PharmEasy Blog

”IT’S EXTREMELY EASY TO STAY SUPER FIT”- Celebrity Trainer Satyajit Chaurasia

We all want to look good, stay fit and be happy in life. The key to achieving a healthy lifestyle lies in making small changes. You can buy happiness in life with just 5 minutes. It not only makes you confident in your skin but also keeps diseases away.

When it comes to health and fitness, it’s imperative to be consistent with exercising and patient with results. Never aim for hurried results.

5 Minutes Can Turn Your Life around – Treasure Them

The notion that you need to join a gym in order to be healthy is passé. To live a healthy lifestyle, you need to make smaller changes that go a long way. It is always recommended to work out on an empty stomach for 5-6 minutes after you wake up. It makes you fresh and boosts your metabolism. The whole idea behind following this routine is sweating first thing in the morning by pumping blood to the muscles.

When metabolism is boasted in the morning, it burns calories throughout the day and also leaves you feeling fresh and high on energy. Attempting any sort of physical activity prior to taking a bath is a good practice for your health.

This process builds a lifestyle cycle without going to the gym. People who really want to feel good and stay healthy should start out with the 5- minute routine.

Good quality sleep is most important in fitness regimen. Lack of sleep or experimental sleep restriction has been found to impair cognitive performance, mood, glucose metabolism, appetite regulation, and immune function.

Dr. M.G. Kartheeka, MBBS, MD

Following this simple 5-minute routine is the easiest ”short-cut” to long term fitness:

”No excuses can be manifested to spare 5 minutes of your daily routine. It’s called a treasure.”

Balanced Diet for a Balanced Living

Eating a healthy balanced diet is a must for staying fit. It should be a combination of Carbs, Proteins and good Fat. Minimum oil is recommended along with following the daily 5 – minute routine. You can allow yourself a Cheat Day once a week.

When it comes to eating healthy, you need to cut out the most vicious culprit – Sugar.

Muscle mass is really important in a healthy body irrespective of your gender. A healthy amount of muscle mass also helps in cutting down calories and burning fat faster.

Here are some of the diet tips to inculcate into your routine:

Depriving yourself of a good time is not the solution to being fit. It is completely okay to enjoy the occasional drink or two. Ideally, drinking once a week is all right. However, it is advisable to not go overboard.

Research on depression, anxiety and exercise shows that the psychological and physical benefits of exercise can also help improve mood and reduce anxiety.

Dr. Ashish Bajaj, M.B.B.S., M.D

Although, if you wish to make cautious efforts to refine the drinking habits, you should:

Remarks on Steroids: Running after something which will eventually leave your body is of no point”

Caution should be exercised when it comes to the excessive use of health supplements and protein powders, as they can pose potential health risks and may not deliver the promised benefits as advertised. By promoting public awareness of these potential risks, we can empower individuals to make informed decisions and opt for healthier choices, safeguarding their overall well-being.

Dr. Arpit Verma, MBBS, MD (Pharmacology)

Learn before you Lean

These days, abundant fitness information is available on the Internet, however, it is always recommended to consult someone, like a trainer or a teacher, prior to starting. Even better, go for a few classes and learn the exercises first instead of landing yourself with broken bones.

Some people get desperate to get immediate results and end up doing the wrong exercises. Aiming for hurried or immediate results will not serve in the long haul. Moreover, starving yourself while performing excessive cardio will eventually lower your muscle mass and make you feel weak. Such desperate fitness attempts also loosen your skin which in most cases, does not tighten again.

If you lose muscles, you end up draining your entire life’s bank account.

Physical activity has a huge potential to enhance our well-being. Even a short burst of 10 minutes of brisk walking increases our mental alertness, energy, and overall fitness.

Dr. Ashish Bajaj, M.B.B.S., M.D

Consistency and Patience is Key

When you are strong, the chances of getting success in life are high. A healthy body always contributes to a healthy life and in turn your success story. In order to take challenges in life, you need to be fit, physically and mentally. Consistently working on the body is the key to being happier in life.

