6 waste of time gym workouts

With tight work schedules, you should be revving it up while working out. Here are things to not waste time on at the gym

1. Focusing only on machines 
Working out on machines is not a bad thing. However, if you are putting all your time and focus on these equipment, you are wasting your time at the gym. A machine workout does not even give you half the impact of freestyle exercises. Experts say that equipment were originally designed to supplement the last portion of your workout when your muscles are so fired up that you simply don't have the strength to carry on further with free weight technique.

2. Indulging in static stretching 
A recent study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, found that static stretching — stretching muscles while the body is at rest to gradually lengthen a muscle to the point of discomfort and holding that position for 30 seconds or more — before a workout actually decreases muscle strength by 5.5 per cent. The purpose of static stretching is to improve flexibility and cool your body down, and is therefore effective afterwards. To avoid injuries before a workout, you should be indulging in dynamic stretching — a techniques that closely mimic movements made during different exercises.

3. Doing excessive warm up 
You do not need to warm up each time you start a new set of exercise at the gym. For instance, if you are combining chest, shoulders and triceps on a single day, you may warm up with chest exercises, such as push ups, and skip lateral raises and triceps extensions. The latter are unnecessary as your shoulders get worked all along with chest exercises.

4. Spending a lot of time on cardio 
When you cannot afford to spend more than an hour at the gym, spending 45 minutes on cardiovascular exercises is a waste of time. Exercises such as cycling and running elevate your heart rate and burn calories. However, doing only cardiovascular workouts is not a balanced exercise routine, because they do not promote muscle strength and density. To have that you must indulge in equal amount of strength training. You can choose to alternate between an hour of cardio and strength training every alternate day during the week, or include two 30-minute sessions of cardio and strength training in an hour.

5. Sitting down 
It's a good idea to rest for a few minutes between sets. But you must make sure you do that while standing up and not sitting down and chatting. Sitting down immediately after a rigorous set will lower your heart rate in a hurry. Experts suggest that indulging in light activity between sets such as walking about, is a great way to improve recovery. However, passive recovery techniques such as sitting to cool the body down lead to regression rather than recovery.

6. Improper form 
Whether you're engaging in cardiovascular exercise or strength training, if your form is not proper, you're doing yourself more harm than good and ultimately wasting your time. It's a good idea to do a few low resistance practice reps before you indulge in heavy weights. While you do so, pay attention to your form so that you can get most from movement when lifting heavy weights for chest, biceps, back or legs.

Why fitness is better than weight loss

Why do you exercise - only to lose weight or for fitness? If you're slim and lean, you don't have to pump iron - true or false? As long as I watch what I eat I am healthy, do you agree? Most people believe in these false and mythical 'facts'. 

Fitness is a product of healthy diet and exercise, sleep and well being. 'Physical fitness is considered a measure of the body's ability to function efficiently and effectively in work and leisure activities, to be healthy, to resist hypokinetic diseases, and to meet emergency situations' as mentioned in Wikipedia, Fitness. Here is why fitness is a far better goal than weight loss in the long run.

Difference between Weight loss and Fitness

While all fitness does involve weight loss, all weight loss does not involve fitness. One can lose weight - the unhealthy way - through crash dieting, over-exercising, weight loss pills and several other, equally, harmful quack weight loss methods.

There is a finer point here: Unhealthy weight loss involves losing mostly muscle and a little bit of topical fat. Visceral fat, or fat that is stored internally around organs, does not budge with unhealthy weight loss practises. In fact, it increases manifold due to the starvation mode that you set off with unhealthy dieting.

Pursuing general fitness and well being, on the other hand, takes care of the harmful body fat, while giving you a healthier mind and body and, yes, burning, calories. Weight loss is about losing weight rapidly. Fitness is about healthy living and longevity.

Fitness is a combination of exercise, diet and rest. Weight loss is a short term routine of exercise, diet and rest.

When weight loss is your only target, you tend to ignore the other benefits of living a healthy life.

Importance of Fitness: To the Respiratory and Circulatory system

The easiest way to understand the impact of fitness is to look at what your body needs to live a long, ailment-free, healthy life. This state of being depends entirely on your body's systems, which in turn depend on organ, vessel and tissue health.

