health and Fitness at Home.

1 – Eat Healthier:

By adding healthy portions of food to your diet, and eliminating or cutting down on the junk you’ve been binge eating lately.

Unfortunately, eating junk has become irresistible, especially to the millennials, so the consequences speak for themselves vehemently.

Just by resisting this temptation, you’ll do a huge favor to yourself.

Consume whole foods like vegetables, fruits, proteins, and healthy carbs, and only eat as much as your Body needs.

Stop treating your body as a bin where you can dump anything anytime you want.

Snacking in your free time or eating hearty portions of meals is damaging your health, so you must break this habit.

Eat only a portion of food consisting of the required calories your body needs and feel the difference in your body.

This will also reduce the bloating people complain so much about.

2 – Drink Plenty Of Water:

How much time and effort do you think it will take to keep your body hydrated?

Almost none. Just keep a bottle of water with you everywhere you go. And keep sipping the whole day.

Your body will thank you in surprising ways for keeping it hydrated.

You’ll feel a noticeable difference in your weight, digestion, blood pressure, skin, and hair.

Remember, water plays a significant role in your weight loss journey and builds immunity by eliminating the harmful nutrients from your body.

Instead of spending money on energy and fizzy drinks, just drink a lot of water.

3 – Regular Exercise:

Lack of physical activity is a murder of your health. It is a looming problem that has given birth to a series of health issues.

Long working hours in the office not only leave us exhausted but also at risk of heart disease.

This is not the only misery because ending up in bad shape is also on the list.

Why jeopardize your health when devoting only a few minutes of your day to the workout can save you from these risks.

Exercise for 20–30 minutes three times a week to strengthen your muscles, bones, and heart.

You don’t need to do hardcore exercises for an hour or so just to get demotivated to stop exercising at all.

Instead, you should aim for consistency and keep coming back to it for a toned body and enhanced fitness.

4 – Detoxification:

We have all been advised at some stage in our lives to drink detox water because of its cleansing benefits.

But rarely have we been told to detox our lives, take a break, and spend some me-time for exhilarated physical and mental health.

Don’t you feel engulfed in the daily grind of life? Every one of us does.

And in between all the hustle and bustle going around, it’s important to take some time out for yourself. Your body needs rest to recharge.

Detox your life from the negative energy coming either from a person or social media platforms. It’s essential to keep a check on your mental health because it does affect your physical health.

Just like detox water cleanses your organs, give yourself a chance to cleanse your life, and see how it creates a difference in your overall health.

5 – Listen to Your Body:

Now, what does that mean?

Listen to what your body signals. Often, we all ignore when our body tries to convey us a message – I am not okay.

Often, we are so focused on doing major things to keep ourselves fit that we overlook the minor signs.

For instance, after a workout, your muscles are sore, but you keep pushing the next day to exercise with the same intensity. Stop doing this.

Give your body a day off to heal. Sometimes, what makes you resilient is the ability to pause and do some self-care instead of continuing to ignore the pain and pushing yourself through the whole day.

Do things that are aligned to your body’s needs. If you are fatigued and feel dizzy all the time, consult a doctor rather than suggesting it as genetic or merely an aging process.

Also, don’t overthink; just trust your instincts.

Five Physical Fitness Elements We Must Consider.

1. Muscular Power:

This is the “power” that helps you lift and carry heavy objects. Without muscular strength, your body would be weak and unable to keep up with the demands placed upon it.

The way to increase strength is to train with heavy weights, working in the 4–6 or 12–15 rep ranges.

The more weight you use, the fewer reps you should do !

2. Muscular Endurance:

Endurance is the ability of your muscles to perform contractions for extended periods of time.

Rather than just lifting or carrying something for a few seconds, the muscles are used for minutes.

The way to increase strength is to train with light weights, working in the 20 – 25 rep range.

Working with lighter weight will train the muscle fibers needed for muscular endurance, and the higher rep range leads to a longer period of exercise.

3. Cardiovascular Endurance:

Cardiovascular endurance is your body’s ability to keep up with exercise like running, jogging, swimming, cycling, and anything that forces your cardiovascular system (lungs, heart, blood vessels) to work for extended periods of time.

Together, the heart and lungs fuel your body with the oxygen needed by your muscles, ensuring that they have the oxygen needed for the work they are doing.

The Cooper Run (running as far as possible in 12 minutes) is a test commonly used to assess cardiovascular endurance, but many trainers use the Step Test (stepping onto a platform for 5 minutes).

Both are accurate measures of a subject’s cardiovascular endurance.

4. Flexibility:

Flexibility is one of the most important, yet often overlooked, components of physical fitness.

Without flexibility, the muscles and joints would grow stiff and movement would be limited.

Flexibility training ensures that your body can move through its entire range of motion without pain or stiffness.

To test your flexibility, lean forward and try to touch your toes. Those with good flexibility will usually be able to touch their toes, while those with limited flexibility will not.

The sit and reach test (sitting on the floor and reaching toward your toes) is another good way to assess your flexibility.

The more flexible you are, the closer you will come to touching your toes and beyond.

5. Body Fat Composition:

Body fat composition refers to the amount of fat on your body.

For example, a 100-pound person with a 25% body fat composition will have a lean body mass of 75 pounds.

To qualify as fit:

  • Men must have a body fat percentage of less than 17%.

