The quest for fitness begins with an active routine. The more you move the healthy you are. Brisk walking, taking the stairs regularly, and adventurous activities in a regular interval do the best for your body. But, at one point, you feel like pushing your limits and start with High-intensity interval training commonly referred as HIIT.
However, preparing your body for HIIT is just as important as actually doing the workout. Here we have got 5 at-home exercises to get your body sculpt. You can also see these as preparatory exercises for high-intensity workout.
1. Thoracic rotation
Start with thoracic rotation to do warm up. Bent on your knees with one arm on the ground and the other hand at the back of your head. Rotate your body in one direction with arms going upward. Get back to the original position and repeat the step few more times.
2. Walk-out-push-up
This exercise targets multiple muscles in one go. It also increases the heart rate and prepares you for the tough fitness session ahead. This exercise involves leg muscles, hips, arms, wrist, and spinal column and thus is effective in overall body stretching.
3. Squat exercise
The next step to fitness is squat exercise. While doing this exercise, you need to get in a pose where you look like sitting on a chair. Start with contracting your abs and then descending till the knees come in line with the hips. Keep your arms straight during this upward and downward body movement.
4. Plank pose
Inspired by one of the Yoga Asanas, this exercise allows you to stretch your muscles by putting your body weight on elbows and feet. The exercise aims at increasing blood circulation in major body organs to keep you fit from inside.
5. Hip raise on single leg
To get back the natural alignment of your pelvis and to strengthen your hip muscles, this exercise is a must-have. The steps include lying straight on the back with knees bent and then raising one of the legs by keeping it straight and also one of the hip muscles.
Things to remember
All said and done, fitness is not the result of short-term activity. One step at a time gradually can make your fitness routine easy and you are more likely to stick to it. A perfect figure/physique can be achieved if you:
- Start slowly and gradually build up. Because exercises can be monotonous and starting slow will not intimidate your body and you are less likely to quit a routine.
- Aim for dedicating 30 minutes to these exercises. If 30 minutes at a stretch look difficult, consider breaking it into 10 minutes 3 times a day until you can manage 30 minutes in one go.
- Add Variety to these exercise, consider adding yoga, walking, swimming to these routines. Adding variety keeps workout interesting and you are less likely to quit from fitness regime.
- Eat 4-5 small meals instead of 3 large ones every day. According to many studies eating small meals frequently helps you boost metabolism which in turn burns more calories.
- Drink plenty of water. Staying hydrated makes our body function efficiently because it helps the heart to maintain a good blood flow through blood vessels and optimum blood supply helps the muscles to work more efficiently.