This brings us, first, to the respiratory and the circulatory systems.

You know the heart is a muscle that pumps blood and oxygen to the body. Exercise helps the heart in circulation of blood and oxygen. That means healthy skin, alertness and a healthy system. Similarly, a healthy diet, aids your circulatory and respiratory system by preventing thickening arterial walls and better blood circulation.

Importance of Fitness: To the Digestive system

When we are constipated or feeling bloated we look for a change in diet to relieve us from our discomfort. Even exercise can help you avoid digestive problems. Breathing, walking, and other physical activities can improve your digestive system.

A poor digestive system leads to a poor state of being. Quick weight loss ignores this fact of life. The result of crash dieting is usually the Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and plenty of abdominal fat the minute you stop crash dieting.

Instead, focusing on general fitness through balanced eating and exercise will give you a smoother digestive function.

Importance of Fitness: To the Lymphatic system

'The lymphatic system is a part of the circulatory system, comprising a network of conduits called lymphatic vessels that carry a clear fluid called lymph,' as mentioned on Wikipedia, Lymphatic system. A healthy lymphatic system reduces swelling, improves circulation, metabolism and flexibility. Stretching, strength training and aerobic exercises improve the Lymphatic system.

Importance of Fitness: To the Cardiovascular system

Enough research has proved, time and again, that pursuing fitness is the best way to achieve better cardiovascular health. This means that your cardiovascular system is able to function a lot better when you're fit, within your desired weight range, and live an active life with healthy eating.

The cardiovascular system is responsible for circulating oxygen to the body and important nutrients too. Opting for fitness, instead of quick weight loss, will help you avoid diseases related to the cardiovascular system like heart attack and stroke. Strength, stamina, agility also gets a boost with a well functioning cardiovascular system. Cardio exercises are the key to a functioning cardiovascular system.

However, many make the mistake of associating 'cardio' exercise with rapid weight loss. This usually leads to long hours of unnecessary cardio that cause fatigue and over-work your body, causing effects of over-training to come into play. What does this mean? Over-training leads to more fat storage in your body. So, if you walk/run/jog/swim more than you need to, your body will start craving more food and you will get simple carb cravings very frequently.

Importance of Fitness: To the Nervous system

The nervous system comprises the brain and the spinal cord. Physical activity makes the brain sharp and alert. It also makes you agile. Exercising the nervous system is also beneficial for over-weight individuals.

This is one area of diet and exercise that is often over-looked by quick weight loss solutions.Mental health is crucial for a healthy life. By pursuing weight loss, without any thought toward fitness and the correct way to achieve it, your mind will experience fatigue and negativity. External motivation, such as weight loss only for vanity, is not a good motivator. Most who rely on this as motivation alone, tend to drop out of their 'fitness' routine.

Therefore, relying on a balanced diet and good exercise over a long period of time, because you want to be fit instead of a size zero, is a better solution.

Importance of Fitness: To the Musculoskeletal system

This is the easiest association to make. We use muscles everyday, consciously or subconsciously. Exercise improves the musculoskeletal system or overall health of the physical, weight bearing and tangibly active part of the human body. A healthy mealplan nourishes these actions by giving the body what it needs to function well.

All aspects of exercising, from resistance training to flexibility and cardio training, and eating right improve the musculoskeletal system.

When you focus on weight loss alone, and quick weight loss at that, you ignore your body's actual needs. A common sign of rapid weight loss is weakness. This is because your body loses muscle a lot faster than fat. With muscle loss, your metabolism rate drops, causing imbalances and fat storage. The result: Short term weight loss, and long term weight gain.

Importance of Fitness: Overall Health 

- Improves performance and stamina
- Healthy life - reduces your chance of experiencing lifestyle diseases
- Fitness equals longevity
- Fitness prevent excess body fat
- Prevents body pain
- Improves your mood
- Improves confidence
- Induces sleep

For the over-weight and obese, fitness does involve weight loss. But this is sustainable weight loss that comes with a shift in lifestyle habits and definitely not quick weight loss for an event. If your only concern is to look good in that Diwali outfit or that wedding dress, then you will set yourself up for failure, as you would not have really evaluated long term fitness goals. Chasing the short dream always ends in disaster.