Whether it’s Salman Khan, Aamir Khan or Arnold Schwarzenegger, all of them have one thing in common. Irrespective of their busy schedules and timings, they always make sure to follow their daily physical and health routines without fail.

You can rule the world if you are consistent and disciplined, irrespective of your profession or gender.

Short term goals are not helpful. Just like studying one night before an exam will only help pass or you might even end up failing. On the other hand, continuously taking unit tests may help you nail the final exams. Exercising is just like that.    

One must ideally work out for 3 months diligently for results to start showing. And once you start seeing results, it is guaranteed you will never stop. Since anything that makes you happy and feel better will only make your body graph go forward.

Being kind to oneself

Setting big goals right from day one is not an efficient way of achieving fitness. It only leads to feelings of guilt and hopelessness since it is practically impossible to achieve anything without consistency and regularity. Taking small steps in the beginning is the key to success both for fitness and for other aspects of life. Even if you miss your target for one day or just do not have the energy to workout, be forgiving to yourself and move on. Think about how you can give your best the next day instead of brooding on what you could not do today. Afterall, fitness consists of both a healthy body and a healthy mind. Therefore, it is imperative to take care of both to lead a healthy and happy life.

Change your regime if necessary

As the popular saying goes – do not work hard, work smart – it is important to work both hard and smart in order to achieve your desired fitness goals. Although all fitness regimes seem difficult initially, your body should get used to it in a few weeks. If you still face difficulty after this, maybe it is time to consult your trainer and bring alterations to your fitness regime.

Also Read: What is The Best Time to Exercise?

Conclusion

Every individual has a different fitness curve. Setting up short term goals and expecting immediate results is like deliberately setting yourself up for failure. It is also interesting and quite an exciting practice to maintain a logbook for your exercise routines. It is not recommended to do the same for your diet routines.

Tick Marking 5- minutes every day in your diary can serve as your life’s report card.

And finally, it is extremely important to go for a deep tissue massage every once a week. Muscle massages mobilize fat and water retention in the body and help relieve stress or joint pains.   In all areas of life, whether health or profession, consistency is the most important trait.

Also Read: How to Stay Fit and Healthy?

Disclaimer: The information provided here is for educational/awareness purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional and should not be relied upon to diagnose or treat any medical condition. The reader should consult a registered medical practitioner to determine the appropriateness of the information and before consuming any medication. PharmEasy does not provide any guarantee or warranty (express or implied) regarding the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of the information; and disclaims any liability arising thereof.

Links and product recommendations in the information provided here are advertisements of third-party products available on the website. PharmEasy does not make any representation on the accuracy or suitability of such products/services. Advertisements do not influence the editorial decisions or content. The information in this blog is subject to change without notice. The authors and administrators reserve the right to modify, add, or remove content without notification. It is your responsibility to review this disclaimer regularly for any changes.

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7 Best Exercises To Lose Weight At Home

Exercise is essential for your overall health. Good health and weight loss are interrelated. If a person has a higher body mass index, then they are prone to several disorders like hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol, and other cardiovascular problems. Exercise becomes also very crucial for the effective management of these conditions. If you are diagnosed with diabetes, you can try out these exercises for diabetes to keep your blood sugar levels in check.  

Two important factors that need to be considered to lose weight are exercise and dieting. The balance between the two is very important. In your everyday routine, if you follow your diet and skip exercise or work out intensely and not follow your diet then you will see your body behaving very differently. 

Exercise has many benefits attached to it along with weight loss. Exercise improves your mood, strengthens your bones, and reduces the risk of many chronic diseases. People tend to pull themselves out from exercise as they won’t have the time to hit the gym or even cannot afford to join a gym or personal trainers to guide them on their fitness journey.

7 Best Exercises to Lose Weight At Home

So, here we would like to suggest to you the 7 best and popular exercise programs that you can practice at home and make yourself stronger, fitter and healthier. 

