Category Archives: Fitness

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Exercises, Fitness, Mental Wellbeing and Motivation, Time Saving

How to deal with procrastination in exercise

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Have you ever tried to do exercise and then gave up due to procrastination? When we made an exercise plan and started to do it, many factors would disturb it. Procrastination could be a big hinder. We all know that regular exercising is an excellent way to keep fit and become more healthy, but most of us could not hold on straight to the end.

In general, procrastination is a behaviour that put the things which be done today to tomorrow. It always interrupts our training plan. We might think that we can delay for 15 minutes to browse Tiktoks or somethings else before exercising. Then, after day and day, the whole plan just collapses. How enthusiastic before we were making the plan, how guilty after we were giving it up.

There are some good methods that might help you conquer procrastination to pursue your dream of a good figure.

 

Motivate yourself

If you want to keep a good stature, like strong muscle or a beautiful curve, and you are difficult to start your first step. You need motivation, or you have to give yourself motivation.

All of the advantages of exercising could be your motivation, such as attracting isomerism, keeping healthy, and improving stamina. Also, exercising could be a good option for time killing. When you have a reason for doing something, you are more willing to do that than resist it.

 

Mostly, at the first stage of training, you might feel pain both in the body and mind. And then create a sense of fear before training. The best to conquer it is that remind the reasons for training again and again so that you could overcome your procrastination.

Moreover, listening to good music before and during the training could be a good method to improve your mood. You can also use other ways to relax, such as warming up.

 

 

Keep energy

Exercising is not mental but physical, which means you must have a good energy state before it. If you are exhausted before exercising, like after busy work overtime or stay up late, forced exercise is inadvisable.

However, this situation does interrupt your training plan. If you give up one day of training, it opens a bad precedent. Psychologically, you indulge your procrastination once. Thus, the best way is that as far as possible to avoid this situation. You have to make sure that you are vigorous at every predetermined training time. You have to keep a regular diet and timetable. If you decide to watch movies or play games all night, you have to make sure these will not affect your training.

Once you decide to give up one time of training, you must have a firm reason because procrastination is a mental barrier.

Good plan

Doing exercise needs a good plan. If you do not have a good training plan, you might take a weak result on your body. For procrastination, a good plan could form your daily behaviours as a habit.

Besides, the plan must be specific and achievable. Most people only have targets but none of the actions and plans. For example, you cannot say that I have to lose 10KG this year. It is not specific.

Your training plan must contain “how to do it”, “when to do it”, “how long to do it”, and “what is the target”. There is a good model of plan-making named “SMART goals”, and it might help you.

Additionally, how to carry out your plan persistently is also a big problem. In my advice, you could write the plan in your diary that you can easily see and remind yourself. Hiring a trainer to supervise your processes could be a good way. Also, you could let your friend overlook you. Having a training companion could also improve both of your insistence.

Share achievement

The human being is a social animal. We cannot survive without society. Sharing your achievement on social media, and let your friends know what are you doing now. For example, share a daily moment or sent a Twitter. So you can have a great number of public supervisors and take excellent feedback on your effort. Once you want to be lazy, the pressure from your social circle would remind you and push you to stick to the training.

However, what is most important is that you are training for yourself rather than your Internet expression. Sharing your achievement on social media aims to cure your procrastination, not pursue fame, following or something else. These could be a bonus but not your main target.

As we know, procrastination is a mental barrier. If you set fame or the number of following as your target, you might be persistent in your training. But actually, the problem of procrastination is not solved. It just is hidden. And you might be exhausted by social media, taking a worse influence on your life than procrastination.

Analyse your situation

Just like we told above, procrastination is not always negative. When you try to delay something, it might be an interruption from your subconscious.

When you start to make a training plan, you have to analyse your situation first. For example, if the city you live in is always raining and you do not have any plan for purchasing a treadmill or a gym membership, running could not be a good choice. If you do not have enough time in the day, you might have to move your exercise time to the evening.

Before you make your plan, you have to choose the best time and type of exercise according to your self-condition. So you could have the best experience of it, rather than resist and delay it.

Procrastination is a hot potato not only in exercise but also in our daily life. I hope my advice could help you go further on your fitness journey. But remember, exercising aims to improve our life quality, so do not be excessive.

Fitness, Mental Wellbeing and Motivation

5 Ways to Keep a Healthy Mind, Body and Attitude as a University Student

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Having been a university student in Hull for the last 4 years, I’ve seen first hand that people can have ups and downs in their health. The new found independence that is discovered by lots of students can allow some people to harm their mental and physical health by making bad choices. These new lifestyle choices can stick and the longer someone is stuck in their ways the harder it is to have a positive mindset to regain a healthy way of living. I’m going to inform you of 5 ways in which you can achieve a healthy mind and body whilst being at/going to University.

  1. Exercise

Exercise is crucial in keeping a healthy body but it also has great effects on the mind as well. 150 minutes of exercise per week is generally recommended as this can help with feeling more positive, sleeping better and performing usual tasks much easier. Universities will normally have some form of gym on campus or have one near the Halls where the students live. The gym is a great way of getting into the mindset of exercising and has lots of equipment that would be too expensive to buy for the average student. Although, the gym will most likely have a monthly fee to use their facilities but budgeting this into your monthly spends is definitely worth it. If the gym is too expensive for you, it may be worth having a look at home work outs that can be done and downloading apps to help track and guide your fitness routine.

