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Nutrition and fitness: A wellness guide

Fitness and nutrition play prominent roles in ensuring both the physical and mental health of human beings. Ignoring proper fitness and nutritional habits can have greater consequences and can gradually lead to extreme health risks such as obesity, diabetes and so on. Nutrition has been given importance as exercise. Consuming the right food at the right times and avoiding unhealthy food is vital to one’s health and training. In order to promote good health and decrease the chances of major health risks, individuals are required to incorporate proper nutritional habits.

The need for nutrition 

As per the opinion of Divya (2018), the body of human beings was designed for movement and it works as a vehicle. It is necessary for people to fuel this vehicle by consuming a balanced diet on a regular basis. The human body requires sufficient carbohydrates which provide energy to the body. In times of lack of carbohydrates proteins and fats can be broken down to energize the human body. At the basic level, the right amount of nutrition is essential for people doing physical training as it provides the source of energy required to perform training. The Food consumed by people influenced their performance, training, recovery, and strength.

Nutrition of training activities 

Meals eaten after or before training are regarded as the most important in training however, one has to be careful with the food that is put into the body. As the fundamental rule, people involved in regular physical training need to eat about two hours before beginning their exercising and meals need to be rich in carbohydrates, low in protein and low in fat. For people undertaking physical training on a regular basis, protein is necessary to aid muscle repairing and growth (Lilić et al. 2019). Whereas, carbohydrates are considered as the main source of energy for them that power and energize the training regime. At the end of the training, individuals are required to substitute the carbohydrates they have lost and need to ensure proper recovery of muscles adding protein in the post-training meal.

Necessity of nutrition

It has been observed that in the UK, adults need to consume on average 4.2 portions of vegetables and fruit whereas, teenagers need to intake 2.7 portions and 65 to 70 years old need to intake 4.3 portions per day (gov.uk, 2020). The overall benefits of consuming nutritional food are numerous as a healthy diet is effective in promoting healthy physical outcomes, maintaining a healthy body, and reducing the risk of chronic disease. Thus, nutritional intake is hugely required for promoting the wellbeing and health of individuals.

Nutrition is undeniably a major factor in the success of performance and training as fuel is required to power the human engine. However, the nutrition value of food majorly relies on the time, type, and amount of nutritional intake. Proper nutritional intake plays a significant role in the mental and physical success of human beings. Nutritional intake also impacts the recovery from training, adaptation to training, and overall performance.

Yoga and Stretching: Both are winners for health

Nowadays people are more focused on their appearance and health than ever before. Some people are ruled by standards of beauty while others are willing to improve their overall health and feel better. Yoga and Stretching are different forms of exercise that not only help people in maintaining physical health but also help in keeping mental health. However, people often do not understand the different impacts of these exercises on their bodies. Irrespective having common features stretching and yoga are two different kinds of workout routines (Follador et al. 2019).

Yoga and Stretching: Both the winners for health 

According to Divya (2018) doing Yoga and stretching offers several benefits for the mind, spirit, body, and overall well-being. The goal of yoga is the unity of the spirit, mind, and body with the major focus on meditation, breathing, and posture. There are numerous forms of both these exercises that meet the needs of varying personalities, lifestyles, and age groups. Studies have indicated that weight control and loss which have become priorities for people these days are possible with regular yoga and stretching practices. It has been reported that in the UK, up to 460,000 people are joining yoga classes each week (Finder, 2020).

Both routines ensure mental peace along with physical health and are effective in improving mindfulness abilities; increasing cardio health, flexibility, and strength, and reducing anxiety. Both the routines need proper breathing however there are slight differences. In Yoga, breathing is considered crucial as in some yoga techniques the subject of concentration relies on breathing. However, in stretching proper breathing is required for avoiding holding breath during other workout routines thus, helps in improving the effect.

 

Fitness level 

People belonging to every age group can practice stretching and yoga and these fitness routines provide ample health benefits to them. Yoga is effective in creating different fitness levels and to perform some of the yoga forms one needs to spend years preparing one body. It is majorly required for acquiring the necessary level of strength, balance, and openness. On the other hand, if one’s body is not flexible enough for doing yoga they can opt for stretching as it will bring the same benefits as yoga.

