Tag Archives: gym

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.

 

 

Equipment Guides, Exercises, Fitness, Weight Training, Workouts

Invest in Yourself: The Multi Gym VS The Gym

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Have you ever wondered about building your own home gym? Imagine how convenient, time efficient and accessible a workout place in the home would be. If you’re keen to get fit, build muscle and exercise but worried about the ongoing, monthly cost of a gym membership, have a shortage of time or feel self conscious stepping into the gym, then allow us to introduce to you to the multi gym.

At excercise.co.uk, we understand the ever growing demand for fitness equipment in the home, subsequently,  basic equipment like dumbbells are frequently sold out. That’s why, we believe the multi gym is a staple piece of equipment and is truly worthy of investment. Why, you might ask? Take a look at our information below.

  • The cost factor: multi gym price vs a gym membership

We have a multi gym to suit most budgets, with prices starting from £349 and ranging up to £2,199. We also offer 0% finance payment plans across all of our products over £399, so you could secure your multi gym with as little as a 10% deposit and spread the cost over 12 months!

To put it into perspective, the average gym membership is £40 per month making the average year long membership £480, more expensive than our starting range of multi gyms! Why not invest into a lifelong machine, for less? Ultimately, the multi gym is a financial investment and a money saving machine.

  • With one machine, workout the full body!

The multi gym can work out every muscle you target in the gym, whether you’re looking to build strength, muscle or tone up – the multi gym can do it. Check out our blog on the 10 best multi gym exercises to achieve your fitness goals.

  • From beginner to professional

Did you know a third of under 35’s are too self conscious to join a gym? The multi gym is the perfect way to battle these feelings. With the multi gym, you can work out in the comfort of your own home, try new exercises and discover a passion for fitness without the pressure or anxiety of a busy gym.

Also fitting for professional, or long-time gym goers, our multi gym selection ranges from 45 kg weight load, up to a 170 kg weight load, considered the next evolution level of strength training! Check the range of multi gyms available online now.

  • To suit your schedule 

Social Media consultant, Lisa Williams, recently told the BBC she will not be returning to the gym after the pandemic, because home workouts fit perfectly around her family and work commitments. The multi gym is the ideal way to upgrade your home gym so you can workout anytime without sacrificing the gym-style, professional equipment.

If you’re ready to invest into yourself by purchasing a multi gym but you’re not sure which model is for you, then read our ‘Multi Gym Buying Guide.’ Otherwise, visit our website and purchase your multi gym today with complimentary delivery available!

Fitness, Workouts

Can I effectively work out at home?

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I never really fancy exercising at home because I believe the body is an art and to create the perfect art you need to make the sacrifice to commute to a professional art studio, an environment created to enhance creativity, that forces you to be focused and mentally ready, a quiet and peaceful place with abundant tools and materials needed to create the perfect art.

For the body the professional art studio is the gym, the energy-filled environment motivates you, the sight of other gym members encourages you and reminds you why you decided to be fit in the first place and you also get to interact with them making you less likely to get bored compared to working out at home and the vast and large range of equipment available to you just screams perfection.

Oh, I miss the gym I cannot wait for everything to be back to normal and the pandemic is finally gone so I can go to the gym with zero fears or worries and get to sweat, get dirty, get my heart rate up, and most importantly for me design my body to look like the perfect art ready for summer so I look and feel good and also for the show-off.

“I don’t sweat, I sparkle!”

Fall of the fitness industry

The fitness industry was highly affected by the pandemic because of their sudden closure in most countries, the 2020 IHRSA report estimated that US gyms lost $13.9 billion between March and August 2020 as gym membership continuously declined.

Statistics like this make it feel like the home gym is here to stay as several people are now working out from home using fitness applications but against all odds, I personally have a huge feeling that when the pandemic is over gym membership will skyrocket.

Unlike the home gym, there are days when I feel tired, ready to go home not reaching my fitness goal for the day and then I look behind me to see my mate out there hitting a milestone, going hard it inspires me to take a deep breath and dive back into it. You can never get this feeling when working out at home.

“I’m not stopping until I’m proud of myself”

Realisation

I must confess it’s not always like that you know, I remember one time I saw a lad go four hours cycling, I was amazed but most importantly inspired. I really love cycling and on some days when the weather is perfect, with light winds and clear skies I cycle to work and I enjoy the commute so I believed I could also do it, I took up the challenge. The next day with just 150 pounds I bought an indoor cycle bike and started practising, it took me a while but this indoor practice made me really good at cycling as I could get on my ride at any time and most importantly scream my lungs out at home but I act really shy in the gym around people. The next time I went to the gym after several practices at home I came in and beat his record.