Cardio exercise along with weight training (at least twice a week) along with calorie deficit diet is a great way of losing weight without losing muscle mass, however, if one exercises in the morning, he/she will be benefitted more because endogenous steroid secretion inside our body is greater in the morning which aids weight loss and helps in building up muscles

Dr. Nikhil Yadav, MBBS MD,CCEBDM

1. Aerobic Exercises

Walking is considered one of the best weight loss exercises. Walking at a fast pace is a great exercise for burning calories. An exercise program that puts minimal stress on your joints and can be incorporated into your day-to-day activities.

According to many studies, A 70-kg individual burns around 167 calories per 30 minutes of walking at a pace of 6.4 kph. It is also observed that an individual can reduce their body fat by an average of 1.5% and waist circumference by 2.8 cm by walking for 50-70 minutes 3 times per week.

Jogging and Running are considered to be the king of weight loss exercises. These exercises are total body integrated exercises. It will strengthen your legs and be very effective for belly fat. The major difference between running and jogging is the pace. Jogging is between 6 – 9 kph and running will be around 10 kph.

Running and Jogging will approximately help burn 372 calories per 30 minutes and 298 calories per 30 minutes respectively. The combination of these 3 exercises will certainly help improve your muscular strength and overall body weight to keep you fit and healthy. 

Exercise Pattern

Set aside 1 hour of your time and include these exercises in your routine.

2. Skipping or Jumping Rope

Skipping exercise offers a complete body workout and helps increase your muscle strength, metabolism, and burn many calories in a short time. 

Skipping exercise done regularly will bring in calmness and help to ease depression and anxiety. The workout also increases your heart rate which results in faster pumping of blood across your body to keep your heart in a better and healthy condition. Along with your heart, this exercise takes care of your lungs by keeping them functioning and healthy.

Everybody has a distinctive body and which makes the process obtain different results. Losing weight is nothing but burning more calories than you intake and skipping will surely help you do that. This form of exercise approximately burns calories close to 1300 per hour. 

Exercise Pattern

3. Planks

Plank Pose or Plank exercise is one of the most effective full-body workouts. The biggest advantage of Plank’s workout is it targets most of the major muscle groups in the body. It strengthens your muscles in the core, shoulder, arms, chest, back, and hips. Along with these benefits, Plank exercises help in quickly burning the excess fats and calories from the body. 

A workout that seems to be a simple and easy one but it’s quite exhausting and intense. The plank exercise is a great example of the longer you workout the better will be your results. You need to focus on holding your plank position for a longer period to find quick and better results.

Plank exercise has different variations that target different muscle and body areas. Each variation is very helpful and keeps improving your core strength, body balance, endurance, and posture. 

Plank Exercise Variations

The Standard Plank: It is also known as The Extended Arms Plank. This position is best suited for beginners who are looking forward to improving their core strength. This workout is great for improving metabolic activity and digestion. The forearm Plank variation is an identical version of the extended arms plank. The target areas of this workout are the core, arms, shoulders, and back.

The Mountain Climbers: Considered as one of the intense variations of plank workout. A full-body workout that burns excess calories and fat from the body. The targeted areas of this workout are the biceps, hamstring muscles, core, triceps, and chest.

Exercise Pattern

The Reverse Plank: This is a variation of the standard plank but done in a reverse manner. This workout is an excellent way to stretch your body. A workout that reduces unnecessary fats and calories from your body. It helps in strengthening your core, shoulders, back, chest, and gluteal muscles. 

Exercise Pattern

Also Read: Mounjaro for Weight Loss: Unveiling the Truth

4. Push-Ups and Pull-Ups

Push-ups are one of the most popular exercises and it is a workout that can be done at any time, anyplace, and by anyone. Push-ups exercise is very useful for weight loss as it pushes your body away from the ground and exerts energy which in turn burns calories. 

Push-up exercises are good as it burns calories quickly and makes you focus on the larger muscles in your upper body. Push-up workout also focuses on your chest, shoulders, back, biceps, and triceps. Push up exercise will also strengthen your core muscles and make your body physically stable and healthy.