Goals of training 

The benefits of each exercise lie in people’s selections of techniques according to their goals. Yoga is more effective for those people who aim to improve their mental health, balance, and fitness level. On the other hand, people should opt for stretching if they are willing to recover after injury, relax their muscles and improve themselves in other workouts.

In conclusion, both yoga and stretching are winners of mental and physical health. Both these techniques are advantageous to the human body. They are both different and similar and it is hard for people to determine which one is more beneficial. The benefits and success of both exercises depend on the goal of individuals performing them. However, whatever routine people opt for it is majorly important for them to take care of their health and to their limits. Before starting stretching or yoga one needs to consult with a qualified health instructor or health professional to stay healthy and to avoid unwanted injuries.

 

Equipment Guide: Home Equipment Buying Guide

Introduction

Everybody wants to create an Oasis of fitness hub at their home that matches their space style and income that aligns with their cherished need of ready on the go without wasting time in visiting Gym. Gym isn’t for everyone; this requires a continuous effort with a fixed schedule and commitment. However, most of the persons don’t have a fixed schedule and follow a flexible schedule that needs to meet their fitness goal at whatever available time. Home gym saves time in visiting a gym that in this post corona period is not a good choice. Furthermore, it allows a person to select only that equipment that best suits the needs of a person according to their fitness goals that are in line with budget and home space available.

Types of House

So, in order to design and build a home gym, one must consider the quantity of space available at home. For that, overall home space is divided into certain categories as defined below:

  • Tiny House

These are studio apartments that have limited space and homeowner has to make sure that gym equipment does not double down as furniture and equipment need to be portable, multi-functional which could be set up anywhere with ease (Jansson et al., 2019).

  • Suburbanite Setup

These home workout spaces have space for kicking and equipment that do not need to be hidden away and could be stalked inside the house at a corner with the liberty to expand.

  • Garage Space

Available tools would allow putting up equipment for cycling cardio and multiple intense rounds. These are garage spaces available for setting up home gyms if a person does not have a car to be parked in that space. This allows further usage of the driveway to expand the area during workouts.

Equipment

  • Tiny House

For such limited space, equipment is to be considered space-saving to ensure a faster setup process. This includes equipment such as Suspension Trainer, Resistance Band, Jump Rope, Kettlebell and Trigger Point Ball (Garagegymlab, 2021).

A Suspension Trainer would leverage on usage of your own body weight for resistance training. Resistance Band is to be used, if there is no room for dumbbells rack, resistance bands offer effective and versatile usage in resistance training. Further with the addition of a jump rope, time-efficient and space-efficient way to burn many calories and build endurance at cardiovascular muscles.

Figure 1: Bumper Plates

(Source: Oxygenmag, 2021)

This equipment is a Foldable Bench for using flat benches that are simple consisting of parallel bars. Foldable beaches are used to completely and rolled underneath a bed or in back of a closet. Further use parallel training bars for performing dips, push-ups, L-sits, and perform stretch and mobility training. Final piece of equipment is Dumbbells (Adjustable dumbbells for increment change in weight).

  • Garage Space

The equipment that is to be used is a Cross Fit Home gym package that provides a Barbells, Racks, bumper plates, Rowing Machines, 5 kettle bells, medicine ball, climbing rope, and rings. Further, it is recommended that flooring of gym space is open to ensure the floor is in a pristine condition with no oil stain and a rubberized floor would ensure grit and grip (Ressinka, 2019). A Plyometric Box is removed that are installed in a home tool that allows doing exercise of dips, box jumps and Plyometric drills to build core strength for better use of Exercise Machines.

Figure 2: Garage Space

(Source: Garagegymlab, 2021)

Budget

To be honest, building a home gym is expensive in the world which depends on a number of factors of quality brand product which may go around a whopping cost of $10,000 for a functional home gym with all bells and whistles. However, here in this section would  provide some clear equipment, and according to home space a best guide for buying tools to meet fitness enthusiasts’ needs for a quality budget-friendly home gym.

