Be My Fit Valentine



Get pumped up before your date! It’s the month when we celebrate love, a big event called Valentine’s day or some go the extent of doing it over a week. It’s time to ditch those love handles naturally with some exercises. Perhaps, it’s also a time for you to shed all your December party calories in one go and get set for spring-summer season too. So girls, show some love to yourself before showing love to your partner. Here’s how you can ramp up your fitness plan, so you can slide into your Valentine’s day dress instead of squeezing into it!

Make sure you treator spoil yourself to a fancy yet sturdy pair of branded sneakers, fitness tracker, super luxe yoga mat, portable home gym, gym bag or tote and smart yarn pants. 


Fitness Expert- Nupur R. Shikhare & Israar Khan give us a host of exercises before the countdown to the D day begins.
 
1. Schedule “workout” in your planner. Make exercise a commitment.

2. Fitness routines should always be enjoyable. Exercise is a great stress-buster. Vary your workouts so that you enjoy exercising.

3. A warm-up prepares the body for the activity to follow. Muscles perform better and are less prone to injury when they are warm. A warm-up can mean simply walking or marching for 5 to 10 minutes to raise the body’s core temperature. A cool-down lowers the body’s temperature, gradually. The last 5 to 10 minutes of the workout should be cool-down time. This allows the blood to return from the working muscles to the heart and for the body to return to its resting state.

4. Too much, too fast, too soon are the main causes of injury. Over-exercising and under-exercising are both detrimental to health.  Gradually prepare the body to exercise without over-straining. Make sure the exercise program is structured, systematic and progressive.

5. Breathing is an important aspect of fitness training – especially in the case of weight training, yoga or pilates. For example, while performing weight training exercises, you should exhale when you exert and inhale when you release muscular tension.

6. A good time to stretch is immediately after an exercise session, while the body is still warm. Stretching prevents muscle soreness and increases flexibility. It also relaxes the muscles, mobilizes the joints and improves posture.

7. Don’t starve yourself or over-exercise in order to be thin. Think healthy, not just skinny. A healthy well balanced diet should include carbohydrates, proteins, fats and plenty of water. What you eat influences the results of your fitness regimen. A sound nutrition plan can help you build muscle, decrease percentage of body fat and help you look and feel better. Also, if you eat healthy, you will have the necessary energy to exercise and be active. It’s a cycle.

8. Rest plays an important role in formulating effective training sessions. It helps the muscles to recuperate from the stresses of exercises and helps the body get rid of fatigue and muscular exhaustion. Especially while weight training, the muscles need at least 48 hours of rest in between workout sessions to recover and recuperate.

9. From the e-mails to the internet to the remote controls – the only parts moving regularly are our fingers. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle you are prone to developing chronic health conditions such as heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia to symptoms such as low energy levels, lethargy and mood swings.

10. Strength training exercises play an important role in maintaining bone density and keeping the body strong. An effective routine would include exercises that target the major muscle groups of the upper, mid and lower body.

11. Cardio exercises should be performed three to five times a week for duration of 30 to 60 minutes. Your exercise intensity can range between 45 to 85 percent of your target heart rate depending on your age, fitness level and medical history.

12. Remember, it’s the small changes that we incorporate that make a big difference! For instance, walking for extra 15 minutes each day gives a total of nearly two hours of additional exercise each week. Adopting a positive attitude gives us a greater chance of success. So be proud of each small gain and stick to your exercise routine, no matter what!

13. At first, warm yourself up by stretching the complete body, covering head to toe. During the whole workout session keep your breathing simple. Breathe out only whenever you are applying force, otherwise breathe in.

14. Personal discipline is the basic foundation of good health. Ideal fitness training should be designed in a manner so that it covers every aspect of fitness – a total head to toe workout is highly recommended. This should be a balanced mix of stretches and jogging for better flexibility followed by free- hand training and body weight training. Working out with homely commodities, Power yoga, any form of martial arts and swimming are other options.

15. A proper exercise should work out each and every muscle of the body – both upper and lower portion. It should include 6-8 variants and one should do 3 sets of each variant. The total time should not be more than 45 minutes.

16. Always eat right. Have regular but small high protein, low carbohydrate meals.

For Your Upper Body:

1. Push –ups: Ideally one should do 3 sets of 15 push –ups. However, every exercise should be done depending on one’s own capacity.

2. Burpies – This particular exercise is one of my favourites. Burpies take care of upper body, especially shoulder & triceps and also of the lower body to a great extent. Stand straight and stretch your arms and body straight up. Then jump on your toe and as you land on the toe, squat down with palms of your hand on the ground/ floor. Keeping the palms on the floor, jump back only with your feet. Do 3 sets of this exercise, 10 times in each set.

3. Crawl – Crawls also takes care of both your upper and lower body. Crawl like a lion, both forwards & backwards. Make sure to crawl on your palm and feet. Keep the body parallel to the ground. 3 sets to be done for this workout too.