Push-ups help in building more lean muscles in our chest, shoulders, biceps, and triceps. If you keep practising push-ups for weeks or months or years, then you will build a great amount of muscle mass, and to maintain your muscle your body has to expend its calories. 

Exercise Pattern

Pull-ups focus on several muscle groups that burn more calories as multiple muscles like biceps, triceps, back and core are working together. This workout can aid you to get in shape, increasing your ability to burn fat and boosting your metabolism. To complete a pull-up it nearly takes 15 muscles and the primary muscles are your lats and biceps.

According to the study, doing a pull-up workout will help you burn nearly 10 calories per minute. It is recommended that at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity workout have to be done each week as cardio is one of the best ways to burn calories.

Exercise Pattern

Did You Know?

5. Squats

Squat exercises are known as muscle strengthening exercises. The main aim of this exercise is to improve the lower part of the body. Squats help burn calories and prevent fat from accumulating in your lower part of the body. This exercise helps improve your mobility and also balance. A beginner should aim for 3 sets of 12-15 reps of at least one type of squat to expect better results.

Exercise Pattern:

6. Lunges

A popular strength training workout that strengthens and tones your lower body and improves overall fitness and athletic performance. Lunges mainly focus on strengthening your back, hips, and legs. 

Lunges help in building lean muscle and reduce body fat. It is important to push yourself and include lunges in a high-intensity workout routine with the help of heavyweights. The single-leg movements involved in this workout stabilizes muscles to develop balance, stability, and coordination. 

Exercise Pattern

Along with exercises that need to be done at your place for weight loss. There are other factors and methods that can be helpful for weight management. Click here to know more about weight management and weight loss.

7. Yoga

Yoga, a 5000-year-old transcription has proved to be an effective weight loss therapy. It is believed to be developed by Rishis and Brahmans and has 5 basic principles: Exercise, Diet, Breathing, Relaxation, and Meditation.

The combination of Yoga and healthy eating has proven beneficial as it helps to lose weight along with keeping your body and mind healthy. It also improves your mindfulness and relation with your body. You can also lower your blood sugar levels by practising yoga for diabetes

Along with weight loss as its benefit, Yoga has more benefits to offer such as:

  1. Improved Cardio Health
  2. Increased Muscle tone
  3. Balanced Metabolism
  4. Improved Respiration
  5. Increased Flexibility
  6. Stress Management

Yoga Poses are an integral part of weight reduction. Yoga poses focus mostly on improving concentration and building your muscle tone. Your body should get used to these poses to yield maximum benefits from yoga.

Some of the yoga poses that should be practised for weight loss are:

  1. Warrior Pose
  2. Triangle Pose
  3. Shoulder Pose
  4. Bridge Pose
  5. Bow Pose
  6. Plank Pose
  7. Downward Dog Pose
  8. Sun Salutation

Calories Burned With Different Exercises

Here is a quick guide on how many calories different exercises burn within what time. Note that these are just general figures and the actual amount will depend on a variety of factors like your weight, age, fitness level, the intensity of your workout and the amount of time you put into each exercise: 

ExerciseCalories Burned
Jogging/Running372 to 700 calories per hour
Skipping Rope500-1300 calories per hour depending on weight
PlankingBetween 2-5 calories per minute (120-300 calories per hour)
Mountain Climbers Planks650 – 700 calories per hour
Pull ups1 calorie per pull up
Push upsAbout 171 calories within 15 minutes (around 343 calories in 30 minutes)
Squats19-44 calories per every 5 minutes (100-222 calories for every 25 minutes)
Lunges90 calories per 15 minutes
YogaBetween 180 and 460 calories per session (highly dependent on the type, intensity, duration of the session)

Best time to exercise

Perhaps the best time to do your daily workout routine is early in the morning. The main reason behind this is that exercising on an empty stomach is the best way to burn stored fat. Even if you feel irritated by the early alarm clocks at first, it will slowly become a habit for you, a good one at that. Say, you wake up every day at 7 am in the morning. This way your biological clock shifts earlier, thereby making you tired quickly in the evening or night. This helps in maintaining the schedule diligently.