10 Best exercises for a flat stomach

A bulging stomach is a problem area for most mortals. Even those who are naturally thin tend to develop a paunch as they step into their 30s.

Our stomachs store fat for a number of reasons; these reasons range from the genetic to plain abuse of food and drink, with little to no exercise. Often, those who invest heavily in exercise and diet to banish the bulging stomach, do so with a vague and incorrect idea of what is needed for a flat stomach. Today, we give you a few exercises that will strengthen and create lean abdominal muscles, help you eliminate a flabby belly and give you a flat stomach that helps you fight disease and ill-health.

The key to a flat stomach is combination

To kick that tummy fat, simply belting away crunches or pushups is not enough. A solo act can't lead to a flat tummy or fat loss. Fitness expert, Sophi says, "In my opinion spot reduction is not possible, there is no way to target a particular part of the body for fat loss."

Your goal should be to build muscle, and focus on fat loss. Whether you are able to drop weight before attempting muscle toning, or tone muscle and then cut fat, depends entirely on how overweight you are, and how many inches you need to lose.

Follow patterned full body exercises like skipping and running to burn energy at an elevated heartrate. The kind of food you eat also helps to cut down that visible and visceral fat. A balanced healthy diet is essential for stomach fat loss.

Drink plenty of water and stay off from stress and anxiety and limit your salt intake. Besides get enough sleep to kick your belly fat.

Mentioned ahead are exercises that will help get a flat stomach.

Note: These exercises will only help you get rid of stomach fat if you practise them in combination with a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet.

Funky standing abs

This is one of the best and easiest exercises to begin with. Stand with your feet below your shoulders, and then tighten your abs slowly bending your knees.

Tilt your pelvis forward, so that your back is curved. Come back to the centre and tilt pelvis backward. Perform this exercise 15 times on either side, or as your workout permits.

Chair leg lifts

Perform this exercise using any kind of chair.

All you have to do is, sit straight with your back flat against the chair, place your hands on the seat of your chair, then slowly lift your knees towards your chest and slowly restore them back.

Carry out slow breathing while doing this. Perform this 2 set exercise at least 10-15 times.

Crunches

This is a good exercise for upper, lower and oblique abdominal muscles. Begin by lying flat on the ground, with your feet placed firmly on the ground, clasp your hands behind your head.

Raise your upper body by squeezing your abdominal muscles and when you are halfway through, hold on for 3 seconds.

Then bring back your body back to floor, slowly. Do at least 30 crunches per set.

Perpendicular exercise

Lie flat on your back, with your hands behind your back. Breathe out, as you lift your legs over your hips so they are perpendicular to the floor; slightly extend the distance between your legs.

Breathe in as you lower down your legs. Start up with 4 to 5 sets, and then increase it to 10.

Dumbbell bends

This exercise is useful for your oblique muscles. Start with grabbing a dumbbell, holding it in your right hand; see to it that your palm is facing your body.

Your feet should be at a shoulder-width distance. Slowly place your left hand on your hip and bend your upper body towards the right, while keeping your head and body facing forward.

Bring back your body to normal position and then repeat the same movement on the left side. Practice 20 repetitions.

Bicycle exercise

Bicycle is the best exercise for toning your stomach. It helps by keeping your stomach stable, along with movements, which burns fat.

Perform this exercise by lying on the floor, place your hands behind your head and bring your knees off the floor.

Bring your right elbow towards your left knee while performing cycling motion, and then switch your elbow position.

Side exercise

This exercise targets your oblique, core muscles and shoulders. Stand straight, with your feet at approximately the width of your hips. Slowly bend your knees and hold dumbbells in each hand.

Lift your hands up, so that the dumbbells are above your head and relax. Then lean your arms, head and torso to the right till 2 counts, then come back to the original position and then repeat it to the left side.

Carry out at least 10 repetitions.

Planks

Lie on the floor, with your face down, upper body supported on your forearms. Raise your entire body off the floor, with the support of your forearms and toes form a straight line.

