Fitness Expert & Founder Sumaya Fitness, Sumaya Dalmia weighs in on how to divide your workouts days.
The benefits of physical movement - especially exercising regularly - are manifold, and sometimes getting caught up in a fast-paced, digitally-driven life causes us to lead a sedentary lifestyle. But it's finding that motivation from within that will truly help you inculcate this lifestyle change.
One thing that the pandemic has urged us to do is move our workouts to the premises of our home. "If there’s one thing the pandemic taught us, it’s that we don’t need fancy gyms or equipment to get a good workout. Our overall strength, a good heart rate and fitness routine can be maintained at home," shared fitness expert Sumaya Dalmia. While some have created a mini-gym at home, others have opted for bodyweight exercises and cardiovascular forms of exercise such as walking, running and skipping. A handful has even adopted forms of yoga and power yoga a way to soothe the mind, body and soul.
However, setting up a gym space at home can come with a hefty price, and sometimes you may find a lack of space at home. While one does miss the hustle-bustle offered in a gym environment where other people working out is a motivator in itself, the pros of a workout at home are immense. Not only can you sweat it out at your convenience, but quite frankly all you need is a mat and maybe a few other essentials that make for an effective workout. "To set up a home gym you don’t need much - just a pair of weights, skipping rope, and maybe a kettlebell or TheraBand. Play around with props in the house - a chair or bench makes for a great tricep dips or step-ups workout!," adds Dalmia.
Contrary to popular belief - where it is believed that you need to train for at least an hour to get in an effective sweat session - Sumaya is of the opinion that if you plan a good workout routine, it doesn’t have to be lengthy - even 20-40mins does the job. She further said, "one must divide the days into three functional/weight training days and keep one day focussed on stretching and mobility routine, which is extremely important. For cardio, jogging is great but one can also get an equally good cardio session at home through skipping, jump rope, high knees, etc; instead of opting for expensive equipment like treadmill and cross-trainer."
But the bottom line is that a well-toned body and physical fitness do not come without keeping an eye on your nutrition, diet and calorie intake. "If you're looking to achieve aesthetic goals then my recommendation would be to have a look into your nutrition. Weight loss is primarily nutrition-based, you need to be in a calorie deficit. Thus, remove processed carbs and sugar for starters, increase protein in your diet (1 gram/per pound of body weight), a good amount of healthy fats, lots of veggies, fruits, include more whole grains like quinoa, oats, etc," says the expert.