However, there have been studies that suggest that working out in the evening can be better as our bodies use lesser oxygen during that time, which may help enhance our performance and in turn lose weight. Nonetheless, the studies are quite limited and the majority of researchers direct towards morning as the favoured time to exercise if you want to lose weight at home.

Also Read: Best Fruits for Weight Loss: A Comprehensive Guide

Diet tips for weight loss

Follow these tips to make sure your weight loss programme at home is done properly:

Also Read: How to Get Rid of Love Handles: Effective Strategies Backed by Research

FAQs

1. Is it possible to lose weight with just exercise?

No, Weight loss is a combination of regular workouts and a proper diet. It is important to ensure you strictly follow both to achieve the desired results.

2. If I Sweat more during a workout, does that mean more fat is burned?

No, Sweat indicates your body’s ability to maintain its normal body temperature. Your body starts to store heat when you sweat so that you can experience cooling by evaporation. 

3. How often should one work out to see results?

Work out regularly to get in good shape. It is advisable to work out at least 2-3 times a week rather than once in a while.

4. How many calories to consume in a day?

Calorie intake can be determined by multiplying your ideal body weight by 14. For example, If your body weight is around 135 pounds then you need to consume 1,890 (135*14) calories per day.

5. Can I lose weight in a week?

It is possible to lose a certain amount of weight in a week by maintaining a strict diet and working out dedicatedly and regularly. You may also try intermittent fasting and make conscious changes in your daily lifestyle like walk more often, to quickly lose weight.

6. Will I lose weight if I stop eating?

Weight loss is all about the calories you intake and the calories you burn. When you stop eating, the calorie intake goes down. As a result, you will go into a calorie deficit state and lose weight. However, this is not a healthy option. You must watch your calorie intake but eating is important to stay healthy.

7. What food should I avoid to lose weight?

Any foods with high carbohydrates and fats should be avoided if you want to lose weight. These include french fries, potato chips, white bread, pastries, cookies and sugary drinks.

Also read: 5 home remedies to lose weight

Disclaimer: The information provided here is for educational/awareness purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional and should not be relied upon to diagnose or treat any medical condition. The reader should consult a registered medical practitioner to determine the appropriateness of the information and before consuming any medication. PharmEasy does not provide any guarantee or warranty (express or implied) regarding the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of the information; and disclaims any liability arising thereof.

Links and product recommendations in the information provided here are advertisements of third-party products available on the website. PharmEasy does not make any representation on the accuracy or suitability of such products/services. Advertisements do not influence the editorial decisions or content. The information in this blog is subject to change without notice. The authors and administrators reserve the right to modify, add, or remove content without notification. It is your responsibility to review this disclaimer regularly for any changes.

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How Does Lifting Weights Everyday Affect Your Body?

Introduction

Anyone who’s gotten into a fitness routine will know the attraction of lifting weights daily. Daily lifting means more gains, right? There may be some benefit to it, but the answer is not as simple as that and it really depends on many factors. 

Weight lifting or strength training has many overall health benefits. But even if your main focus is increasing muscle mass, the healthiest fitness routine will not be one dimensional. While the virtues of diversifying your routine are well-known, what happens when you do the opposite? Does sticking to the same weightlifting routine daily do any good for you?

What Are The Benefits Of Lifting Weights Every day?

The top benefit, of course, is increased strength. Lifting weights when coupled with the right nutrition helps in building up lean muscle, increasing your physical strength. Repetition can help you have a more focused workout, developing your muscles gradually and making you stronger. This is assuming you lift weights in a safe, healthy manner that does not cause short/long term damage.

The next obvious advantage of daily lifting is stronger bones. Exercising in general, but weight training particularly is known to improve bone density. Stronger bones are especially vital as we get older because bone density decreases with age, but developing strong bones while you’re young acts as a buffer against this threat. Denser, stronger bones help to prevent fractures and excess bone loss. 

