Before you even think of losing weight, the first thing you need to ask yourself is – do you need it? There are several basic ways to assess for yourself whether you are obese, morbidly obese or if you are just healthy. Most of them are based on simple height weight ratio, of which the most commonly used method is body mass index (BMI). Although none of them are 100% accurate, they provide a good gauge for measurement. BMI usually overestimates a user’s weight category, placing normal people in the obese category, not below.
If you think you belong to the obese category, the next question to ask yourself is whether you are losing weight for health or aesthetic reasons. If it’s simple for aesthetic reasons, chances are you’re not overweight and don’t need to lose weight. Note that exercising to lose weight is very different from exercising for good health.
If you are serious about losing weight for health reasons, you are probably facing a big problem. You lack the muscle mass to support your own weight and as a result you tire too easily to maintain a consistent exercise regimen.
To help you get started, the following exercises are designed with low intensity and impact; First, to reduce the risk of injury, especially for beginners, and second, to make it possible for you to actually achieve them.
Here are 6 exercises that are easy to do and can be done in the comfort of your own home.
1) overhead clap
This exercise is also known as Buddha Clap. You can do this exercise sitting on the ground. Begin by extending both your arms fully out to the sides and facing your palms to the sky. Keeping your arms straight, raise both hands overhead at a comfortable pace and clap them together. Return to the original position keeping the arms straight and palms facing up.
This exercise appears simple enough, but that’s what it really means. But once you repeat this action 10 to 20 times, you will realize that it is not at all comfortable. It stretches your back and arm muscles and works your cardiovascular system. Do 20 to 40 sets of this exercise daily.
To increase the intensity of the exercise, you can do this exercise even while standing.
2) twinkle twinkle star
If you remember how you danced while singing the nursery rhyme, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, you must remember the action of twinkling stars. This exercise is exactly that action. Keep your hands straight in front of you with your fingers open. After that, just clench and unclench your fists (it’s not tight) repeatedly.
Every time you clench and unclench your fist counts as one. Do this about 20 to 40 times daily. This strengthens your shoulders and arms. Like overhead claps, this exercise can be done sitting or standing for best results.
3) crunches
Most of us will be familiar with crunches, however, very few of us actually know how to use this exercise properly. There’s no right or wrong way to do crunches, but different ways of doing them have different results. Since we are focusing on weight loss and muscle strengthening, we should do our crunches slowly and steadily.
First of all, lie flat on the ground and raise your legs by bending your knees in such a way that your thighs and abdomen are at about 90 degrees. This is the starting position for crunches. After this, cover your ears with your hands and raise your upper body in such a way that your elbows touch your knees or thighs. Stay in the position for 2 seconds before returning to the starting position. While doing all this, keep your legs as they were in the starting position. If you have difficulty elevating your legs, you can place a pillow or chair to support your feet. Eventually, you should progress to the stage where you no longer need support.
This exercise trains your upper abdominal muscles. Do this 10 to 20 times daily. You can alternate this exercise with alternating crunches where the right elbow touches the left knee and vice versa. Alternating crunches train your side abdominals.
4) leg razor
To start with leg raisers, first find heavy furniture that you can hold onto. Lie flat on the ground and reach your hands forward to grasp the furniture (prefer furniture legs). Keep your arms half bent. Lift both legs up (keeping them straight, don’t bend your knees if possible) so that your thighs and your abs are at about 90o. This practice can be difficult for many of us. If you find it difficult to lift both legs, you can try starting one leg at a time.
This exercise works on the lower abdomen, and is especially good for reducing belly fat or belly as we call it. Do this 10 to 20 times daily.
5) knee raisers
Again, look for heavy furniture that can support your weight at home. This time you’ll need to hold onto it for support, so make sure the height is comfortable for you. Place both your hands on the furniture keeping your body straight and feet shoulder width apart. Bend one knee and slowly lift that leg up to your chest. Lower your leg slowly and repeat the same action with the other leg.
Every time you lift your foot and put it down, it should count as one. Do this 20 to 40 times daily. This exercise builds the thigh muscles.
6) tip toe-ing
This exercise is similar to the knee razor. Again place both your hands on the furniture to keep your body straight but keep both the legs together. Start by curling your toes up and down. Do this 20 to 40 times daily. This exercise builds your calf muscles.
While each of the above exercises will take you less than 5 minutes, doing all 6 should take you at most half an hour a day. It doesn’t matter whether you want to lose weight or just want to stay active, these exercises are very useful in keeping you reasonably active.
These exercises work the major muscles of your body and strengthen them for high intensity workouts. This is very important, especially if you are obese. Since this routine is only for beginners, you must move to higher intensity workouts after a few months for better weight loss results. However, don’t rush to start more difficult exercises right away! By skipping basic training, you run the risk of injuring yourself with exercises your body is unable to cope with.
Source by June Yeap
