If you don't have time to hit the gym but still want to stay fit, then there's good news for you as there are ample of exercise options that you can try. Here are few of the best
In our busy lives, we have ample work to finish, manage homes and multitask other responsibilities. In the rush to meet deadlines and ensure everything is managed well, there are few things that we tend to miss out. Like the gym! Who has the time to put an hour or more aside to exercise? But then, if you are a busy woman in your 40s, exercising becomes all the more important. This is a critical age, as there is an increase in the fat depositions in the body and a gradual decrease in the muscle mass starts. Eventually, this leads to diabetes, obesity, cardiac problems, high blood pressure, and many more issues. Here are a few exercises that will benefit you in a great way.
It’s a misconception that burpees are done only by hardcore athletes or fitness buffs or people who prefer high-intensity workout. Burpees have superb health benefits and are recommended by a lot of experts around the world. This exercise is like a body fat-control machine as it helps to lose that stubborn fat easily. It’s a full body exercise with moderate intensity and helps raise the body endurance level. It’s the easiest way to get fit and doesn’t need any equipment. The best part is that it also boosts your metabolism. You can try around 30 burpees a day initially and increase the count once your body gets used to it.
With a busy scheduled and waking up early the next day again to manage things and keep going, do you feel you end up getting tired too easily? One of the reasons is that your body needs some strengthening. Squats help to battle the times when you feel that tingling in your feet or when your legs start hurting at the end of the day. This happens primarily due to poor blood circulation in the system. Doing squats works as a remedial and a preventive measure for poor circulation. Inculcate a habit of ensuring that you do at least a few sets of squats each day and soon enough you’ll notice a change in your body and realize that fatigue is disappearing.
Belly fat is the most stubborn of all kinds of fat and how we would love to shed some weight around the tummy. Apart from building up core muscles, planking every day helps build the muscles in the mid-section of the body. What’s also beneficial is that once you do planks correctly, it improves your posture. Fixing the posture is so important these days, as we spend a lot of time sitting or being hooked to our gadgets, which strains the neck. So correcting our posture and achieving better body stability are brownie points for doing planks!
Practicing different types of postures of yoga undeniably gives you multiple benefits and also helps to calm the mind. But if you don’t have time to do several types of postures, then you can try doing these two poses to relax the sore muscles in your lower back, shoulder, and neck. The bow pose, when done correctly and regularly, helps relax the tight shoulder muscles and sore neck, which is usually caused due to our hunched sitting posture. This posture will release the tension in these areas and you’ll experience lightness. The triangle pose works wonders on the entire spine and has extra focus on the lower back. When you stretch your body sideways, it helps release the tense muscles in the lower back and gradually makes the back stronger.
Running or jogging outside the house is great, but if you don’t have time to step out, then worry not, you can try spot jogging. Also known as stationary jogging, it’s convenient and is an effective form of cardiovascular exercise. It helps to lose overall weight and drastically build up your stamina, which eventually also betters your immune system. A great upside of stationary jogging is that it strengthens the hamstring muscles, quadriceps and calf muscles. A word of caution though, if you have never tried jogging or running, it is advisable to take it extremely slow, as a reckless start may damage the knees.
We all dread the ‘leg day’ in the gym, don’t we? Though painful, legs exercise is absolutely necessary, well because legs do all the running for us! As we walk or stand for too long, it makes the feet sore and feels too tired by the end of the day. So strengthening your legs is the only way out, as we need to keep going every day, don’t we? Lunges are the best option, as it increases your core strength, helps you build up your lower body. Most importantly, it’s giving those buttocks the much-needed exercise! Due to the sedentary lifestyle, the lower back and the butt area becomes stiff and lunges helps to fix this problem.
At least once a week, you should try tennis or cycling or swimming, running or racquet sports and try and make it a part of your workout. These are high-intensity activities that are essential for the body and has good health benefits. All of these activities help to lose weight sooner as it is high in intensity. Add to this, it considerably raises the metabolism level of the body. The high point of this is it increases the oxygen consumption capacity of the body and betters the endurance of the body.
An elliptical machine is by far the most recommended and efficient equipment for a workout and is a great way to maintain health, especially for women over 40. This strengthens your heart in a remarkable way and builds up your overall cardiovascular health. It also increases the aerobic capacity of the body, all in all, leads to stronger lungs and heart. It warms up the body in a nice way and usually is called the powerhouse among cardio exercises. If you don’t have this equipment, you may try climbing up and down the stairs, which gives a similar level of benefit.
Disclaimer : This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.