While cardio, aerobics and similar are better known for pushing your endurance limits, lifting weights every day can also increase your muscle endurance. With multiple reps (repetitions) of any one particular set of lifts, your muscles have increased aerobic activity. This means you not only have stronger muscles but muscles that keep working hard for longer durations. 

Many people seeking to cut their fat and lose weight also add weight training as part of their weight management routine. The reason is that lifting weights not only burns calories during the workout but also continues after your session is over. More lean muscle reduces fat, which also helps to increase your metabolic rate. This again helps to reduce your weight. While weightlifting exclusively to reduce weight may not be very effective, adding it to your fitness routine can be beneficial with weight management. 

Lifting weights can increase your lean body mass, which increases the number of overall calories you burn during the day. Strength training by lifting weights can also protect your joints from injury.

Dr. M.G. Kartheeka, MBBS, MD

What Are The Disadvantages Of Lifting Weights Every day?

Most muscle build-up happens not during the workout session itself but during the rest periods after you exercise. If you always do the same routine, daily, on the same muscle group, you are not giving your body time to recover. You may end up seeing less muscle growth or no growth at all. Hence, it is important to split your weight lifting and work out different parts of the body on different days. Truth be told, having a full day of rest or even attempting different types of exercises maybe even better. But if you are intent on lifting daily, you could help yourself out by switching muscle groups every day.

Lifting every day also leaves you sore, not only at the muscles you are exercising but the rest of your body too. Soreness, apart from being uncomfortable, can lead to poor form. Poor form exponentially increases the risk of injury during your workout. If you face a muscle sprain or similar type of injury, you end up falling behind while recovering. Soreness is also a sign from your body to you, to take things easy and get rested.

Lifting weights is challenging in and of itself, but doing it daily can lead to lower and lower improvements. This can be demotivating since you will not be seeing as many returns though you’re at it every day. Without variation, changing your weights and loads and rest cycles, you’re not likely to see as much improvement as you anticipate. In this way, you may be setting yourself up for an uphill battle regarding motivation.

Some advice necessary for lifting heavy weight is- Get as close to the load as possible. Try to keep your elbows and arms close to your body. Keep your back straight during the lift, bending at the knees, keeping the load close and centered in front of you, and looking up and ahead. Get a good handhold and do not twist while lifting.

Dr. Ashish Bajaj – M.B.B.S, M.D.

Should You Be Lifting Weight Every day?

Now that you’re aware of the effects of lifting weights every day, the decision you need to make is whether this is for you. There are some benefits, lifting weights every day is not all negative as long as you do it the right way. If you have a fitness trainer, things may go easier for you. In general, you’ll want to avoid doing the same routine all the time, variation is the key here. Next, you need to gradually increase your weights and resistance levels. Going too high too fast can be harmful rather than helpful. Also, make sure you are resting in between your routines. Sleep and nutrition are essential for optimum recovery, without these two things, you can work out optimally every day but won’t see any gains. 

Conclusion

There may be a few positives to be had with lifting every day, but for most people (especially beginners), the potential for harm is high. If you can ensure your safety and recovery, then attempt it slowly and see how your body is reacting. In most cases, the body gives us signs that things are not okay. Strengthen your nutrition with a protein-rich diet, this speeds up recovery and also encourages better muscular growth. Always learn and perform weight training in the correct way. If done incorrectly, it can harm your muscles and joints severely.

Disclaimer: The information provided here is for educational/awareness purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional and should not be relied upon to diagnose or treat any medical condition. The reader should consult a registered medical practitioner to determine the appropriateness of the information and before consuming any medication. PharmEasy does not provide any guarantee or warranty (express or implied) regarding the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of the information; and disclaims any liability arising thereof.

Links and product recommendations in the information provided here are advertisements of third-party products available on the website. PharmEasy does not make any representation on the accuracy or suitability of such products/services. Advertisements do not influence the editorial decisions or content. The information in this blog is subject to change without notice. The authors and administrators reserve the right to modify, add, or remove content without notification. It is your responsibility to review this disclaimer regularly for any changes.

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