Summer Workouts: Not a Pain Anymore- Wanitha Ashok

Wanitha Ashok, Bangalore’s own fitness guru says, “Summer Workouts aren’t a pain anymore”. Here are 10 tips from the expert herself on staying fit during the summers.

Warm summer makes workouts dreadful and makes you skip the carbs and binge on ice creams and sugary juices or even skip meals. Lack of exercise and wrong food intake will lead to weight gain. While exercise gives us health benefits, eating right not only nutritious us it also helps boost metabolism and keeps disease at bay. Here are some quick reckoner for diet and fitness:

1. If you find exercising very tiring then chose to exercise either early in the morning or late in the evening.

2. Chose Indoor activities like Aerobics a capsule workout which caters all the 3 components ( cardio, strength and flexibility ) of fitness in a one hour session

3. A 40 minutes session of Aqua aerobics and swimming are the other options one can look at.

4. Spinning, RPM and power yoga are other good indoor cardio workouts.

5. If cardio exercises tires you out for the day then taper the session to 20 minutes and opt for weight training session as this boosts your metabolism even while you are resting.

6. Interval training in gym or even in the house will work well too. You can also do them on alternate days and still reap fitness and health benefits. Intersperse a cardio exercise with a weight training exercise. Chose cardio exercises like jog in place, walk in place ,high knee , brisk walk etc,, The strength exercises can be compound exercise like lunges ,squats ,push ups and other multi joint /multi muscle workouts as you will spend less time on workouts and also these kind of exercise burns more calories.

7. Stay hydrated throughout the day. Drink water, sugarless fruits juices, tender coconut, buttermilk etc., every 30 minutes. As staying hydrated is one of the ways control body weight and all systems in the body function at their peak potential.

8. When you have an urge to snack indulge in nonfat yogurt, salsa, fresh vegetables and fruits as these nutritious foods are good healthy food choices and it additionally boosts metabolism. Eat at least three to five servings of fruit and vegetables a day. Fruits like kiwi, figs, apples, pineapple, watermelon and sweet lime are high in fiber and nutrition and with vegetables such as broccoli, beets, cauliflower, carrots, spinach, chili peppers, red bell peppers, sweet potatoes and tomatoes are good choices.

9. Much as you don’t feel like eating do not skip meals as it slows down the metabolism.

10. Include healthy carbs and  protein at every meal along with a good serving of fruits and veggies. Avoid all sinful food like ice creams ,sugary drinks,aerated drinks ,junk food and fast food.Have in moderation if you have to.

To get more fitness tips from the author herself, please click here.