4. Tricepbips – This is a very good workout for the upper portion of the body. For doing this workout, sit on a chair. Hold the edge of the chair with your hands. Move your hip away from the platform of the chair and try to down your body. While doing this particular exercise, your feet should be on the ground and the elbows should be closer to the body. Do this exercise for 3 sets, 15 times in each set.

For Your Lower Body:

1. Squat – Take little more than shoulder wide distance in your feet. Sit down just like sitting on a chair. While doing this your back should be straight. Then push back your hip and go down in that position only. While going down, it is important that your toes and knees should be in one line. Repeat this exercise for 3 sets, 15times in each set.

2. Lunges – Stand straight with your feet at a shoulder wide distance.  Take a step forward and stay in that position. The back foot should be on toe while the front foot should remain flat on the gorund. Knees should face straight. Then one should go down without hunching the back. Knees should also not cross the toe and should not either touch the ground. Do this for 12-15 times. Switch your legs and repeat the workout for 12-15 times again.  Total sets – 3.

For A Flat Stomach:

Every girl wishes for a washboard abs. The first thing to go for is the basic “Ab Crunch”. But while doing that one should remember that your chin should not touch your chest. Both the chin and shoulder should face upwards. Just crunch your torso while keeping the rest of the body stabilized. You can do 3 sets of the exercise, 20 times in each set.

“Plank” is another type of ab exercise. Lie on the floor on your stomach. Take your elbows touching to your waist, they should be at a 90 degree angle with the floor. Then pull up your body and hold for few seconds. While doing this exercise, your body should be parallel to the ground. Do this exercise for 3 sets, 20 times in each set.

Spinning

1. Burns fat
2. Builds muscle
3. Builds aerobic stamina
4. Needs coordination

Spinning is good for those who already have a good fitness level. A good spinning class gives your heart and lungs an intense workout while also building strength in the legs. It is an excellent exercise program for fat burning.

But you do need to feel confident on a bike. The instructor takes you through hill climbs, sprint races, time trials and group races.
 
Salsa -aerobics

1. Needs coordination
2. Increases flexibility
3. Builds aerobic stamina
4. Burns fat

This is a form of dance that has been modified into an exercise class.  Aerobic and salsa moves are combined making it a great workout for those who enjoy salsa dance. The intensity of this workout is low but effective if done regularly for a long duration.
 
Aerobic class/ step aerobics

1. Burns fat
2. Builds stamina
3. Needs coordination

The main aim of an aerobic class is to raise the heart rate and burn calories. A step workout uses a step to achieve similar goals. These exercise forms improve cardiovascular stamina, burn fat, and develop muscular endurance. Hand and leg coordination is required.
 
Boot camp

1. Burns fat
2. Builds muscle
3. Tones the body
4. Builds aerobic strength
5. Needs coordination
6. Increases flexibility

This workout is derived from the tough physical training of the army. This workout session involves squat thrusts, sit-ups, sprinting and other intense exercises. This is based on a circuit-training format that requires you to do a series of exercises for a set period of time. The class can last from 45 minutes to 2 hours. This form of training works the heart and muscles and provides an intense workout.
 
Kick-boxing

 
1. Burns fat
2. Builds muscle
3. Builds aerobic stamina
4. Needs coordination

Kickboxing can be contact or non-contact exercise session. It involves kicking and punching moves. This exercise class needs great coordination and power to keep up with the fast changing drills and routines. As the routine picks up speed, the heart rate rises and the workout becomes cardiovascular.
 
Yoga

1. Increases flexibility
2. Tones muscles
3. Improves blood circulation
4. Is therapeutic
5. Can build aerobic stamina

Yoga is a fantastic way to improve suppleness, strength and de-stress the mind. It improves blood flow around the body through holding postures and controlled breathing techniques. Yoga can be challenging, relaxing or simply therapeutic. It also brings mind-body awareness.

Pilates

1. Builds core strength
2. Increases flexibility
4. Tones muscle
5. Needs coordination

Pilates concentrates primarily on developing strong stomach and back muscles. It improves posture and flexibility. All the movements aim to develop core strength, but it is not effective as a fat burning exercise form.
 
Tai chi

1. Increases flexibility
2. Needs coordination
3. Increases mind-body connection and awareness

This is an ancient Chinese exercise characterized by slow, graceful movements. In Chinese philosophy, Chi is the energy force that gives the body vitality. Tai chi is almost like a meditative exercise form the emphasis is on inner strength.
 
Body pump

Builds muscle
Tones the body

 
This workout uses body weight and an adjustable barbell to increase the intensity of the exercises. The exercises used are varied but include squats, bench press, shoulder press, bicep curls and lunges. This workout involves quickly moving from one controlled exercise to another. It shapes, tones and defines the entire body.

Aqua-aerobics

1. Burns fat
2. Builds aerobic strength and stamina
3. Tones muscle
4. Increases flexibility

The resistance of water makes this workout so effective. The body is lighter in water so there is far less stress on the joints. The aerobic session involves dynamic movements against the waters resistance to increase the heart rate. Floats and paddle are added to increase resistance.

Switch yourself up and Happy Workouts!