To jog or walk?

Should you walk or jog? The debate is never ending! Which one is better for you? Which one will help you lose weight faster? 

The fact remains that jogging does burn more calories than walking. But simply because of that fact, we tend to ignore walking as a great form of exercise. By placing more emphasis on jogging as a faster means to lose weight we are not doing justice to our bodies. What if we told you that walking is more than exercise? Walking is our birthright and we're not capitalizing on it as much as we should.

Advantage of jogging - It is a powerful weight loss tool, burns calories, makes you feel good (who's up for endorphins!), fights stress, helps relax your mind while your body takes over, the list is endless.

Advantage of brisk walking - Brisk walking is not very far behind, when it comes to calories burnt. In fact, a slow jog is pretty comparable to brisk walking. Brisk walking does not leave the exerciser prone to injuries, something that jogging can be known to do. Brisk walking fights inflammation and builds immunity.

Walking is one of the most natural movements that we can do. Some older, and very fit grand moms and grand dads out there will nod their heads in agreement when it comes to the fact that walking is one of the best forms of exercise as, just by walking every day for their whole lives, many of them have been able to stay in incredible shape.

Changes in physical shape - When jogging a good deal, you will be able to see weight loss from your entire body. Because of the movement, the whole of your upper body will become smaller through lots of jogging. On the other hand, after a session of really fast walking you will probably feel more strain on your hamstrings, thighs, and calves than jogging. It's true, walking leads to a pretty toned lower body.

Which one is better for fat loss - While both work your body in a similar way, jogging mostly helps in burning off excess calories. The weight loss will happen due to water weight, fat loss and some muscle mass as well. Walking on the other hand due to the constant toning and building of your legs and butt muscles, will have more weight loss from only fat loss than muscle mass.

In conclusion - Whether you walk or jog, it's important that you keep moving. When you stop moving and lead a very sedentary lifestyle, that's when you give your body the signal to shut down and eventually all the problems associated with a sedentary lifestyle start. And remember - to get any kind of cardiovascular benefits from walking or jogging, you need to walk briskly, or jog at a moderate speed. Moderate to vigorous momentum is key to all the benefits we just discussed. For added muscle tone, strength training is the answer.

5 Indoor workouts for the monsoon

Don't the weather 'rain on your parade', you can still stay fit in the wet season. Experts show how... 

So what if you can't get out for your regular run around the block due to the wet streets and rainy climes? There's no reason to let your workout regime slip. Apart from the aerobics and do-it-yourself hip-hop videos, there is a workout plan you can follow at home to keep fit. Exercise gurus get into indoor fitness mode...

1. Treadmill
Zareen Watson, trainer to Bollywood stars, says the simplest way to stay fit indoors is to go for a walk! "On a treadmill of course," she says. "You can do anywhere from 20 minutes to 45 minutes of walking. How you use the treadmill is dependent on your body history - if you have a bad knee or back it is not advisable to run. You may do a brisk walk at a speed you can safely maintain. You can also do a jogging workout, depending on your fitness level. What is very effective is if you do interval training, for instance, running for 2 minutes and then 2 ½ minutes of walking or 2 minutes of incline followed by 2 ½ minutes of walking on a flat surface. This sort of altering allows for a recovery period."


2. Stepper
"Any climbing exercise facilitates the muscles, warms you up faster and causes more calories to burn, generates more heat and thus a surge in the metabolic rate. Climbing also gives you more stamina and tones the legs. The Stepper and Elliptical Trainer (ET), works great as the legs are the largest muscle group," states fitness guru Mickey Mehta. There's a lot of variation one can try, like doing an alternate step, or hop-on, hop off. He adds, "As far as the Elliptical Trainer goes, it can give you almost 80% of a body workout and just half an hour on it is enough. It is a little better than a treadmill as you're using your arms, shoulder, chest, back, lower body and legs. You can do just legs also and sometimes exert force on the hand too."

3. Pumping iron 
Althea Shah of Gold's Gym talks of several indoor exercises on can do with weights. "Start after a warm-up. For the lower body do squats with dumbbells in your hands. Grab a chair and place it behind you. Standing in front of the chair with your feet shoulder width apart, then bend your knees and slowly squat towards the chair. Let your butt lightly touch the chair and slowly come back up. Do this 10-15 times, rest for a moment then repeat. You can also do lunges. For the Shoulder Press, hold the dumbbells to each side of the shoulders with elbows below wrists. Press dumbbells upward until arms are extended overhead. Lower to sides of shoulders and repeat. A Lateral Raise will have you hold dumbbells in front of thighs with elbows slightly bent. Then bend over with hips and knees bent slightly. Raise upper arms to sides until elbows are shoulder height. Maintain elbows' height above or equal to wrists. Lower and repeat. You can also do a Chest Press - lie flat on a bench, hold dumbbells directly above chest. Bend elbows slightly and maintain throughout the exercise. Open the arms to the sides. Elbows should remain 'locked' in a slightly flexed position. When upper arms are parallel to floor, return the weights to the starting position and repeat. This can be done on a flat bench or an inclined bench," she adds.

4. Aquatic workout 
If you like the water, it's time to get wet and happy with this one! Aqua specialist Deepali Jain says it's a great workout. "If you want to strengthen your core (your abs and back muscles), Aqualates works for you. The moment you lower yourself into the cool blue water, your work out begins. Millions of invisible fluid fingers reach out to knead and tone up the tiniest of muscles in your body you never knew existed, de-stressing them and rejuvenating you and the feel good factor is galore. When the depth of the water is waist deep the gravitational pull (gp) and buoyancy are working 50-50 % on your body. When you're chest deep, it is 25% gp and 75%b p, but when you're neck deep, then the gp is 0 percent and your workout becomes impact free.