2. Societies and Sports

At university there are normally lots of ways to get involved in group exercise with team sports and societies that are focused on making sure students are out there enjoying themselves and staying fit. If team sports or sport in general isn’t your thing then joining a society of any kind can help you meet likeminded people and help with making friends and being confident.  Societies come in all different topic areas from Science groups to those who love Disney, so there is something out there for everyone and newcomers are normally welcomed in with open arms. Social isolation is a main cause of mental illness so to be in a group of friends which you meet up and chat with during the week can help to keep you in a positive mindset as well as having a better attitude towards university work.

3. Eating Habits

The independence that university can give you is a blessing for some people whereas, there are others who are less ready to take the step and need time to adjust. Cooking is a skill that not everyone has acquired when they get to university but it is vital that you keep a healthy diet and cook balanced meals unless you’re provided with them. Eating right will not only help keep your body in good shape but it will also help with working by keeping your heart and brain healthy for those long periods of lecture and study. It is said that in a days worth of food, a good balance should consist of around 40% of fruit and veg, as well as 40% of Carbohydrates (e.g Pasta and Rice). The other 20% of a balanced diet is split evenly between proteins, dairy and fat/sugar. For more help with focusing on creating a healthy meal plan and keeping to a healthy diet, Apps may be useful for tracking calories as well as other blog posts which go into more depth on this topic.

4. Sleep

The importance of sleep cannot be overlooked when trying to be healthy and keep up to date with deadlines and work that is being set. Students are likely to fall into the trap of having a more nocturnal sleeping schedule which may not only effect their work but also their mental health as sleeping during the day can lead to a cycle of negative health impacts. The charity ‘Mind’ suggests that a lack of sleep can lead to tiredness which then makes it difficult to complete normal daily tasks and gives you low self esteem. All of this coming together can make anyone worried and stressed which begins the cycle of a lack of quality sleep back to the start. Getting yourself into a routine, which includes getting up at a reasonable time, can help you to achieve your goals and leaves you with time to enjoy doing what you like to do in your free time. Not only will you be happier and more driven but the people around you will notice the change in you as well!

5.  Do what makes you happy!

Societal norms can be seen wherever you are, not just at university and it’s seen as ‘normal’ to follow the crowd and do as your peers do. University is a place to try new things and make new friends. Don’t be scared to join different groups and makes friends in lots of different places. When you let go of expectations and ideals that people expect of you and be who you want to be you are most likely going to become a happier, more positive version of yourself. University is a place for growth as lots of students have a new lease of life without restraints.  Keep your options open and do not let anyone tell you what you want to do, because in the end only you know what you want and there’s only one person that can get you where you want to go. Go out there and be yourself!

If you are planning on starting any form of rigorous physical exercise or new nutrition plan please see your doctor, especially if you are making a change like this and are over the age of 35, or have health conditions that may cause damage to your body from changes like this. Exercise.co.uk assumes no responsibility for personal injury or property damage sustained using our advice.

 

 

 

 

Exercises, Fitness, Mental Wellbeing and Motivation

The secret to get rid of your phone and keep motivated during the exercise

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Do you suffer from phone addiction during your sport exercise? Do you check your phone a lot with  curiosity, afterwards you lose your motivation to continue? You answer a call from your friend or text messages and you don’t become ready to take more pressure when you return to exercise?  Is that what’s worrying you?

Already Realizing that you have a phone addiction problem is the first step to getting rid of it. Here are 5 tips for you to get a great workout:

  1. Spend your time with other useful things while you rest:

The dependent person usually suffers from a lot of emptiness and boredom when resting during exercise, so prolonged use of the smartphone negatively affects mental health and increases feelings of frustration and hopelessness, causing the nervous system to have periods of rest that exceed the required duration. The ideal is to keep busy with things that do not exceed the rest period, such as a small discussion with the coach or a colleague to fill the void and pass the time.

2.Use a phone armband during your exercise:

If you want to change a habit you first have to create obstacles that will block you, for example you have to block access to using the phone with simple things like a training armband to get rid of unnecessary uses that make you want to have more, such as social networking sites. Indeed, putting the phone back in the armband after each use is a tiring thing, so you will be lazy to do it and it is an ideal way to get rid of phone addiction. In addition, the cuff is the ideal choice for holding the phone when you exercise with freedom of movement, you need to find a flexible and very comfortable model. The most practical thing is to opt for a armband that does not squeeze too tightly in order to carry out the exercises correctly. It should not be an annoying accessory for you and should also have a sweat-absorbing capacity.

