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.
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.
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.
— The writer Manish Jaswal is the director of Spa. The exercises have been performed by Shalini MS, a fitness instructor.
