A complete guide to fitness at home

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What is meant by being fit & healthy?

Firstly, we must know that being healthy and fit are two different concepts. Health is influenced by our body and mind. That is to say, it is governed by our own definition of happiness: mental state, life condition, disease resistance, emotions, thoughts, relationships, sex life, career, money, and personal goals. Health is personal.

While fitness is associated with solely on the state of our physical body: exercise, diet, and sleep.

You can be healthy and not fit. However, you can be fit and healthy. In order words, being fit can make you healthy.

This blog focuses on how you can achieve the best level of fitness at home, especially during unprecedented times such as these when you are required to work/study from home.

As I mentioned earlier, being fit is about 3 factors in cohesion: Exercise, Diet, and Sleep. Let’s dive deeper into each of these.

Full Body Workout

A full-body exercise should have 3parts: HIIT(High-Intensity Interval Training), Strength/Chest, and Abdominal.

• HIIT:
  This is the beginning of the workout, and as the name suggests it means performing high intensity for say 2 minutes followed by 20 seconds rest. You should dedicate around 5–10 minutes to HIIT. It is very beneficial as it helps burn calories and fat, reduces blood pressure & sugar, improves body metabolism for efficient further exercise, builds muscle groups, stretches the body, and increases oxygen supply to the tissues & muscles.
  The most effective HIIT workouts are Jumping jacks, spot jog, mountain climbers, burpees, lunges, the world’s greatest stretch, high knees, butt kicks, tuck jumps, etc. Now you are all set to begin the core exercises.
• Chest & strength
  Want to look good in a tight T-shirt? Then, work on your chest and arms.
  Let’s look into the chest anatomy first to understand it better. The pectoralis major is a thick fan-shaped muscle that consists of sternal (breastbone) and clavicular (collarbone) attachments. It lies across your chest. The pectoralis minor lies below your pectoralis major muscle. This muscle starts from the third to fifth ribs and inserts into the scapula’s (shoulder blade) coracoid process (the hook-like structure on your shoulder blade). Tip: Don’t spoil your chest with fancy stuff. Stick to the basics. Master the right techniques and work your way to nice a tight chest.

1. Upper Chest: Inclined, elevated, diamond, wide and clap pushups
2. Lower Chest: Pushups
3. Legs: Squats, jumping squats,
4. Triceps: Dips, handstand

• Abdominal exercise

Yes, you can get those shredded six-packs. Here is how.
Let’s understand the anatomy first. The rectus abdominals (the muscles that run down the front of your body and create a six-pack effect); the obliques (the muscles along your sides); and the transverse abdominals (the deepest layer of ab muscles that corset the waist and support the hips).
Tip: You can try fancy stuff for abs workout. Keep making variations.

1. Upper Abs: Crunches, (V)Situps, In-out crunches, bicycle crunches.
2. Lower Abs: Reverse crunches, glute bridge, scissor/ flutter kicks, pilates
3. Obliques: Side planks, plank hold(extended, with a toe touch, rock), Russian twist.

Pro Tip: Work on your technique. Do Not Rush. Focus on your breathing. Breathe In&Out. Hold the crunch for 4 seconds and plank for 2 minutes. Do 3 sets of 10–15 reps.

These are the variations that you can use:

1. Planks- Normal, Side, Jacks, Dips, High, Low to High, Oblique Crunches, Star
2. Crunches- Half, reverse (with situp), bicycle, side oblique
3. Situps- Normal,Single leg, Vsit
4. Legs- Leg raises, dead-bugs, crab toe touch, heal touch, scissor, flutter,concentric circles

Cooling Down- Jefferson Curls, knee planks

Replenish yourself with water. Take a bath. Grab bananas & eggs.

What (not) to eat?

Diet comprises 80% of your fitness. If you eat unhealthy food at uneven intervals then the body would not reap the benefits of exercise. Measure what you eat. Because what gets measured gets managed. Journal your daily nutrient intake. Eat 3 out of 4 meals compulsorily at the consistent schedule.
The food items that you should be avoiding are:

