Hi, folks, I was wondering what kind of physical exercises should be considered as a bare minimum to be fit?
I don't want to be a bodybuilder. I just want to be healthy, not to get diabetes, back pain, cancer or heart issues. I try to walk regularly. But, I am getting fat, having back pain and sick on every seasonal change!
So, what do you do to be healthy?
Cover Photo by Chander R on Unsplash
Top comments (54)
For what you want to avoid/prevent, you need to take care both of exercise and healthy diet. Healthy diet is actually more important (70-80%) for keeping your weight normal (or losing weight) and being healthy. On the other side, exercise will help you with back pain, better posture, having more energy, feeling better, …
This. Healthy diet is essential to a healthy lifestyle. You can't exercise your way out of a poor diet.
That said. I run but walking is key. I walk anywhere I can. I take the stairs instead of the elevator any time it's reasonable (I work on the 4th floor of a building so I do it there. I didn't when I worked on the 11th). Adding simple exercises like pushups, squats, and planks is also a relatively low barrier to and exercise routine.
I'm a chronic pacer. I eventually started using a step counter app and I cover a ridiculous amount of distance just in my home. Highly recommended ;)
Yes, I also try to walk but I should take stairs instead of lifts too. That's a great way and I am amazed that you did that on the 11th floor too!
Yes, that's a reasonable point. I was thinking about this when I was posting.
I avoid junk foods totally. The only reason I see for my fat is that I eat a fair amount of rice, chicken or fish in my regular meal. Maybe these should be controlled.
How do you know that your meal is healthy? Do you follow any doctor's advice?
Avoiding junk foods is a good first step. Basically, everything is healthy when consumed in moderation, except for junk foods (pizzas, burgers, sweets, cakes, sodas, ...). You can have a cheat meal from time to time and eat some junk food.
The only reason for fat is that you eat more than you burn. It's simple math ;)
People usually underestimate the number of calories they eat and overestimate the number of calories they burn by daily activity and training. For tracking the number of calories you eat, you can use some app, like MyFitnessPal which is free. A number of calories burned can be estimated (there are some online calculators), but for something more precise you need smart-/fitness-watch.
That's a great list, Aleksandr. Thanks! Do you do these at home? And, how do you know that you are following the proper form?
Yup! I do these at home with a simple set of dumbbells on a weight rack.
I've been doing yoga on a regular basis, as well as following the hundred pushups regime. I also bike or walk everywhere which helps me keep up some basic level of fitness.
Thanks for the resource, Ben. I will check the pushup way.
I would say that any sport that works all your body is a good choice.
I've been doing yoga for already 5 years, and one of the best decisions in my life; my back, shoulders, neck and legs feel way better than before.
Trying to apply some 'chair yoga' while I'm working, but my body starts to complain if I skip any class (try to go to 3 times per week)
Iru., can you recommend some good online resources for starting yoga?
Downdog app is really nice for lots of levels, guided and very configurable.
If you don't wanna pay, there are plenty of youtube channels, just gotta find a style of teacher that suits you
When I wake-up 100 push-ups, 200 sit-ups, 100 squats; during the day I usually spread 20-40 chin-ups/pull-ups and sometimes a couple of minutes of planks (minutes non consecutive).
I don't like gyms, too much testosterone, sweat, loud music and too many people for me :|
Very nice list to be followed, Robertorojasr. Do you follow these daily?
I may skip 1 day on a week; I think is better to leave days off tho, but if I do that lazyness start to creep :\
I really don't have any more knowledge than a few years practicing martial arts in the past, so for better advice I would ask an expert, although I don't think my routine is too heavy or risky.
Finally, I would recommend always start very slow, no extra weight and don't push yourself too hard, no glory in get injured and having to rest for a month. No productive either, if something non-muscular hurts, STOP, articulations and ligaments shouldn't hurt, no pain no gain is only for muscle and even that with caution, muscle get a little ruptured with exercise, a lot of rupture and you have an injure that will take maybe months to recover. If someone have never made much physical activity, should check a doctor before, and start SLOW, dead slow, stupidly slow, build with care. It's not a sprint is a marathon, think in a routine that you can keep from now, not something that will kill you in a month.
I wasn't doing any exercise for 2 years and I gained 30kgs.
But since I started dancing I am loosing weight, getting stronger, having new friends and having super fun! :)
My after-work schedule:
Monday: New Jack Swing
Tuesday: Locking, Popping
Wednesday: Urban Choreography
Thursday: 2x Hip Hop
Friday: Krump
And of course stretching/yoga after trainings
WORKOUT:
REST:
2 days per week
FOOD
Thanks for the food part! Dino. Looking for it.
No problem. Most important thing if you want to be lean is to track calories, I recommend this app:
loseit.com/
Whatever you eat, track it. You can eat whatever you want but make sure you stay in your calories limit. It is simple: if you consume more calories than you eat you will lose the weight.
And, don't go into to the extreme caloric deficit ~400calories deficit per day is enough. If you to extreme you will not be able to do it on the long run which is crucial.
Let me share mine :
for day in working_days do :
I keep doing the same routine every day.
Hi Espoir, what is the first point? The stair part is really inspiring. I will surely keep that in mind.
Yeah, I corrected it... check it now... hope you will get what I mean
I typically take a couple of walks during the day on weekdays. Based on tracking I've been doing of this, it works out to about 2.3km a day at roughly 6kph, though the route I take has a somewhat steep hill part way through (Google Fit ends up counting each walk as about 15 heart points (minutes exercising weighted by cardiac activity)).
I've been considering doing Tai Chi again as well. Most people don't realize it, but it's actually a rather thorough workout if you do it right (It's seriously challenging to move through the sequences that slowly without falling over).
The bigger thing though is eating healthy, which I honestly need to get better about myself.
Thanks for sharing the tracking details, Austin. Didn't heard about Tai Chi before!
I try to avoid:
-Milk
-Candies
-Sweet breath
-junk food
-sugar drinks
How do I eat:
-5 times per day (this maintains my metabolism active).
-Proteins(meat most chicken) and vegetables.
My workout:
-I try to workout two following dais and rest one(this allows rest to my muscles).
-Don't spend money on gym, I work out at home or at the park, I do calisthenics is a very effective way to get muscle and burn calories, there is a plenty video tutorial on youtube for beginners, easy to do and you only invest one hour of your time.