Doing regular exercise and staying healthy is very important to ensure good quality of life. Exercise can improve your health and reduce the risk of developing several diseases like type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Physical activity and exercise can have immediate and long-term health benefits.
Regular exercise enhances your fitness level while enabling you to stay trim and healthy. If your fitness levels are good, it will boost your immune system and prevent you from falling sick. Exercise is the best way to become resilient to flu, fever, and other illnesses. Physical exercise keeps you energetic and boosts your mood as it releases chemicals called endorphins into your brain which in turn makes you feel positive and peaceful.
Although exercise has many benefits, many people often skip daily exercise. So if you are one of them, it’s time you started exercising regularly. Here are some simple exercises that you can incorporate into your daily routine to stay fit.
- Lunges: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and arms down at sides. Take a step forward with your right foot. Bend your knees and stop when your thigh is parallel to the ground. Make sure that your right knee is not kept past your right foot. Push up off your right foot and return to the starting position. Repeat the same step on your left leg. Complete 10 reps for 3 sets.
- Push up: This is a basic exercise where you start with plank position, keep your body tight, shoulder pulled down and back. Bend your elbows and slowly lower your body and when your chest grazes the floor, extend your elbows and return to the start. Keep your elbows close to your body during the movement.
- Dumbbell rows: This is a compound exercise that strengthens the muscles of your body. Start with a dumbbell in each hand. Bend forward at the waist so your back is at a 45-degree angle to the ground. Be certain not to arch your back. Let your arms hang straight down and your neck is in line with your back and your core is engaged. Starting with your right arm, bend your elbow and pull the weight straight up toward your chest, making sure to engage your lat muscles, and stopping just below your chest.Return to the starting position and repeat with the left arm.
- Standing over dumbbells: This exercise uses multiple joints and muscles, and is the best exercise for the shoulders. Take a light set of dumbbells and start by standing, either with your feet shoulder-width apart or staggered. Move the weights overhead so your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Push up until your arms are fully extended above your head. Keep your head and neck stationary. After a brief pause, bend your elbows and lower the weight back down until your triceps are parallel to the floor again.
- Squats: Start by standing straight, with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, and your arms at your side. Keep your chest and chin up, push your hips back and bend your knees as if you’re going to sit on a chair. Make sure that your knees don’t bow inward or outward, drop down until your thighs are parallel to the ground, bringing your arms out in front of you in a comfortable position. Pause for one second, then extend your legs and return to the starting position.
- Burpees: This is an effective exercise for your whole body. Begin by standing upright with your feet shoulder-width apart and arms on your side. Put your hands on the front and start to squat down and as soon as your hands reach the ground, pop your legs back to a push-up position. Do a push-up and then get back to the starting push-up position and jump your feet up to your palms by hinging at the waist. Your feet must be as close to your hands as possible, landing them outside your hands if necessary.
- Single leg deadlifts: This exercise is for improving leg strength. Stand with a dumbbell in your right hand and your knees slightly bent.Hinging at the hips, begin to kick your left leg straight back behind you, lowering the dumbbell down toward the ground.When you reach a comfortable height with your left leg, slowly return to the starting position in a controlled motion, squeezing your right glute. Ensure that your pelvis stays square to the ground during the movement.
- Sit-ups: This is an effective exercise if you want abdominal muscles. Lie down on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat. Keep your arms behind you head and slowly begin to roll up from your head, engaging your core throughout. Don’t strain your neck during the upward motion. When your chest comes close to your legs, begin the controlled phase back down to the starting position.
- Side planks: Lie on your right side with your left leg on top of the right leg. Prop your upper body up by placing your right forearm on the ground, elbow directly under your shoulder. Contract your core to stiffen your spine and lift your hips and knees off the ground, forming a straight line with your body.
Exercising helps to keep your body and mind fresh, and stay mentally, emotionally and physically fit. Begin each exercise with small reps and with time add more reps.