Carry out 3 repetitions, with 15 to 20 seconds hold.

Clock exercise

To carry out this exercise, you may need an exercise ball. Rest your back on the ball with your feet aligned with your hips.

Stretch your arms over your head, contracting your abdominal muscles, and then rotate your body like a clock. Carry out 10 rotations in each side.

For questions specific to your health conditions, please write down in the comments section and we will answer it as soon as possible. Thanks

10 nutritionally terrible foods to avoid

Not just junk, keep junior off these 10 nutritionally terrible foods

So you make endless mental notes of fried snacks and sweets that your kid gorges on, but what do you know about foods laden with sodium, fat, sugar and other unsavoury ingredients? We run you through 10 unhealthy children's foods that you'd rather avoid:

Fruit snacks 
For long, food and beverage giants have been pulling a fast one on you by using the word 'fruit' to sell nutritionally suspect products. Fruit cakes or fruit gummies, for instance, are as sugar-filled as a candy. The fact that they stick to kids' teeth make them a harbinger of cavities.

French fries 
With the mushrooming of fast food joints, French fries have befriended children's taste-buds more than ever. The problem with fries is not just the unhealthy trans fats and calories it's loaded with, but also how easy it is to gobble too much of it at once. Fries are known to dominate the palate to an extent where the child may not really develop a taste for other vegetables. To rein your junior in, try baking your fries at home or rustle up sweet potato fries, which are packed with fibre, vitamin C and potassium.

Sugar cereals 
It's no more a secret that most sugary cereals are hopelessly low on fibre and high on sugar. The trick then is to choose cereals that contain less than 10 grams of sugar and at least three grams of fibre.

Deli meals 
Multiple research say that processed red meat, such as hot dogs or bologna, can up the risk of diabetes, heart disease and colon cancer. Hot dogs, for instance, are loaded with sodium, fat and nitrates which have been linked to cancer. Stick to chicken instead of beef, and if you buy deli meats, go for low-sodium, organic variants that are free of added nitrates. The best option is to always opt for fresh meat.

Sweetened drinks 
Almost all the hype around the health risks that soda poses is sadly true, and more so for kids. Drinking soda or cola increases their odds of developing type-2 diabetes and ending up obese. Not to mention the cavities they will cause. Fruit drinks too can be just as bad as soda. Scientists say that if they aren't made from 100 per cent juice, their nutritional worth is as low as soda. In any case, limit your child's intake of packaged fruit juice, and encourage her to drink a lot of milk and water.

Granola bars 
They have been hailed as the ultimate health snack, but many varieties of the granola bars have ingredients that make them more of a dessert than a nutritional delight. The catch is again on the cover. Hunt for bars that contain at least two grams or fibre and less than 10 grams of sugar, and also for those that have little or no saturated fat, and no high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners.

Sports drinks 
Your child might be drained after that gruelling session of cricket or badminton, but don't let him or her glug down sports drinks. Kids can become easily used to the taste and stop preferring water. Whip up a glass of chocolate milk instead, as it packs just the right mix of protein and carbs to help repair muscle.

Honey 
Until she is at least a year old, don't give your child honey as they can contain spores which can cause botulism — symptoms include dry mouth, vomiting, paralysis, and breathing problems. Since infants have immune systems that are relatively weak, they're at the highest risk for botulism. This is why doctors often recommend that babies avoid products that contain honey.

Packaged noodles 
Not only are noodles low on nutrition, they come with a lot of sodium. Children between the ages of two and three should have no more than 1,000 milligrams of sodium per day, while kids up to age eight shouldn't exceed 1,200 mgs per day. However, one serving of most packed noodles or pasta has more than half of a child's recommended limit.

Cheese
While cheese is a fabulous source of calcium and protein, you need to watch your child's portions. A slice of cheese can contain over 100 calories and 10 grams of fat, so regularly having more than that for a snack can add the numbers up fast. The daily recommended amount for dairy is two cups for age 2-3, and two-and-a-half cups for age 4-8. Just one-and-a-half ounces of cheese counts as one cup of the recommended amount of dairy.