“You don’t always get what you wish for, but you always get what you work for”

My indoor gym

It was not all so easy you know, just like I said before I take the environment where I gym very personal but because I wanted to achieve my goal I was self-inspired and determined to make sure the next time I hit the gym I was going to break his record so started my small home gym.

We have a large room in the basement no one uses so I used it for my set up. Just somewhere quiet and comfortable for me to workout.

But as time passed by, I started to buy other gym equipment like my dumbbell, abdominal slant bench, starter weight bench and others all from the website I posted below, it was all spaced across the room because I love my space but if you do not have a large space to set up your indoor gym like me, you can read about Setting Up a Home Gym When You Have No Space here.

“Find your feel good”

Can I work out effectively at home?

After my experience, my perspective towards home gym changed I realised I could achieve my gym goals without leaving my house if I am determined and ready. Doing this without having to care about how I look when working out, I can make my loud noises, get wild and express myself anyway I can without feeling shy was exciting, I started enjoying working out at home.

“It’s easier to wake up early and work out than it is to look in the mirror each day and not like what you see”

Are you ready?

Here are the ways to gym from home effectively :

  • Try to make it fun – Getting fit from home could get really boring, but there are certain things you could to do add flavour to the process by playing music and having a playlist of your favourite songs to work out to, you can also get yourself a gym buddy.
  • Motivate yourself – It could get hard to motivate yourself when at home, so you need to make conscious efforts to stay motivated, by setting goals and ensuring you reach them.
  • Use a routine – Having a workout routine is also effective as this gives you a sense of seriousness and forces you to work out in a more organised manner.
  • Don’t restrict to a particular area – When working out from home, you do not have to restrict yourself to a particular room, you can leave your indoor treadmill and go outside for a jog or ditch your slant bench and do you sit up outside or the sitting room. Just try to move around and have fun while getting fit.

“Home sweat home”

Fitness, Mental Wellbeing and Motivation, Nutrition, Uncategorized

How to manage your weight in a healthy way

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Whether it is losing weight or gaining weight, managing ones weight is a hot topic in society today. And with the advent of the world wide web, the people in the society are more confused than ever before.

But why has managing ones body weight become such an important topic? NHS, WHO, CDC and almost all of the leading health organisations of the world are unanimously saying one thing, “Obesity is on the rise and more common now than ever”.

The majority of adults were overweight or obese; 67% of men and 60% of women – NHS UK

These never seen levels of obesity bring a whole host of health issues with them ranging from increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes to even cancer. The issues are not limited to the physical level, the mental wellbeing is also at risk. With teenagers having unrestricted access to social media, which has plenty of “fitness influencers” flaunting their perfect bodies, body image issues are becoming prevalent.

Content-

  • But how did it get so bad?
  • So, what can we do to manage our weight?
  • So, let us start by dispelling some common myths
    • There is no “best” diet
    • There are no “bad or good” foods
    • You can not “out-workout” a bad diet
  • Conclusion

But how did it get so bad?

The fundamental cause of obesity is an energy imbalance. There is disparity between the calories consumed and the calories expended. This can not be pinpointed to one single thing that we are doing different, rather this is a result of multiple things happening. With globalisation, there is an increase in the intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars, also there is a decrease in the physical activity of people due to the increasingly sedentary lifestyle.

So, what can we do to manage our weight?

It is really hard to navigate through the internet while trying to the diet or workout plan that will work for you. The internet really is full of advice from a range of individuals that you most probably have never met before. You will go through many blogs, much like this one, in the quest of finding the right diet or workout.

So, let us start by dispelling some common myths-

  • There is no “best” diet

This might come as a surprise after so many people claim that so and so diet was life changing for them. And the options really are limitless whether it is keto or carnivore or vegan or intermittent fasting. As we have mentioned before, the only thing we need to remember is the concept of energy balance. To successfully lose weight, we need to consume less calories than what we expend. You can do that with some extreme measure like cutting the carbs out of your diet (Keto), or just living on meat (carnivore) or you can have all the foods you like in limitation and just making sure the total calories are less than what you expend.

I know it sounds a bit too easy but it really is. It would be a bit of trial and error to find the calories you need to consume but once you start figuring things out, it becomes effortless.

  • There are no “bad or good” foods

Again, this might sound very controversial with the whole internet worshipping avocados and chia seeds. Can you still be healthy if you eat a meal from McDonald’s once a weak? Absolutely. Can you still be unhealthy if you eat avocadoes or those other “super foods” religiously? Absolutely. So, sugars and fats are not evil? Absolutely.