3.The gloves provide complete finger protection:

If you are wondering how to stop this addiction to the phone during your exercise, you must continue to create obstacles to break this bad habit, because getting rid of it starts in the mind before the body, so that you create obstacles, your brain will persuade the body to stop repeating the mistakes. In addition to empowerment, the gloves will also give you a reduction in tiredness, support and help you fight the sweat resulting from your exercise. Moreover, with gloves, it is practically impossible to operate your phone, it is very unpleasant to have to take off your gloves to pick up the phone or consult social networks for nothing. We recommend gloves with full finger protection
4.Keep the selfies until the end of the exercise:

If your addiction to the phone during your exercise is because of the selfies, because you take a lot of pictures and at the end you are not motivated, you shouldn’t blame and judge yourself because all these things seem normal and repeated in our daily life, in order to document happy moments and share them with those we love, to become a group of beautiful memories, but we just recommend that you learn how to take pictures at the end of the exercise and at the end of each exercise, try to give yourself the opportunity to feel the feeling of relaxation, leave everything, relax on the floor and feel the effect of the exercise on your body, and make sure that you only return to this exercise in order to feel this feeling again before you even think about taking a selfie.

5.Desactivate notifications

Application notifications on the smartphone are one of the most important reasons that make you look at your phone’s screen continuously and repeatedly throughout the exercise, which can be classified as addictive phone use, so to get rid of this problem, you need to set or disable all application notifications on your phone. Indeed, if your phone does not ring repeatedly for notifications and updates, it will be easy to ignore it. You can only set an alert for important notifications, such as text messages from your family. The ideal is to distract yourself with anything when playing sports, and in this case meditation exercises are very ideal, whatever sport you do, always try to distract your attention from the pain the exercise causes you, and kill two birds with one stone.

Addiction to the smartphone will not be eliminated between a session or two, but rather requires a bit of patience and will gradually reduce usage, so remember that you need to live your life outside the screen of your smartphone and enjoy the moment of sport, enjoy meeting people with you at the gym, make new friends and accomplish the tasks of the session to the fullest. We recommend that you bring a friend who trains with you, this will ensure that you never give up exercising, it will motivate you and push you to keep going, so we always advise you to choose the right friend, a friend who is a sports fan, to join you and exercise with you, and when we say it’s appropriate, anyone who is full of energy and vitality and loves to spend time with him or her, and in this way you will love to exercise and avoid using the phone at all times out of respect and to spend time with your chosen friend.

 

 

Fitness

How Do Esports Athletes Stay in Shape? A Guide To Balancing Fitness & Competitive Gaming

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It’s the roaring 20s and being a gamer is cooler than ever. Long gone are the days of video games being blamed for violence and laziness in modern society, now many professional gamers are influencers with large followings, fashion brand-deals and highly regimented training/fitness routines.

Cloud9’s 2016 CS:GO Roster

But how can you keep your body healthy when your livelihood involves sitting in front of a screen playing video games for multiple hours a day? Let’s explore the world of e-athletes and fitness.

As investment into the world of esports increases exponentially year on year, one of the areas that has emerged recently is esports performance analysis. By using sports psychology techniques seen in traditional sports, esports teams and players are chasing that edge to put them ahead of the competition. In esports, the difference between a won game and a lost one can come down to the finest details such as being a couple milliseconds faster to react than your opponent. Research has suggested there is a link between fitness and reaction times, staying true to the commonly thrown around idea of “healthy body, healthy mind”. The evidence is there to show that staying fit and healthy positively affects a person’s mental health and therefore improves their efficacy in whatever it is they may be doing.

Companies that specialise in esports performance have started popping up over the past couple years, most prominent of which are the Canadian based Adamas and Gscience, a UK based firm that offers athlete performance services on top of public resources designed to educate gamers on how to stay fit and ahead of the game.

Further to the resources available on their website, Gscience, much like Adamas, offer in-person and online performance coaching. The performance psychology techniques they employ are also seen in traditional sports, there is a lot of emphasis on teamwork, leadership and “developing a culture of excellence”. The agencies create bespoke training/fitness programmes for the esports teams they work with, Adamas operates out of a state-of-the-art facility near Vancouver that houses the same performance training equipment that you may find at a premier league football club.

Another topic that comes hand-in-hand with performance analysis is nutrition, gamers aren’t exactly famed for having good eating habits but is that changing? Getting a balanced diet is one of the key aspects of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and everyone should give some thought to what they are putting in their bodies. By eating healthier food, you’re helping your body by function better by having a higher endurance and improved mental abilities.  On top of eating a healthy diet, now nutrition products for specific lifestyles exist, Nutrition21 has created “NooLVL”, a unique ingredient they claim increases cognitive performance in esports players.

One of the main health problems gamers face is a reliance on caffeine for performance, and while consuming a moderate amount of caffeine ought to be safe, consuming it at the rates that some gamers are infamous for can lead to serious health concerns. Replacing caffeine with healthy eating and exercise isn’t always easy but it is the best way to chase those often much needed endorphins.

So now you know how the pros stay on top of their game, what can we learn from them? And what should you be doing if you’re an aspiring esports athlete who is concerned their body may suffer as a result?

