Why 30 mins of daily exercise essential? Ensuring at least 30 minutes of daily exercise is essential not only to keep your weight under control but also to prevent a series of non-communicable diseases. With COVID 19 making it difficult to get regular exercise the way we did before the outbreak, it is time to find new sustainable ways to keep yourself fit, active and healthy. COVID-19 and Exercise: Unfortunately, curtailed physical activity has been one of the most damaging outcomes of the COVID 19 induced lockdown on the broader population. Working from home has further increased our sedentary hours. Additionally, the fear of contracting the viral disease prevents most people from attending their regular physical workout schedules, including gyms, swimming sessions, group yoga classes, pilates and Zumba sessions, among others.
Here are five fitness regimens by Physiotherapist Ismit Tyagi (Columbia Asia Hospital, Palam Vihar, Gurgaon) to adopt even during the COVID-19 restrictions
- Cycling: Most of us had conveniently forgotten the bicycles rusting in our storerooms until the lockdown gave us empty roads and the right motivation to start pedalling. Many people have undertaken cycling as a fitness regime ever since the pandemic broke out. A bicycle allows you to undertake outdoor physical activity without compromising social distancing. If you take to cycling, you do not need to share the gym or the park with other people.
- Family Yoga: While attending actual group yoga sessions may not be possible right now, there are plenty of online platforms which offer virtual yoga classes today. With mobility restrictions allowing families to spend more time together at home, scheduling daily family yoga sessions is a perfect way to improve the health of all family members.
- Skipping rope: Skipping is an under-rated but highly beneficial form of physical activity. Skipping rope for 20 minutes a day is a very effective way of burning calories and shedding weight. If you have piled up additional weight during the lockdown period, adopting skipping as a part of your daily activity can help you shed the extra pounds.
- Equipment-free indoor workouts: Many people opted to order treadmills or exercise bikes to stay fit at home during the lockdown. However, you do not always need fitness equipment to fulfil your daily need for exercise. Adequate physical activity can be achieved even indoors without the need for any elaborate equipment.
- Stairs: Even your building stairs can double up as a handy exercise platform. As compared to walking or running, a stair workout allows you to burn more calories. Climbing stairs also helps tone the lower body muscles, improves stamina and endurance.
Conclusion
Inadequate physical activity had been a significant healthcare challenge of our times. Insufficient exercise is a risk factor for most non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis and cancer. The World Health Organization recognises inadequate physical activity as a leading risk factor for death. WHO also estimates that one in four adults is not active enough globally. In India, increasingly sedentary lifestyles and insufficient exercise hassled to increasing incidence of lifestyle diseases over the past 25 years.
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