  • Women must have a body fat percentage of less than 24%.

    Note: The average man tends to have about 18 to 24 percent of body fat, while the average woman has 25 to 31 percent of body fat.

Home Fitness Programs.

Also, an effective fitness program has five components, all of which you can do at home:

  1. A warmup
  2. A cardiovascular (aerobic) workout
  3. Resistance (strength-building) exercises.
  4. Flexibility moves.
  5. A cooldown

The key thing is that we need to do something, somewhere, sometime.

It doesn’t take much effort or money to design an effective workout program at home.

Things like fit balls, dumbbells, exercise bands or tubing, and push-up bars are an inexpensive way to create a routine that works all the major muscle groups.

But even without props or equipment, we can still be fit and burn calories, as a simple brisk walk or going up and down stairs are easy routines that anyone can do and are effective exercises for those that cannot go to a gym or afford equipment.

Using only your own body weight, these versatile moves can help you create a total-body at-home workout that fits your needs and abilities.

Top 10 At-Home Workouts (No Equipment)

NOTE: Keep in mind that in our fitness journey it is just as important to focus on nutrition as well as intensive training.

Below, I will show you 10 exercises that you can do at home and for which you don’t need any equipment, that focus on muscle building and definition.

1.High Knees:   Intermediate – Abs, Quads, Arms

Stand shoulder width apart on your mat. Lift your right leg up. Meanwhile, raise your right hand above your head and then bring it in front of your body.

The right hand should now meet the right knee. Now put your leg back down and repeat the process on the left side. Adjust the pace to whatever suits you best. The faster you get, the more effective it will be !

2. Squat Jumps:   Beginner – Quadriceps and Glutes

Squat jumps are a popular warm-up exercise and easy to do as well. Stand wide on your mat.

Get into a squat position. Put your hands in front of your body, keep your back straight, bend your knees and squat down.

Now jump out of the squat as high as you can.

Land in a squat position. Repeat this process for about 30s – if you are more advanced, you can do the exercise longer!

Always keep your knees behind your toes and don’t arch your back !

3. Press-ups:   Advanced – Shoulders, Arms, Upper Back, Abs

Lie flat on your stomach, position your hands under your shoulders and push yourself away from the floor.

Keep your body under tension! Look down. Your body should form a straight line.

If this exercise is too difficult for you, you can keep your knees on the floor and try a simplified variation.

Don’t let your body sag; always keep tension !

4. Superman:   Beginner – Back

This exercise is super easy and good for your back. Lie on your stomach. Extend your arms forward. Look down.

Now you pull your upper body and your legs up.

Hold the position for a few seconds before dropping your arms and legs back onto the mat.

Try to move your body with muscle strength and not with momentum !

Keep the tension up !

5. Sit–Ups:   Intermediate – Abdominal muscles

Lie on your back. Bend your knees and raise your legs.

Tilt your pelvis so that your back lays flat on the floor without a hollow back.

Put your arms behind your neck and slowly move your upper body to your knees, then carefully put it back on the floor.

Do not forget to breathe!

6. Plank:   Beginner – Abdominal muscles

Put your forearms on the floor.

Lift your body so that it forms a straight line.

Hold this position. And that’s it !

You can try many different variations here.

For example, instead of using your forearms, try to support yourself only with the palms of your hands or the side of your body.

Maintain your body’s alignment. Don’t sag and don’t hunch your back !

7. Mountain Climber:   Intermediate – Abdominal muscles

Start with a plank position.

Then slowly pull your knees up to your chin, one after the other.

Carry out this movement in a controlled manner and do not stress yourself.

The slower you do this exercise, the more you will feel it in your abs.

Note: keep slow, controlled movements !

8. Squat:   Beginner – Quads, Glutes

This so-called “compound movement” has an amazing reputation with both bodybuilders and amateur athletes.

Stand on your mat a little wider than shoulder width.

Crouch down and tense your buttocks when you get up.

Note: Straight back, deep squat!

9. Hip Thrust:   Intermediate – Glutes

An insider tip for a firm bottom!

There are two variations of this exercise.

1. Lie on your back with your feet close to your buttocks and push your hips up.

2. Take a chair to help: place your legs on the chair and repeat the exercise as described.

Due to the increased angle, this variation is a little more difficult.

Adjust the position of your feet so that you feel the exercise mainly in your buttocks and not in your knees!

10. Walking Lunge:   Intermediate – Quads

If you do not feel your thighs by now, you will definitely do it after this exercise! Stand tall on your mat.

Take a step forward; making sure that your knee does not protrude over the tips of your toes.

Then you push yourself off with your back leg, guide it past your other leg and take another step forward.

Repeat this process again and again !

This little at-home training plan is most effective when you repeat it three times. It can look something like this:

  • Exercise 1 & 2 – Repeat 3x30s – 10s break

  • Exercise 3 & 4 – Repeat 3×15 – 10s break

  • Exercise 5,6 & 7 – Repeat 3×20 – 30s break

  • Exercise 8,9 & 10 – Repeat 3×15 – 10s break

Monitor your progress.

Make an assessment of your progress, six weeks after you start your program and then again every few months, to decide if you need to increase the amount of time you exercise in order to continue improving.

If you lose motivation, set new goals or try a new activity. By planning carefully and pacing yourself, you can establish your own fitness routines at home that will last a lifetime.