A good starting point would be creating a simple performance plan for yourself, this can be something as basic as allocating time slots for gaming sessions, in between mealtimes and physical exercise, making sure to take regular breaks when gaming. You should aim to do at least 20 minutes of active exercise most days to make up for intense competitive gaming sessions. Players’ heart rates can get up to as high as 160-180bpm when competing, this can cause serious complications as heart rates should not be so high while sedentary. Many gamers exert themselves mentally in a very similar way to high-performance athletes, those sorts of heart rates are typically seen in athletes exercising at full speed. https://readyesports.com/can-you-actually-train-for-esports/

When creating a plan, be sure to set goals for yourself. You could try to set yourself at least one fitness goal and one gaming goal each week.

Another thing to consider is physiotherapy and injury prevention, a great resource for this is Dr Levi Harrison on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiRC80FJbHU&ab_channel=DrLeviHarrison

Dr. Levi

He produces videos on specific exercises that gamers can do to stay ahead of the game and avoid injury, many professional gamers have suffered from wrist injuries which have lead to them having to take an extended break from competition. The wrist is the gamer’s hamstring.

Ultimately, getting/staying in shape is a mental battle as much as it is a physical one and everyone should dedicate a fair amount of thought to it and figure out what works best for them. This same mental battle applies to competitive gaming or sports, gaining a competitive advantage through lifestyle choices is the future of esports. Being an athlete is about so much more than being the best at whatever it is you do, it is a lifestyle. Up to now this has not translated fully to esports but as agencies like Gscience and Adamas continue breaking ground in the industry, we are likely going to see a major shift towards developing an e-athlete lifestyle centred around maximising performance.

So, now is as good of a time as any to start looking after your body and improve your gameplay whilst you’re at it. Start today by creating your plan, even if that simply involves taking more regular breaks and exercising for a few minutes each day, you will feel the mental and physical benefits.

Fitness, Mental Wellbeing and Motivation, Yoga and Stretching

FINDING BALANCE THROUGH YOGA

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You are already a yogi.

We all know Yoga is good to lengthen the muscles and increase flexibility, but what we often forget is that yoga offers a much wider range of benefits to keep our mind, body and spirit in check and functioning properly. The best thing is that a part of you already practices yoga, you just don’t know it.

Have you ever stopped and stood quietly to appreciate nature? Or laid back on the couch and just breathed slowly? Or have you ever stood on your tiptoes and stuck a leg out whilst waiting for the kettle to boil, just for the fun of balancing? Well, these are all forms of yoga in their own way.

The beauty of yoga is that it lives in our every movement. From the beginning of our existence, we naturally know how to breathe and eventually everyone develops movements which can be interpreted as yoga poses. Regrettably, throughout the years we have forgotten how these movements are so natural to us. Along the way as well, often due commercialism and social media influence, people have come to believe yoga is only to be practiced by super attractive, super flexible people.

What is yoga if it’s not about stretching?!

It’s true, when you say you do yoga people think straight away that it is all handstands and palms together. But in reality, it is a process of small changes over a long time. ‘Yoga’ comes from the Indian Sanskrit word ‘yuj’ which means ‘to join’. It’s a unity or a oneness. In spiritual terms, it can be described as the union of the individual consciousness with the universal consciousness.

This can understandably make it sound a bit daunting but please don’t be intimidated. yoga is for everyone, it is accessible to all levels of society, gender, age, ethnicity and physical abilities. It promotes inclusion, self-awareness and diversity, which is what this world needs.

It does not matter if you stopped practicing or have never tried it, you can start at any time and your body will remember everything you learn. Yoga is flexible after all.

 

The many different types of yoga

One problem many newcomers to yoga face is which type of yoga they should start with. There are many styles of yoga to try and you should explore as many as you can, but here is a little break down of the main styles;

Vinyasa: This is a flowy style of yoga which allows you to move from one pose to another fluidly in a sequence. It is good for those who like faster paced movements, it’s also great to bring out your creativity when you want to work on a new sequence. It is a good starting place for beginners with lots of energy because it can be fun and invigorating.

Ashtanga: This style is very active, it helps you synchronise your breath with the movement.  Ashtanga is about finding strength in stillness by holding poses for longer than you would with vinyasa. Sometimes these poses are unbalanced therefore it can require a lot of strength and focus to hold them for longer periods of time. There is also a lot of focus on correct breathing techniques.

This is also a good place for beginners as there are many levels of ashtanga, with difficulty increasing with each level.

Yin: This style allows you to go deeper into pose, and also yourself, as it’s a very slow-paced style. The aim for Yin is to increase circulation throughout the joints and to target the connective tissues of the body.

Yin can be tough for newcomers to yoga who may become distracted or lose patience whilst in a pose. Taking the time to practice Yin however can be incredibly rewarding, allowing the mind to relax and ignore life’s pressures whilst lengthening the muscles and opening up the body.

So why try yoga?

Yoga has a wide variety of benefits which supports our pursuit to live a better life. These benefits are not just physical, they can be mental and spiritual too.

Helps with a number of ailments

Yoga is proven to improve your balance and coordination through exercising the nervous system. This heightened activity can build the grey matter in our brain leading to improved focus and concentration. This can help reduce the effects of certain ailments such as vertigo, ataxia and even Alzheimer’s disease, by exercising the nervous system in a safe and controlled way.

