Exercises For Lazy People/Exercises In Limited Time

Let’s get straight to the point. There are 1440 minutes in a day and all you need is 20-30 minutes from those 1440 minutes for exercises. And you don’t even have to go to the gym. Let me explain how…

You must have seen the vegetable vendor with his cart, starting out in the morning to sell the vegetables or the paper guy on his bicycle every morning delivering the newspaper. There is something common in the way they carry out their daily work. What is it? You must know the answer already… A lot of moving around that is. Then there is a person who works from his desk, where he has access to the computer, phone and everything else right there on his desk, even the coffee machine is not so far away and the only time he walks is to go to the washroom and the parking area where his vehicle is parked. Like these, there are thousands of other jobs that demand physical efforts and thousands of jobs that demand just the brain power. And most of the times it turns out that the people with sedentary jobs are unhealthy and the reason behind that is they do not have enough time to exercise and sometimes they are too lazy to do any physical activity.

Let’s try and change this. Let’s not wait for an event to occur because of this unhealthy life. Let’s start and get some physical activity from now on. And in a couple of months you will see that you are feeling stronger, healthier and less stressed than you usually are. I have designed a 20 weeks program for those who cannot go to the gym because of time constraints. It takes only 20 to 30 minutes. Just do the exercises 3 times in a week. In this post you will find workout for 8 weeks. In my future post I will write on continuation to this workout program where you will find the remaining 12 weeks program.

*Please consult your Physician before doing any of the following exercises.

*Exercises when done in a wrong way can be injurious. Learn the proper technique and always warm up before doing the exercises.

*Read the instructions given below and view the exercise videos through the links provided.

Week 1-4

Exercises	Set 1	Set 2
BW Squats with DB Shoulder Press	10 reps	10 reps
BW Push ups	10 reps	10 reps
Stair climbing	15 steps	15 steps
Knees Up	20 reps	20 reps
Bridges	10 reps	10 reps
Crunches	15 reps	15 reps

 

*BW=Body Weight, DB=Dumbbell, Reps=Repetitions.

Week 5-8

Exercises	Set 1	Set 2
BW Squats with DB Press	15 reps	15 reps
BW Push ups	15 reps	15 reps
Stair climbing	20 steps	20 steps
Knee Ups	30 reps	30 reps
Bridges	15 reps	15 reps
Crunches	20 reps	20 reps

 

*BW=Body Weight, DB=Dumbbell, Reps=Repetitions.

INSTRUCTIONS

• Warm up before doing the exercises. For warm up you can do some mobilization exercises. You can also do a few repetitions of the same exercises before doing the actual workout.  
• Do all the exercises slowly.
• Learn the form of the exercises by clicking on them (video links). You don’t have to use the Dumbbells if you don’t have them. Just do the movement.
• Learn proper breathing technique while exercising. Exhale while exerting force and inhale while coming back to the starting position.
• Keep your core (abdominal muscles) activated throughout the exercises at the same time remember to breathe.
• Take it slow. Don’t rush.
• Rest for 30 to 60 seconds between sets. If you are too tired take a longer rest and take deep breaths. Deep breaths will help in taking in oxygen and avoiding hyperventilation (abnormal loss of carbon dioxide). 

BW Squats with DB Press

Control the exercise movement. Inhale while going down and exhale while coming up, pushing through the heels and don’t let your hips drop lower than your knees and don’t let your knees go past your toes while going down.

BW Push ups

Do them very slowly. Inhale while going down and exhale while coming up (pushing). Women can do the modified version of the push ups.

Stair climbing

Climb the stair slowly. Climbing the stairs very fast can increase you blood pressure very quickly. Stair Climbing can be done using the stairs at work or at home. Take the stairs instead of the lift. You don’t have to climb three stories right away. Just stick to the program and you will see results.

Knees Up

In the video there are two versions shown; Low impact version and High Impact version. Do the low impact version. The high impact is bad for knee joints incase in bad knees. Control the movement while doing the knee Ups.

Bridges

While doing the bridges, squeeze your gluteus muscles to lift your butt off the floor.

Crunches

Remember to breathe during crunches. Exhale while crunching up and inhale while going back to the starting position. Don’t pull yourself (neck) up with your hands.

Let’s start living a healthy life. And remember, nutrition also plays a vital role. So along with exercising, make the right food choices. Healthy New Year 2011!!!

Stay Healthy!

Health and Fitness 2010

The following is the collection of all the posts that I have written so far. I have made this list to help you find topics that you might have missed or might want to know about, without any difficulty. The links will take you to that particular post. I have been writing on very important health and fitness issues and I hope the information helps you to make lifestyle modification and live a healthy life. 

FITNESS MYTHS AND FACTS - PART I

EXERCISES FOR WOMEN TROUBLE ZONES - BUTT, THIGHS AND HIPS

IS WEIGHT TRAINING GOOD FOR WOMEN?

THE CALORIC VALUES OF INDIA FOOD

DAILY NUTRIENT REQUIREMENTS AND THEIR CALORIC VALUES

EXERCISE AND OSTEOPOROSIS

BEWARE OF MISLEADING HEALTH PRODUCTS, FITNESS STUDIOS, GYMS AND PERSONAL TRAINERS

WHAT IS DIABETES? HOW CAN IT BE CONTROLLED?

PREGNANCY AND EXERCISE

BENEFITS OF AEROBIC/CARDIOVASCULAR TRAINING

IS YOUR DIET PLAN HITTING BOREDOM? DON’T WORRY

ARE YOU SUFFERING FROM LOW-BACK PAIN?

COMMON MOVEMENTS A PERSON WITH OSTEOPOROSIS SHOULD AVOID.