  • Tiny House
Item SpecificationQuantityPrice ($)
Cross rope Speel LE Set1128
Kettle Bell290
Resistance bands220
Yoga Mat130
Trigger Point Ball120
Total7288

Table 1: Estimated budget of Home gym Setup for tiny House

(Source: Fitness superstore, 2021)

These items are all estimated cost and can vary from one band to another. This would allow fitness enthusiasts to offer mobility and strength. Overall price estimate for whole set to be around $400-$500.

  • Suburbanite Setup
Item SpecificationQuantityPrice ($)
Stability Ball145
Pro series expandable dumbbell1440
Deck Folding Bench2180
Parallel Training Bars1110
Stainless Steel power bars1100
Total6875

Table 2: Estimated budget of Home gym Setup for Suburbanite Setup

(Source: Fitness superstore, 2021)

These items have a total investment cost of around $1,375 and are subject to change in price from one brand to another.

Figure 3: Dumbbell Rack

(Source: Oxygenmag, 2021)

  • Garage Space
Item SpecificationQuantityPrice ($)
Foldable Wall-Mount Rack1500
Plyometric Box1100
Cross Fit Home Gym Package12725
Rogue Echo Bike1800
Gym Flooring21000
Total65125

Table 3: Estimated budget of Home gym Setup for Garage Space

(Source: Fitness superstore, 2021)

Total investment in such a setup would be around $5,230 – $5,730 consisting of or cycling bike, conditioning, and cardio setup with wall mount gym package and pull up a package, this is subject to be changed from one branch to another (Oxygenmag, 2021). Other recommendations: The Best Exercise Bikes of 2020/ The Best Rowing Machines of 2020/ The Best Home Gym Equipment Ideas for The Elderly/ Cost Effective Ways to Set Up a Home Gym

Conclusion

So in conclusion, above points indicate necessary equipment can be bought under-budgeted amount. It is required that initial fitness enthusiasts do need to avoid all in one expensive machine which is impressive looking equipment and have fancy looking stuff but is not a good investment for a fitness enthusiast. This All-in-One machine would cost thousands of dollars and suck up all instalment plans in plain equipment, which would hardly require usage. Therefore, it is recommended that fitness enthusiasts adopt smaller equipment and grow with usage according to their preference and usage in the coming days. This saves thousands of dollars, which would be lost in building an effective workout based on infomercial hype and does not turn your house into a gym plan and buy equipment only according to their needs in everyday fitness goals.

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◙   Gym Equipment    ◙   Exercises    ◙   Fitness    ◙   Weight Loss    ◙   Work Out

 

 

Forget Hollywood, welcome to HULLYWOOD!

Original blog by: Glonghurst

From vibrant bars to cheap cinemas, and infamous Monday nights to hidden gems. Hull has an  incredible range of hotspots for any student to explore. 

During my last three years here at University,  even now, Im still amazed as to how much goes on in the 2017 city of culture. Within a week of moving in I’d already realised that nightlife here by the Humber was quite different to my home county in rural Bedfordshire. The bars in the ‘Old Town’ and along Newland Avenue like the ‘Hangout Bar’ and ‘Roots’ offer a sophisticated evening for people wanting to ‘grab some grub’ and perhaps even enjoy a cocktail or two.

Also, word soon spread about the infamous Monday nights in the Piper club. It sometimes seems like the entire student population descends upon the club at 11pm every Monday.

Whereas, for those not interested in £1 shots and £2 pints, Hull has an array of cheap cinema’s located all around the city for students to sit back and relax, £5 or less for an evening of entertainment… What more could a student want? How about a hidden gem, located away from the hustle and bustle of the city which is arguably the best way to enjoy the wildlife during your time in Hull? Well, That would be the nature trails at the Humber Bridge Country Park.

 

 

So there you have it. Hull is truly an extraordinary place, but don’t take my word for it…  come and see for yourself!