It’s good for your body

The movements through yoga practice exercise the whole body through a number of different poses. These low impact but weight bearing exercises activate and strengthen your muscles, bones and joints. This is great for stabilising your weight and avoiding aches and pains.

Supports your inner body

Within our bodies is the endocrine system, responsible for keeping our hormones in check and balanced. When life becomes stressful this system can become unbalanced and leave us feeling tired, irritable or anxious. Practising yoga relaxes the mind and allows this system to regain control and balance our hormones. The exercise can also stimulate happy hormones such as dopamine, melatonin and serotonin, making us feel confident and content, as well as helping us get a nicer sleep.

Finds a steady rhythm in our mind

Though it doesn’t have to be, Yoga can be a very spiritual practice. Good yoga teachers will teach breathing as a part of their class. These yogic breathing techniques can steady the breath, find rhythm and ultimately steady the mind. When we are feeling uneasy our body is using our sympathetic nervous system. Slow and controlled breathing is proven to move the body over to our parasympathetic nervous system. This puts us in a state of relaxation and tranquillity. The more we practise yoga the better our body can achieve this state, massively benefitting our mental health.

Start your yoga journey

A great place to get started if you are unsure is at home following a yoga teacher online. Here is a recommendation for you to try.

Yoga with Michaelle 🙂

Equipment Guides, Exercises, Fitness, Recovery and Prevention, Time Saving, Weight Training

Fitness Accessories to Complement Your Daily Activities

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Every day if we notice our daily activities, some of us may barely going for workout sessions to keep ourselves healthy. We can do the exercises every week, but there is some solution for those who think that is not enough.

Daily activity can be different for anyone, even at lockdown terms. We could choose to go out for some fresh air or stay at home, but for those who are often going to the gym for exercise, this can be a problem.

On the weekend, we have more leisure than on weekdays. The picture below gives us a sample of how a lot of people are conducting exercises on Car Free Day during the weekend.

Workout on Weekend
People exercises at Car Free Day

To keep ourselves healthy, we do not need to go on fitness every day, but we can wear some accessories to keep ourselves trained at all times. Though it may look weird at the office, at least it can compensate for our daily training.

Some accessories are designed to complement our training, but only a few accessories are suitable for daily life. To break it down, two accessories are best to fit in your daily life.

Ankle Weights

Ankle Weights

Ankle Weights is a fitness accessory that allows us to build up some muscles on our legs. When we try it for the first time, we will feel like the walk we normally used to handle at a normal pace becomes heavier than before.

You can pair it with Arm / Wrist Weights, practically if you want to train multiple sections of muscles at once (From Legs to Arms). But we have to take note that the challenges will be doubled when doing it.

A good reference is from Hajime No Ippo, where Sendo trains his legs gradually by adding weight as soon as he gets used to the Ankle Weights training. At first, he got tired by just walking around, but he gradually increases the weight on the ankle weights once he gets used to it.

Sendo advises for Ankle Weights – Hajime No Ippo Chapter 246

As Sendo’s statement, it is better to do this exercise regularly and gradually increase the weight. We may not see the result of the training until we can feel the difference between equipping ankle weights initially and once we add more weights.

Recommendations

Ankle Weights is best used to do daily activities since it was others may not notice it when you wear it, and the length of your pants, such as jeans, was enough to cover it.

Nordic Lifting publishes the recommendations about using Ankle Weights, but the writer wants to expand it further, so we can wear it once we understand how it works.

Anyone can wear it during their daily activities, regardless of where we are. The writer’s advice is to maintain safety when using it, especially if you are doing some important things such as driving. If the legs become too tired to handle, you need some rest and took off the weight to ease it down.

Arm / Wrist Weights

Arm / Wrist Weight
Arm / Wrist Weight

Arm Weights is a fitness accessory suited for any user that wants to train their arm strength, such as biceps and triceps. Unlike the Ankle Weights, the Arm / Wrist Weights are exposed, practically if we did not wear the long sleeve suit.

We can wear it anywhere they like, and Arm / Wrist Weights can be paired with Ankle Weights. However, we must be careful since there are many Arm and Wrist Weights types, and each of them has a different weight distribution. Arm Weights can cover your hand to the wrist, while Wrist Weights focuses on your wrist.

Recommendations

Arm / Wrist Weights are best used if you want to train when doing some job that makes them unable to do an exercise that can train your muscles. Since leg muscles are easier to train than arm muscles, it is best to gradually train your arm.

To make sure you can pick any brand that can suit your taste, it is best to wear arm weights that weigh up to 2 lb or 1kg instead of above it. That’s because our arm is more vulnerable to tiredness than the legs, practically due to gravity as a prime example. While we can take a rest or sit down, use this chance to take off the Arm / Wrist Weight to loosen up some muscles and relax.

Recommended Brand

Some of the products, such as Exercise Fitness, provides an accessory that can help you to train their arms and legs. You can find the exercise Fitness website here:
https://www.exercise.co.uk/fitness-accessories

While some opt to pick a fixed weight, the writer recommends a weight that can increase or decrease according to user needs. Sendo from Hajime No Ippo already gives an example about adding weight gradually, as it will give us the difference between wearing the ankle weights and not wearing them in the long-term.