INCLUDE WARM UP AND COOL DOWN PERIODS IN YOUR EXERCISE ROUTINE

HOW IMPORTANT IS BREATHING WHILE EXERCISING?

WEIGHT LOSS PILLS/PRODUCTS; DO THEY REALLY WORK?

EXERCISE GUIDELINES FOR ASTHMATICS.

IS THE KNEE PAIN KEEPING YOU AWAY FROM WORKING OUT?

TOO FLEXIBLE? IT COULD LEAD TO AN INJURY.

STARTING A WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM? FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE STEPS TO REACH YOUR GOALS.

WOMEN, OSTEOPOROSIS AND CALCIUM.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT FOOD – IT’S NOT THAT HARD.

 

Stay Healthy!

Two Glasses Of Water – The Healthy Eating During Christmas.

It’s Christmas in a couple of days and I have already started eating the sweets. I am not going to deprive myself of the food and sweets this Christmas. But I am also not going to forget about my health. Well, as always I have a plan to go about with this festive season and I am going to stick to it. I have come up with a simple yet very effective step. I have named it “Two Glasses Of Water”. This practice will guide me and you to stay healthy and at the same time not deprive oneself of the delicious Christmas food and sweets that we can indulge in once a year.

“Two Glasses Of Water” – How to Practice?

Drink a glass of water before eating any sweets and another glass of water after eating. The first glass of water will help you in eating less because you will feel full and the second glass of water will prevent you from overindulging in more sweets because again, you will feel full.

Alcohol is something that is had in plenty during this time. So if you are not able to avoid the drinks, here is a solution. Drink two glasses of water for a glass of alcohol. So start with a glass of water and every glass of alcohol must be followed by a glass of water. The water will help in reducing the diuretic effect (alcohol increases urination and flushes water from the body) and at the same time it will help you in keeping away from overindulging.

Explanation:

It’s simple. The idea of this practice is to stay full most of the times so that you don’t overindulge.

This practice of “Two Glasses Of Water” will not only help you through this Christmas season but also throughout your life. 

Stay Healthy! 

Fitness Myths and Facts - Part I

When it comes to health and fitness, we hear a lot of things from a lot of people we come across. Some will tell us from their experiences and some will tell us what they heard from others. Some of it will be true and some of it will be false. There are a lot of health and fitness myths and facts. In this part, I have busted five myths.

Myth - More Proteins helps in gaining big muscles

Fact – For hypertrophy (increase in muscle size) one has to eat all the required nutrients in their specific amounts and do weight training. An athlete would need 1.2 to 1.5 grams of protein per KG of body weight. Extra amounts of proteins put extra stress on kidneys and liver. Proteins when eaten in excess get converted into fats. The muscles don’t increase in size until and unless they are exercised.   

Myth - Longer workout duration causes more weight loss

Fact – To lose fat weight one has to do low intensity exercises for a longer duration up to a point. But that doesn’t mean one has to exercise for countless hours. If exercises continue beyond the point, the benefits from your workout will be reduced and it can cause overuse injuries (overtraining). An hour of workout each session is good enough to get good results.

Myth – Frequent exercising, faster the muscle grows.

Fact – This again will cause result in overtraining. One cannot gain muscles in a few days. The process of muscle growth takes place when you rest the muscle. So if you are working out the same muscles over and over again without giving them any rest, those muscles will have no time to recover and build. It usually takes around 24 to 48 hours for muscles to recover.

  

Myth -Fat can be transformed into muscle

Fact – Fat and lean muscles are two different tissues. Fat can never be converted into lean muscles. Many young aspiring bodybuilders/fitness enthusiasts make a mistake of putting on a lot of weight thinking they would do a so called definition workout once they become huge. But let me be very clear, in order get a defined body one has to have a lot of lean muscles. So if you are thinking about converting all that fat weight into lean muscle, just remember that won’t happen.      

Myth - More the abdominal exercises, more the fat loss in that area

Fact – People waste a lot of time doing abdominal exercises thinking they will lose fat from the abdominal region. The fact is; they are only strengthening the abdominals. The fat that is sitting on the muscles below the skin remains there forever. Like other muscles, abdominals too has to be given time to recover. Remember spot reduction is not possible. So the only way to get a flat stomach or defined abdominals is by doing a combination of aerobic/cardio training along with abdominal exercises. 

Stay Healthy!

Exercises For Women Trouble Zones - Butt, Thighs and Hips

The most important thing a woman wants from her workout program is to get in good shape. When they talk about good shape, they are talking about their hips, butt and thighs. Before I write more, let me just tell you why women choose/need to work more on these areas than the other. It is because the physiology of a woman is such that most of the excess fat/weight is accumulated in these three areas. While in a man it is the abdominal area that carries a lot of excess fat/weight. Let me be very clear to all the women and men; Spot reduction is not possible. Only a combination of aerobic/cardio training and weight training can shape you up and give you results.

Include the following exercises in your workout routines and see results. 

Aerobic Training

Aerobic dance/Cardio routines

Cycling

Jogging

Walking

Running

Stair climbing/Take the stairs instead of the elevator

Weight Training

Squats

Lunges

Bridge exercises

Leg extension
Hip extension

Leg curls 

Leg Press 

Hip abduction Hip adduction

Heel raises 

Step ups

Now that you know what to do to lose all that fat, just get going. Stick to a proper weight/fat loss diet and exercises and you will start seeing changes in a couple of months. Remember, no matter how overweight and out of shape you are, you can always turn things around by exercising and making right food choices. 

Please consult your physician before starting any workout program especially if you have any health issue. 

Stay Healthy!