1. Sugars
   Cut down on our sugar intake as it leads to high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, aging, tooth decay, hair loss, heart diseases, acne, risk of cancer, low energy levels, depression, memory loss, and most importantly it causes erectile dysfunction.
   Just stop eating stuff like cakes (pan, cup, and whatever), juices, chocolates & candies, tea/coffee with sugar, processed and canned sweets, and desserts. Pro tip: Check the sugar content in the label. Less than 5g per 100g is advisable.
2. Saturated Fats
   We all want a flat belly that we can flaunt at the beach or on the bed. To get it, we need to cut down on our unhealthy fat consumption. These saturated and trans fats are slow to digest and cut down oxygen and energy supply to muscles and heart. They also cause heart diseases due to high LDL cholesterol. These include the likes of whole milk dairy products, coconut oils, baked foods, junk foods, commercial cookies, and pastries.
3. Carbohydrates
   A cyclic carbon molecule with attached hydrogen is known as carbohydrates. Unhealthy carbohydrates cause diabetes and obesity. They include white bread, creamy pasta, fries, chips, pastries. Hence, we should focus on eating healthy carbs and fibers like fruits, rice, carrots, oats, and lentils.

The food items that should be included in your diet are:

1. Un-Saturated Fats
   The unsaturated fat-containing foods are called essential fats as they are crucial for providing energy, muscle & cell growth, blood, and blood clotting. Make sure your diet has good oils(olive, sunflower, corn, soybean, sunflower ), nuts, eggs, dark chocolate, and fatty acids. (fish, peanut butter)
2. Proteins
   They help in growing and repairing muscles, tissue, skin, and hairs. they also build hormones, antibodies, and enzymes. An average human needs 1 g of protein for each kg body weight per day.
   The protein-rich food which you can inculcate in your diet are oats, yogurt, peanut butter, meat, eggs, fish, milk, almonds, corn, pasta, vegetables (broccoli, lentils, greens, beans, peas, seeds, potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage), fruits(guava), and brown bread. You can also include supplements like whey proteins and Horlicks proteins.
3. Water
   It has zero sugar and fats. Most importantly, it has a high-energy content and is a rich source of minerals such as Ca, Mg, Zn, Na. Also, it helps in dissolving nutrients, regulates body temperature, aids in weight loss, carries oxygen for body metabolism, lubricates your joints, moisturizes your skin, prevents diabetes, avoids kidney stones, boosts up digestion & constipation, reduces food consumption, and improves sexual performance.
   Normal tap water, milk, tomatoes, and fruits would suffice for water intake. As you are working out your body, you need to make up for the water lost through sweating. Hence, I would suggest that an ideal person should consume around 12 glasses of water per day. Pro tip: Don’t forget to drink 2 glasses of water each before and after working out as it improves endurance.

Sleep

A full night of healthy sleep is required as it replenishes energy stores. This is because during sleep pituitary glands release growth hormones that repair muscles and tissues. It also reduces stress, improves memory, lowers blood pressure, boosts the immune system, prevents cardiovascular diseases, increases exercise (sex included) performance, enables social interaction, and maintains weight.

• Pre Sleep:
  Q. What to eat before sleep?
  A. Sleep promoters are milk, almonds, walnuts, oats, and fish/meat. Make sure you grab a little bit of some of them. Also, a few push-ups will help. Introspect your previous day. And, plan your next day.
• During Sleep:
  Q.What is the right sleep posture?
  A. The best posture optimizes between snoring and glymphatic system impedance. The lymphatic system helps maintain fluid homeostasis, fat metabolism, and waste clearance. But it doesn’t include the brain. The brain has glymphatic system that fights Alzheimer’s disease through releasing cerebrospinal fluid which washes off amino proteins in the brain, and this system is active only during sleep.
  We have 3 possible options: on the back(supine), on the stomach(prone), and sideways(lateral). The first one causes snoring while the second deactivates the glymphatic system. Hence, it is better to side in a sideways position.
  Q. How much sleep do we need?
  A. Studies have shown that we need at 7–9 hours of sleep per day. Most importantly, a proper sleep schedule is critical. Make it a point to sleep and wake at the same time always, i.e. have a consistent sleep schedule as it helps maintain your habits and enables a deeper restful sleep.
• Post Sleep:
  Many people stress the importance of having a proper morning routine. These include making your bed. Self positive talk in the mirror. A set of squats and pushups. A morning jog is a plus. Make sure you eat a fit breakfast.

Shredding it Up

• Include HIIT, strength, and abs exercises into work-out.
• Avoid fats and sugars. Eat proteins. Drink lots of water.
• Sleep tight for 7–8 hours in sideways position.

Don’t be healthy. Be fit & healthy

About Me

I am a dual degree( B.Tech + M.Tech ) graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. I am enthusiastic about fitness, writing, and reading. Feel free to contact me at mayankakale13@gmail.com