Getting flexible Arm / Wrist Weights and Ankle Weights can be beneficial in the long-term training instead of the fixed weight. We may also ask the store whether they sell the equipment to adjust the weight they feel fit when they want to. Another thing to notice is the price itself, which can be more worth than what we can expect.

Another is to get an accessory that can fit both the Wrist and Ankle, although it will be difficult to acquire due to equipment complexity. The size of your wrist and ankle could be different.

Why the writer pick these two accessories? That’s because these two are the best accessories suited for our daily life. The benefit is we can go mobile with these weights equipped as we can just travel with these accessories equipped. The con side is if we took it off somewhere, we may realize that we lost something when we get back home.

Furthermore, if you don’t like going to the gym, these two fitness accessories can help compensate for your training.

Boxing, Exercises, Fitness, Workouts

Boxing 4 Fitness

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Getting fit can be boring, following the same routines day in day out can make you become unmotivated. Boxing exercises can work the whole body, giving you a range of fun exercises to do to work the parts of the body you want to work on, mixing weights with cardio exercises.  Learn how to get the most from your workout by making your daily routine more exciting, we will give you a step by step guide on boxing exercises which will help you burn fat, tone up and improve your overall fitness.  We will give you the knowledge and understanding of how to use the equipment to get the most for your money, giving you the best chance to reach your goals.

Easy to get started

All you need is a space that is your arms width, the most fun about boxing exercises is throwing the punches. Shadow boxing is a simple exercise where you can do your own thing, throwing jab, hooks and upper cuts. If you are unsure don’t worry, here is former boxer Tony Jeffries to show you how its done. This is all about the intensity, creating your own combinations and having fun. Breaking into a sweat is easy with shadow boxing as you are always on the move, you will be able to feel the fat burning.

Add equipment, Step it up

With boxing the equipment is at the lower end of the price scale, adding simple equipment to your home workout can step you up to the next level, making your goals more achievable.  We want to add resistance to the workout, pushing your body to burn fat and tone the upper body. You can use hand warps or gloves with the equipment, whatever makes you feel comfortable

The equipment
  • Dumbbells upto 5kg – simply hold them in your hands while you do your shadow boxing, this will make you work harder to hold your hands up when you are throw your punches
  • Heavy boxing bag – this will give you a target to hit and motivate you to put more power into your punches
  • Relax punch bag – this will get you moving and increasing your punching speed, increasing your energy out put

What you need to know

Introducing boxing into your workout is great for your overall fitness and health, it will help you tone your arms and burn fat, find out more here. Taking up boxing doesn’t just have a positive impact on your physical heath but it will have help with your mental well-being.  You need to know what not to do, its important to make sure you avoid making mistakes when starting something new. Technique is key to making sure you get the most from your workout and you avoid injury, find out more here. The equipment is essential for pushing your workout to the next level, giving you the best chance at achieving the goals you have set out for yourself.

Equipment Guides, Exercises, Fitness, Weight loss, Workouts

5 Fun Ways to Get Fit Without a Gym

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Whilst a gym is a great place to work out, it’s not always the easiest or cheapest option for everyone. However, when it comes to exercising from home, it can be almost impossible to motivate yourself. At Exercise.co.uk, we believe that being creative whilst getting fit is a key factor in inspiring you to keep working out.

So we will be looking at these 5 fun ways to get fit without a gym!

Want to skip ahead? Jump to the specific part below:

  1. Skipping
  2. Hula Hooping
  3. Dancing
  4. Trampolining
  5. Try a Sport

Skipping

Skipping is a fun and straightforward exercise that comes with numerous benefits. It is a great way to get into home workouts and is easily personalised to what you need. Skipping allows you to set the pace and work at your own level, but will also become easier with practise. Eventually, once it is part of your routine, you can begin to change speeds, include tricks, and even make fun routines to your favourite workout songs. If you are looking for a tougher workout, be sure to purchase a weighted skipping rope for a more intense burn.

It is not only fun to skip rope, but it also comes with many health benefits. Skipping can burn as many as 1,600 calories in just an hour and is a great alternative to running or jogging. It is also categorised as a cardio exercise which includes a great number of advantages such as heart and lung health.

For more information on cardio exercise, check out our article The Benefits of Cardio Exercise.

Hula Hooping

Hula hooping is another fun and easy exercise that can be done from home. Not only does it help burn calories, this exercise focuses on the core muscles, resulting in less abdominal fat and a toned stomach. It’s a great way to not only stay fit, but also includes other benefits such as a healthier heart and lungs, improves balance and helps the immune system.

However, hula hooping is not just about the health benefits. With some upbeat music on, it can be easy to complete a fun workout  that incorporates creative routines and changes of pace.

In order to get the full effect on how fun hula hooping can be, it’s important to make sure you have the right music playing, so be sure to check out our article on How to Make the Best Exercise Playlist. 

Dancing

Dancing is one of the most fun ways to stay healthy. To incorporate it into your routine does not necessarily mean you need to join a dance class, unless, of course, you want to. However, with new interactive apps and websites it is now easy to get the most out of dancing!

