Weight,
BMI and visiting the gym; Junk, tasty and munching away, these six terms have
become an important part of each urban individuals life. Balancing them all is
the task that most fail at, striving for a healthy heart everyone aims at.
We have looked into simple
methods that each individual can implement in order to maintain that BMI as
well munch on those cheesy, delicious meals.
1) Walking: This is one of the simplest exercises
and can be very enjoyable, especially if the weather is nice. Walking helps
tone up your legs and improves overall health. Even if the weather does not
permit you to go outside, you can still get an effective walking workout at
home. If you have a flight of stairs either inside your home or your building,
go up and down them a few times. This will also help you get some low impact
aerobic exercise as well. Walk for 40 minutes 4 times a week and watch as your
weight reduces. If your weight is 70kgs and you walk for 40 minutes, you will
burn 162 calories.
2) Swimming: Swimming is one the most refreshing
exercises, especially during the hot summer months. It is also the exercise
that burns maximum calories. Along with this, it also has many other health
benefits such as building muscle strength, toning upper and lower body and many
more. You should aim to swim 20-25 minutes 3 days a week. If you can, swim laps
as this is by far the most popular way to lose weight. An individual weighing
70kgs can burn up to 450 calories while swimming laps vigorously or swimming
breaststroke.
3) Water Aerobics: Water exercises are not only limited
to swimming. When you step into a pool, your body reduces to one-tenth its
original weight. This makes it a perfect time to increase lower body strength,
power and agility. A great aerobic exercise that can be done, even if you don’t
know how to swim is the power jump. A person weighing 70kgs can burn
approximately 145 calories in 30 minutes with water aerobics. Following are the
steps for different types of power jumps:
i. You should always start with in shallow water, with the water level between
your ribcage and underarm.
ii. For 6-8 minutes, jog around the pool doing kicks, jumping jacks, strikes
and knee lifts. This warms up the body.
iii. Lightly stretch the quadriceps, calf muscles, hip flexors and hamstrings.
iv. Repeat the moves in step 2 but with a higher intensity for 8-10 minutes.
Make the movements long and exaggerated.
v. The first jump to perform is a tuck jump. Start by standing up straight.
Keep your knees and ankles together as you pull the knees into the chest.
Return to a standing position. While doing this, move the arms in a circular
motion at the side of the body. Bend at the elbow as the legs straighten.
vi. Next, carry out a frog jump. Begin with the toes, knees and thighs slightly
turned out. Bend your arms into a diamond shape, with the fists close to the
chest. Push your arms down to your hips while lifting your legs up and into a
diamond shape. Make sure the knees point to opposite sides at the top of the
jump and imitate frog legs. Return to the starting position.
vii. Execute a scissors jump. Start in a standing position. As you jump, one
leg movies straight forward and other movies directly behind your body.
Alternate your legs in the front and back position. The arms should move in
opposition to your legs.
viii. Kick your legs and jog for two or three minutes.
ix. Finally, you must remember that any weight loss exercises are incomplete
without stretching. Stretch the quadriceps, hamstrings, hip flexors and calves
deeply.
4) Dancing: Dancing is a fabulous form of exercise
because not only does it help you lose weight, it’s also a great way to have
fun. Choose a dance form based on not only the amount of calories it burns but
also one you like best as you’ll be more likely to stick with it in the longer
run.
There are a variety of
options ranging from salsa and hip-hop which are vigorous to ballroom and jazz
which are slower but still burn calories. You can burn about 190 calories
through fast dancing and if you’re slow dancing then you can burn about 100
calories. This is assuming that you weigh 70kgs.
5) Squats:
In addition to losing weight overall, squats also tone up your legs and
buttocks. To perform a squat, stand with your feet apart in such a way that
your toes, knees and hips are in a straight line. Pull your belly burn towards
your spine and contract your abdominal muscles. Slowly lower your body as
though you’re lowering yourself into a chair. Make sure your knees are behind
your toes. If you can, go down until your butt is in line with your knees. If
not, then go as low as you can. Keeping the weight in your heels, slowly push
your body back to starting position. Repeat the exercise 10-15 times. You can
burn about 125 calories in a 30 minute session while doing squats if you weigh
around 70kgs.