We should try and look at food and meals as pieces of a large puzzle (calorie that we need to consume). We should see what foods would fit our puzzle nicely, according to our dietary preferences, what we enjoy eating etc. We should definitely try and consume raw foods or cook them ourselves and eat less of the processed foods. But that it is not to say that processed foods are off limits even once in a while.

  • You can not “out-workout” a bad diet

The other way to lose weight can be by looking at the other side of the equation, the calories expended. Theoretically, if we can increase our calories expended and get them higher than our calories consumed then we should lose weight. That is where exercise comes in. Whether it is running, jogging, cycling, or swimming, it is some form of cardio (cardiovascular exercise) that comes to mind when we first think of weight loss. “I am going to start running as I have put some pounds on”, we have heard this very often.

But what we fail to realise is that workout or exercise can be a tool that can be used in tandem with caloric restriction to achieve superior results. But on its own, without any control over what we are eating, cardio will not be that effective. The calories people normally burn while working out will usually only account for about 5 % of the total calories expended in the whole day.

This is not to portray exercise as something negative. It is definitely encouraged, and a workout plan should be followed which will allow you to achieve your goals whether they are weight loss, muscle gain or anything else.

If you want to learn more then check out the blog post linked below

How to make a successful workout plan

Fitness Myths: Cardio will make you lose weight

Conclusion

I am hoping this would have cleared some of the common misconceptions with regards to approaching weight management or fitness goals.

Overall, our goal should be to eat or consume calories according to our goals. If we want to lose weight, then we need to consume less than what we expend or vice versa if we want to gain weight. No foods should be off limits unless you are allergic to them or if you do not like them!

Exercise can be a great supplement when used with a controlled diet. In fact, people should be encouraged to move more. Whether that is by going to the gym and working out for an hour or just making more movement conscious decisions during the day (taking the stairs rather than the escalator) etc.

Before beginning any exercise or nutrition program, consult your physician, doctor or other professional. This is especially important for individuals over the age of 35 or persons with pre-existing health problems. Exercise.co.uk assumes no responsibility for personal injury or property damage sustained using our advice.

If you experience dizziness, nausea, chest pain, or any other abnormal symptoms, stop the workout at once and consult a physician or doctor immediately.

Exercising with chronic conditions

Need Inspiration to Get Moving Again? Look to Athletes who Battle Chronic Health Conditions

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Everyone experiences setbacks in their fitness goals, but with a chronic illness, these hurdles can be much larger. For many, there will be times when their chronic illness may ‘win’.  There will be times when it feels like all odds are against them. But, with the right medical treatment, lifestyle, and exercise plan you could be your own success story. If you need inspiration after chronic illness has set you back, this is it.

You may be surprised that numerous professional athletes at the top of their game face chronic health conditions. Venus Williams is known worldwide for being a successful professional tennis player. But, did you know that she lives with a chronic illness?

Williams faces a condition called Sjögren’s, an autoimmune disease that causes issues including extensive dryness, such as of the eyes and mouth, as well as fatigue and chronic pain. Symptoms vary between individuals but can affect multiple different organs making it a challenging condition to live with.

Williams reported the difficulties of being an athlete with an autoimmune disease telling Women’s Health, “I literally had professional tennis taken away from me before I got the right diagnosis”.  Amazingly she didn’t give up, and when she found the right treatment and lifestyle, she bounced back making it into the top 5 in 2017.

Whether you’ve had to put down your racket or your slippers have replaced your running shoes, Williams’ comeback offers hope that you too can get back to the sport you love.

Person putting pills into a weekly medical planning storage device
Photo by Laurynas Mereckas on Unsplash

Another notable athlete living with a chronic health condition is former Manchester United football star, Darren Fletcher. Speaking to the BBC, Fletcher revealed how his diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis left him urgently needing to go to the toilet “10, 20, 30 times per day and losing a lot of blood”. This is due to the effect of Ulcerative Colitis, an autoimmune disease, where the immune system mistakingly attacks healthy cells in the colon. The wider effects on the body include anemia and fatigue, as well as problems with the joints and eyes.

Fletcher reported to the BBC how, for a period of time, he had to take a break from professional football. Amazingly, following successful surgeries, he was able to get back to playing again. The challenges faced by those with chronic illnesses are undeniably huge. But, a diagnosis does not necessarily mean the end of your ability to exercise, as proven by these inspirational athletes who bounced back against the odds.

Man holds arms up in victory
Photo by Japheth Mast on Unsplash

Now you’ve been inspired, but where to start? Consider a low-moderate intensity exercise plan that builds up slowly. A treadmill or exercise bike is ideal for rebuilding both stamina and strength from the comfort of your home, plus the wide range of settings empower you to take control of your workout. You’ve got this.

Remember, always consult your medical team before making any changes to your exercise routine or nutritional intake.