YouTube has a variety of guided dance workouts available, therefore if there is anything specific in mind you wish to incorporate, for example, a favourite musician or album you like to workout to, there is a strong chance there is a video perfect for you. To search for some fun dance videos be sure to include key phrases such as:

  • 20 min dance workout
  • Dance workout for beginners 
  • Dance workout full body no equipment

If you are not a fan of YouTube, there are many apps that provide a visual guided workout experience. Whilst not all fitness apps include dance routines, many still incorporate fun workouts and can be very beneficial when trying to stay fit without a gym. 

If you would like to see our favourite exercise apps, make sure to check our list of Fitness Apps That Can Make Exercising at Home Easier.

Trampolining

Trampolining is a great and easy way to stay fit and with an indoor trampoline, this can be achieved at home. It can quickly get your pulse racing and is great for those just beginning their workout journey without a gym.

Working out on a trampoline focuses on your leg muscles however, different moves can be incorporated into your workout to make sure the full body receives attention. An indoor trampoline also includes the ability to start with low impact exercises so you can warm up to a high intensity workout. You can get started and see the progress for yourself with our Marcy Fitness Trampoline here.

For a more guided tutorial on how to use an indoor trampoline, check out our 5 Exercises You Can Do On a Trampoline to get the most out of your workout.  

 

Try a Sport

If you struggle to motivate yourself, finding a sport you enjoy is a great way to stay on track, especially if you are a competitive person.  Playing a sport helps you commit to a fitness routine and makes sure you get your active hours in during the week. However, sport is also beneficial because you can get fit and stay healthy whilst having an invested interest in something more than just losing weight.

If you are nervous about starting a new sport, make sure to bring a friend to play with or join a team. As long as you are staying active and having fun, it does not matter if you are particularly talented at the sport or not. 

If you are unsure on which sport might be for you, then check out our information on boxing. As an individual sport its great for building strength and staying fit so be sure to read our Boxing Techniques for Beginners and check out our boxing equipment here.

So…

If your workout routine needs some refreshment, or perhaps the gym isn’t for you, then these 5 fun ways to get fit without a gym is a great place to begin. Enjoying your workout is vital for staying motivated, so if you lack the commitment be sure to invest in these fun exercises. 

Before beginning your exercise journey, please be sure to consult your doctor and always be safe when using equipment.

Exercises, Fitness, Recovery and Prevention, Workouts, Yoga and Stretching

7 Exercise Routines to Relieve Lower Back Pain

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Lower back pain is a painful and incapacitating health condition, which is common mostly because it may be caused by numerous reasons.

It may arise as a symptom of an underlying condition like fibromyalgia or kidney stones in some cases. Other times, lower back pain could be a result of an inactive lifestyle, bad form while working out, or monotonous motions.

More recently, more than a third of Britons have reported an increase in back pain due to sedentary lifestyle habits caused by the government-induced lockdowns.

This article will look at 7 exercise routines that can help in reducing or relieving the pain and strengthening your lower back muscles. First, a few tips:

 

  • Stretch your lower back with care; be gentle and cautious especially if you’ve had or have any type of injury or health concern.
  • If you feel the pain is getting worse or you’re feeling very sore, take a day off to recuperate.
  • Ensure you’re breathing smoothly throughout each routine. Use your breath as a guide to ensure you don’t strain or overdo it.

 

  1. Piriformis Stretch :

This routine works your piriformis muscle found deep in your buttocks. Stretching this muscle helps in relieving pain and tightness in your buttocks and lower back.

The piriformis stretch can be done following these steps:

  • Lie flat on your back with your two knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
  • Place your right ankle at the bottom of your left thigh.
  • Then fasten your hands behind your left thigh and then pull up towards your chest until you feel a stretch.
  • Stay in this position for 1 to 3 minutes.
  • Repeat on the other side.
  • To make the stretch more comfortable; you can keep the bottom of your foot planted on the floor. Rest your head on a cushion for support.

 

  1. Childs Pose:

This exercise routine works your hamstrings, gluteus maximus, and spinal extensors. It helps in relieving pain and tension across your spine, neck, and shoulders. It has a soothing effect on your body, loosening uptight lower back muscles, promoting flexibility and blood circulation along the spine.

  • With your hands and knees on the ground, sink back through your hips to rest them on your heels.
  • Pivot at your hips just as you fold forward, walking your hands out in front of you.
  • Rest your belly on your thighs.
  • Stretch your arms in front of or alongside your body with your palms facing up.
  • Breathe deeply and relax any areas of tension or tightness.
  • Maintain this pose for 1 minute.
  • If you feel you’ll need more support, place a rolled-up towel underneath or on top of your thighs.
  • It could also be more comfortable when you widen your knees and rest your forehead on a cushion.

 

  1. Pelvic Tilt:

This exercise builds strength in your abdominal muscles, relieving pain and tightness in your lower back. It also helps in strengthening your glutes and hamstrings.

The pelvic Tilt can be done following these steps:

  • Lie on your back, bending your knees and placing your feet flat on the floor.
  • Contract your abdominal muscles as you flatten your back against the floor.
  • Maintain normal breathing, holding this position for up to 10 seconds.
  • Release and relax taking a few deep breaths.
  • Do 1 to 3 sets, repeat 3 to 5 times daily.

