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Dedicated to all the guys who think ‘Workout ke Liye Time kaha hai bro? Wealth hai to Health bhi hoga’. However, a string of incidents where youths are succumbing to respiratory, diabetic, or cardiac diseases like trees in a violent storm shows how dangerous it can be for you to take in excess calories without counting your steps behind that desk of your office. We understand that you might not be able to dedicate 2-3 hours a day to the gym and we are not even telling you to, but 15-30 minutes of workout sessions can surely be pulled off. And what happens when you dedicate a window of 15 minutes of daily workout into your life, it gradually develops into a habit. Throw in some healthy habits and there you have your simple fitness routine.
1. Set Your Diet Straight
Start right off with the hardest part of any workout routine, the diet. Indian diets mostly contain carbs, as the majority of our heavy meals consist of Rotis, Parathas, Rice, etc not to mention the cheat dose of fats and sugars your body is addicted to from the cheat meals you throw in between lunch hours or binge-watching Netflix during the weekend. Go for a balanced diet with adequate portions of proteins, greens, carbs, and fats. Avoid and replace your snacks with healthy options like a bowl of fruits or baked chips instead of fried chips or other packaged oily foods. It will not be a struggle but an all-out war between you and your cravings for the first week but stand your ground and cut back one step at a time. Give your body the time to adjust to the new diet plan and you will see how fine you are doing without the processed and sugar-rich food.
2. Hydrate Yourself
Studies have found that drinking water can help with weight loss. Drinking water can increase your metabolic rate and thus help in calorie burnout more efficiently when you work out. Besides when you crave snacking on something unhealthy, drink a glass of water and the craving will gradually subside. Drinking 500ml of water before or after eating your meals can help in weight loss faster. Further replace all your beverages like fruit juices, soda, and cold drinks with water, as they contain an unhealthy amount of sugar which is not good for your weight loss journey and your health in the long term.
3. Realistic Work-out Routine
Why most people fail at a simple thing like creating a routine for them because they are unrealistic. You can’t just go to YouTube and tune in to Cbum’s working routine and sigh at the results not meeting your expectations. For god’s sake, he is a professional bodybuilder. Search for a beginner’s routine and stick to the simple routine. When thorough with it, go for the intermediate one and increase your difficulty level gradually instead of going out of breath and motivation on the very first day.
Since workouts are subjective as everyone has their dream physique there is no work-out routine. Some love the aesthetics, some love lean muscles while some just want to get rid of the dad bod. Here is a practical blueprint of how your beginner’s routine should look like:
Pick 5-7 exercises
Each exercise
A. Set 1: 12-30 reps
B. Set 2: 5-10 reps
C. Rest: 20s each set
D. The goal is to hit the failure
4. Don’t sleep on Cardio
Well if you are thinking that lifting only weights will help you reduce your dad bod and you will be ripped till your veins pop up, then you are confused. While lifting weights can help you with building muscles to get rid of fat, you need to indulge in cardio. It is not necessary that you have to actively find time for it if your schedule is too tight, you can include it passively like aiming to do some light exercise between your work or you can simply start by taking the stairs instead of the lift. You can go for 15 minutes of work three times a day. You can also divide your walks - in the morning, after lunch, after dinner, and once between your work hours. If your office is close by, then ditch your car or bike and go cycling. Reduce not only your body fat but also your carbon footprint.
5. Use Your Leisure Time Creatively
We all look for some rejuvenating time with our family and loved ones. This time why not turn the tables around and opt for some group fitness activity to make the most of the time instead of board games? You can go for a run or cycling with your friends. Weekend sports with friends and family can be an exhilarating activity for both body and soul. There are many fun ways to spend the weekend without being the couch potato every weekend.
6. Get Enough Sleep
Don’t let others tell you that you can live easily with 4-5 hours of sleep. Men in their late 20s and 30s are adept at running against the clock to be the jack of all trades. But this comes at the cost of your sleep. Not sleeping properly can lead to a host of health issues like migraines, crankiness, backaches, and weight gain. Now adding on the exercises, your body will heal from the muscles you will tear from all those workout sessions and if you are not getting enough rest, the consequences will not let you move very far from square one. Studies have found that people who don't sleep well usually end up overeating, a major reason making you gain extra kilos. Aim to sleep for 6 to 8 hours every day and don’t compromise with it on any terms.
7. Ease Stress
Indulge in stress-releasing activities as you like, some prefer sports activities, some love gardening while some love reading books and some relax with yoga. Stress-induced weight gain is common in men between the ages of 25 to 35 years. Recoil from everything and go for a small holiday if you need to destress.
8. Additional Tips
- Set realistic targets and opt for healthy non-fattening foods with occasional cheat days.
- Cut down on alcohol and junk food. Replace your usual chips, popcorn, and fries with pita, hummus, kale chips, nuts, and other healthy foods.
- Divide your meals into smaller portions. So, instead of having 3 big meals, have 5 small meals to keep your tummy full and suppress unnecessary cravings.
Benefits of Having an Active Workout Routine
Even 15-20 minutes of exercising daily can be immensely beneficial for your body. Some exquisite benefits of an active workout routine are:
- Beneficial to relieve stress and make you overall happy.
- It can increase your energy levels. Aerobic exercise boosts your cardiovascular system and improves lung health, which may help with energy levels.
- Reduce the risk of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, cholesterol, hypertension, and so on.
- Help improve skin health by delaying the appearance of skin ageing and preventing psoriasis.
- Help with brain health and memory. Studies show exercise causes the hippocampus to grow, which may help improve mental function.
- Help with sleep quality and relaxation. A study conducted over 4 months in people with chronic insomnia found that stretching and resistance exercise helped improve sleep quality and duration while decreasing the time it takes to fall asleep.
- Aerobic exercise may be a natural treatment option to relieve pain and improve quality of life.
- Regular exercise may help improve your sex life. Engaging in regular exercise can strengthen your heart, improve blood circulation, tone muscles, and enhance flexibility, all of which may help improve your sex life.
Want To know how you can dress impactfully for your workout? Watch the below video
There you have a perfect routine for working out right at the palm of your hand. More often than not we overcomplicate the simple steps needed for us to reach our goals. We imagine that only herculean efforts can enable us to meet our desired health goals. We’re not saying that you shouldn’t mix things up or do workouts that challenge you, rather we’re encouraging you to build simpler habits first, and then use these habits to propel you to higher and bigger goals. Working out need not be rocket science. Just stick to the basics and you’ll reap the benefits. Consistency matters the most.
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