A remedy for feast'ivity
Battle the bulge after the festive overload with these quick core building exercises.
Diwali festivities have come and gone, and like all festivities, you are bound to gain a few kilos. Sweets, drinks, food and an overload of evenings-out can take their toll on you. With all the festive madness surrounding calorific sweets and treats, the endless bingeing sessions, it’s time to get back to shedding that extra weight. These exercises are basic, but very effective. Who ever says that a short workout doesn’t show results, has not tried these quick fixes. All you need is 25 minutes a day, and you will really see all that extra weight reduce in no time.
These exercises have an added advantage when you include cardio such as jogging or running. When your body is pumped up after such a cardio routine, these exercises have a greater effect on your body, conditioning your muscles for better core strength resulting in faster weight loss.
Bridging
Apart from being an exercise that tones and strengthens the glutes, the bridge has an added advantage of reducing back and knee pain. These exercises engage the posterior chain, targets glutes and hamstrings evenly. 1) Lie flat on the ground and keep your hands by your sides. Bend your knees, and keep your feet on the ground. 2) Raise your mid-section off the ground, while keeping your hands and feet firmly planted on the ground. 3) As you form a bridge from your knees to your upper body off the ground, make sure you contract your abdominal muscles and gluts for a stronger impact. Hold the position for a few seconds and then gently lower your hips to touch the ground. 4) Do 12-15 repetitions of two sets each.
Squat Jump
This squat jump is an essential full body exercise that requires no equipment, it is the perfect way to get the heart pumping action along with the benefits of strengthening the legs and glutes. 1) Stand with the feet shoulder-width apart. 2) Squat down as if you are performing a normal squat. 3) Tighten you core, glutes and jump in the air explosively 4) On landing, lower your back into the squat position. Ensure that on landing, you keep your feet planted and knees bent, to avoid injury to the knees 5) Do 15-18 repetitions of two sets each.
Bicycle Twist
The Bicycle Twist is ranked as one of the most effective abdominal workouts. It is an advance variation of the basic ab crunch which results in toning both the abdominals and obliques. 1) Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground, and contract your core muscles. 2) With your hands gently holding your head, lift your knees to a 45-degree angle. 3) Slowly, at first, go through a bicycle pedal motion. While planting your shoulder and hips to the floor 4) Continue with this pedaling motion 12-15 on each side for two sets.
Verticle leg Crunch
This is one of the most effective ab exercises to build a stronger core. An isolation exercise that works on all muscles in the abdominals — in the upper and lower section. 1) Lie flat on the floor with the lower back pressed to the ground. 2) Place your hands behind the head. Extend legs straight up, crossed at the ankles with a slight bend in the knee. You can use a wall for support. 3) Contract abdominal muscles by lifting torso toward knees. Make sure to keep chin off your chest with each contraction. 4) Exhale as you contract upward; inhale as you return to the starting position. Beginners can use a wall to support your legs vertically. 5) Do 10-12 crunch repetitions of two sets each.
Plie Squat jump
Taking its inspiration from ballet, this exercise might look simple but has a rather powerful impact on your butt and thighs. After several sets, you will feel the burn in your quads, inner thighs and glutes which further extends to your abs. If you are breezing through the basic exercise, bring weights into the variation. 1) Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, toes pointed out. Lower into a deep plie squat with hands clasped in front of chest. 2) Jump as high as you can, tapping heels together in midair. 3) Land with knees soft in a plie squat position. 4) Repeat for 45 seconds.