 

  1. Cat-cow Stretch:

This exercise is a perfect way to awaken your spine while also stretching your neck, shoulders, and chest.

The Cat-cow stretch can be done following these steps:

  • Go on all fours in a tabletop position with your hands and knees on the ground.
  • Press into your feet and hands as you inhale to look up, filling your belly with air.
  • Exhale as you tuck your chin into your chest, arching your spine toward the ceiling.
  • Continue this movement pattern with each breath.
  • Repeat for 1 to 2 minutes.
  • For more intense holds, simply remain in each position for 5 to 20 seconds at a time as opposed to moving with each breath.

NOTE: If you have wrist concerns, place your hands slightly forward instead of directly under your shoulders. For knee concerns, place a cushion under them for padded support.

 

  1. Seated Lower Back Rotational Stretches:

This exercise routine helps to relieve pain, strengthening the lower back and working the core muscles.

Here’s how to perform the seated lower back rotational stretch:

  • Sit on a chair without arms, keeping the feet flat on the floor.
  • Turn at your core to the right, keeping your hips square and spine tall.
  • Place your hands at the back of your head, or position your left hand on your right knee to support the stretch.
  • Maintain the position for 10 seconds.
  • Repeat the exercise on the left-hand side.
  • Repeat on each side 3 to 5 times twice daily.

 

  1. Knee to chest:

This is a good stretch to relax your thighs, hips, and glutes while promoting overall relaxation.

The knee-to-chest stretch can be done following these steps:

  • Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
  • Keep your left knee bent or spread it straight out along the floor.
  • Draw your right knee towards your chest, fastening your hands behind your thigh or at the top of your shinbone.
  • Lengthen your spine all through down to your tailbone and avoid lifting your hips.
  • Take deep breaths, releasing any tension.
  • Maintain this pose for 1 to 3 minutes.
  • Repeat with your other leg.
  • For a deeper stretch, tuck your chin into your chest and lift your head toward your knee.

 

  1. Belly Flops:

This routine decompresses your lower back through supported elevation.

To perform the belly flop routine:

  • Roll up a blanket or towel lengthwise and place it horizontally in front of you.
  • Lie front-side down over the towel or blanket so that your hipbones are pressed into it.
  • Relax your body completely. You can turn your head to either side.
  • Keep this position for 1–2 minutes and repeat 1–3 times, resting 30–60 seconds between sets.

 

The Bottom Line

Lower back pain can take a huge toll on you and your life. These easy exercises will have an immense impact on your recovery. They’ll help work your core muscles to improve flexibility, stability, and provide you with relief. We also have a superb guide that covers ways to prevent lower back pain and injuries, and how to strengthen your lower back altogether.

Fitness

How Can Fitness Apps Help Us?

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space gray iPhone X

Nowadays there is an app for everything, and fitness is no exception. There are hundreds of fitness apps to choose from, free apps, apps you have to pay for, apps that cover everything and apps that specialise in one area. Over all of the apps pretty much every aspect of fitness is covered in some way.

Workouts

woman exercising indoors

Many fitness apps will provide workouts for you to do that focus on specific muscle groups. These are helpful for numerous reasons, perhaps you want to focus on a goal that you haven’t before, such as toning rather than building muscle or maybe you are just starting to get into fitness. These can provide information on what workouts would be best for you based on your goal based on the equipment you have available. Many apps also let you plan your own workouts, allowing you to adjust sets and reps, and what exercises are involved.

Tutorials

One thing covered by fitness apps are tutorials of how to perform certain workouts and exercises. These help you to ensure that your using the correct form to get the most out of the exercises while reducing the risk of injury. There are already numerous tutorials online, but integrating it into the app allows you to quickly and easily learn the technique for a new exercise. This is especially helpful if it is part of a workout found on the app that you haven’t done before.

Nutrition

vegetable and meat on bowl

Nutrition is an extremely important part of fitness that is often overlooked, people instead focussing on the exercising aspect. A lot of the time this is ignored is due to the difficulty and dedication maintaining proper nutrition needs. While they can be used for pre-panning meals, where they really shine is the ability to add unexpected calories on throughout the day using something we always have on us, our phones. This makes it easier to track calories and stick to our daily limits.

Tracking progress

This is one thing that apps can do that can’t be found elsewhere, the ability to track progress. Whilst it’s possible to track weight loss or muscle gain, the ability to track a run or how many steps you’ve done is unique to technology. Apps that do this also usually have information on how many calories these activities have burned, making them invaluable if your goal is to lose weight, especially when combined with the help the nutrition aspect of apps can give.

Tracking sleep

woman sleeping on bed under blankets

We all know how invaluable sleep is to our lives. Poor sleeping habits can lead to declining mental health and wellbeing. What may surprise you is that sleep is actually also important when it comes to fitness. Good sleeping habits helps to lose weight, and can even help build muscle. Apps that track your sleep can help you notice issues in this area you might not have otherwise.

Overall pretty much everything fitness apps can help with is possible, either through the internet or through your own effort. Where the apps shine is consolidating these into one place that is easily accessible at all times, your phone.