For questions specific to your health conditions, please write down in the comments section and we will answer it as soon as possible. Thanks

Papaya: Beauty and Health Benefits

Whether it's the harsh summer sun or the humid monsoon weather, the fruit papaya can be effective for soothing, toning and moisturising your skin, which will leave your skin glowing naturally. So instead of opting for those expensive over-the-counter creams, why not use papaya? Its natural properties will remove skin blemishes, pimples, dark patches and do much more!

Beauty uses of papaya

Since the fruit is a good source of Vitamin A and Papain which is a kind of protein, it helps in removing dead skin cells, along with breaking down the inactive proteins.

If you apply a finely grounded paste of raw papaya on your face, it will help reduce pimples and blemishes!

Mashed papaya can be used for treating the sore and cracked heels.

The peel (skin) of the papaya can not only be used on the face, but it should also be used for whitening the skin on your legs.

Using papaya on your face regularly will reduce the signs of ageing.

If you have rough and dry skin, mash a papaya with honey and apply this mixture for hydration of the skin.

Papaya also helps in controlling dandruff. Frequent use of its paste on your hair will improve its texture.

We give you eight reasons why you need to work out before your day officially begins

Some people will tell you that it makes absolutely no difference what time of day you work out at. They say that the result is the same whether you train at 7 am or 7 pm. Yet, fitness experts stress on the benefits of training first thing in the morning. Apart from building consistency and preventing you from waiting for your dumbbells, here are eight reasons why the early bird gets the worm.

Kickstarts your metabolism
Training in the AM hours also jump-starts your metabolism and helps keep it elevated for hours. In this way, your increased metabolism will be working — and burning more calories — while you are, instead of when your body is at rest. If you sit at a desk all day, you know that this is reason enough to get your engine running as soon as possible.

Gifts you energy
Exercising in the morning energises you for the day. So, if the weather and accumulated fatigue have you feeling less than active lately, you might want to try hitting the gym first thing in the morning. Doing so will release endorphins and other hormones to give you a much-appreciated boost that often lasts all day.

Clears your mind
Studies have also shown that exercise significantly increases mental acuity. Training early helps clear your head and put you in a healthy frame of mind. Working out before your day officially begins allows you to start each day with a fresh perspective as you destroy the stresses of the previous day with a bench-press or a run on the treadmill. This will help you reduce the chances of getting upset during the course of your new day.

Regulates your appetite
Many people find that morning exercise has a tendency to regulate appetite for the rest of the day. Not only do such people eat less (since activity causes the release of endorphins, which in turn diminishes appetite), they also choose healthier portions of healthier foods. You will discover that your meal times will get regularised and you don't experience as many cravings and serious dips in energy levels, which will deter binge eating.

Increases mental awareness
You may have noticed that you feel more alert and ready to take on whatever challenge life throws your way after a good workout. If you train before your day begins, you'll be better equipped to deal with the battles presented to you at work. In fact, working out increases your mental acuity for four to 10 hours after exercise. This is due, in part, to the increased flow of oxygen-rich blood to the brain.

Increases discipline
Exercising in the morning gives you that gratifying feeling of knowing you've done something disciplined and good for you. It takes a great deal of motivation to get of bed, much more if you need to get to the gym. However, including that habit and finding the courage to get to the gym can drastically improve the quality of your life. Before you know it, the discipline it takes to work out every morning will spill over into other areas of your life and you'll be as driven in your cabin as you are on the elliptical machine.

Sleep better
Working out regularly results in better sleeping patterns and snooze quality. Your body will tell you that it's time for bed, but knowing that you have to get up to train the next morning will also help you hit the bed at a decent hour. It is difficult to build mass and improve your cardio if you don't rest properly.

Improves your diet
Exercising before eating could shock your system and it will usually throw your body into a catabolic state (where your body burns muscle for energy). Have a lowcalorie snack, such as an apple or some yogurt, about 30 minutes to an hour before you train. The snack will give you the energy you need for your training and it will burn off quickly. You'll crave better foods, and you won't want to waste the hard work that you put in by choosing cheeseburger over a healthy snack like a veg salad sandwich.