The water being 13 times thicker than air, the calorie burn out rate goes up to 700 calories an hour, which is no mean feat, leading to weight loss, with no risk of injury due to the water cushioning you from all sides like a protective corset." And what are the exercises to do? "The specific exercises that are done against buoyancy give a fabulous overall tone to the body, giving you a lean mean healthy look. The only thing to remember is to do Aqualates under the supervision of a certified trainer," cautions Jain.

5. Swiss Ball 
Celebrity fitness trainer Deanne Pandey votes for the Swiss Ball. "It's also called the Balance Ball, Exercise or Pilates Ball.," she says. "The most important feature is that it is very good for functional moves and stability muscles. To explain, a Chest Fly on a bench may work only the pectoral muscles, but if done on a ball, it starts activating more than those muscles. And as you have to balance, the core starts getting stronger. You basically work multi-muscles which are very good for weight loss." The exercises done on the Swiss Ball are Wall Squats, Chest Fly and Press, Tricep Extensions and all Bicep Extensions. "A great exercise for the back is to lie on the ball till you feel a slight stretch on the spine. Hold this for a few minutes then relax, sit up and stretch. However, when using the ball one must be careful not to have any other equipment around, so you don't fall on it," she says.

3 rules to remember: 
- Wear the right gear: Sure, you're at home but you still need to wear your tracks and shoes, not slippers.
- Don't be distracted: Forget the phone and doorbell during your workout time.
- Be honest: Jot down what you have accomplished and don't cheat on it.

Blast off fat (way) faster

Tired of plugging away at the gym without seeing the pounds disappear? We found simple tricks that will transform your usual regimen into the ultimate fat-blasting routine. Whether you use just two of these strategies or all seven, our insider tips will help you get the calorie-burn you deserve.

1. Know this: “You’ll be able to comfortably work out longer and harder if you’re cool,” says Len Kravitz, PhD, coordinator of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. “Being too hot stresses your body out, so you don’t perform as well.” Translation: You burn less fat.
Do this: When exercising at home, put a fan in front of your workout area. Hitting the gym? Wait to use the treadmill that has a fan built into the console.

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2. Know this: “Wearing a heart-rate monitor makes it easier to burn more body fat by showing just how hard you’re really working,” Kravitz says. “Keeping your heart rate in the right zone prevents you from slacking off, so you make the most of every minute.”
Do this: Invest in a heart-rate monitor and wear it every time you exercise. We love Life Fitness’s new Dual Watch and Heart Rate Monitor ($60; at CVS stores nationwide). It’s simple to program and use. It doesn’t require an uncomfortable chest strap—just touch the face with your fingertips. And it comes in a variety of sizes too.

3. Know this: “Warming up for five minutes before each workout helps you lose more weight,” says Heather Dillinger, an IDEA Health and Fitness Association elite-level personal-fitness trainer. “It not only makes your muscles more pliable but also increases their range of motion, so you end up using more muscle fibers as you exercise.”
Do this: Choose a warm-up routine that hits all of your muscles, not just your legs. The easiest option: Do three to five minutes of low-intensity walking while pumping your arms back and forth.

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4. Know this: “Saving your energy for the end of your cardio workout may prevent you from losing as much weight as you can,” says metabolism expert Dixie Stanforth, of the department of kinesiology and health education at the University of Texas at Austin.
Do this: Instead of starting out slow and then finishing up strong, do your high-intensity cardio early in your workout. After doing your warm-up, try exercising at a high intensity for 15 minutes before slowing down to a more moderate pace for the last 15 minutes.

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5. Know this: “Two smaller workouts can be more effective than one,” Stanforth reveals. That’s because every time you do high-intensity exercise, your metabolism stays revved for an hour or more afterward. Splitting up your workout boosts your metabolism twice, giving you additional calorie-burning time from the exact same routine.
Do this: Divide your workout into two smaller, high-intensity sessions—preferably, doing one in the morning and one at night.

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6. Know this: If you’re convinced that you’re melting fat while exercising, you’ll make a mind-body connection that will actually help you lose fat faster, Dillinger explains. In a 2007 Harvard study, participants who believed they were getting a good workout showed greater reductions in body fat than subjects who performed the same activities but didn’t feel like they were really exercising.
Do this: The next time you do anything active, remind yourself every few minutes that you’re giving it your all. This little mental move may motivate you to push yourself harder, leading to even greater fat loss.

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7. Know this: “The less time you rest between sets when strength training, the more calories you’re likely to burn,” Dillinger notes. “Keeping rest periods short keeps your heart rate at a higher rate, which naturally increases the number of calories you’re using.”
Do this: The best rule of thumb is to take only a 30-second break between sets (meaning you’ll need a watch with a second hand).

Benefits of exercising

Increases haemoglobin

Regular exercise improves blood cholesterol levels and increases haemoglobin concentration in your blood. Haemoglobin is part of the red blood cell that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.

Improves quality of life

In older people, helps delay or prevent chronic illnesses and diseases, associated with aging and maintains quality of life and independence longer.

Keeps you fit

Increases your aerobic capacity (fitness level). This enables a "fit" person to have more energy at the end of the day and to get more accomplished during the day with less fatigue.

Enhances recreation Regular exercising enhances work, recreation, and sport performance. Therefore, every sports person is advised to do exercise regularly. Prevents back ache Regular exercise helps to prevent back pain by increasing muscle strength and endurance and improving flexibility and posture. Improves blood circulation Regular exercising helps reducing the risk of heart disease by improving blood circulation throughout the body and causes the development of new blood vessels in the heart and other muscles. Enlarges arteries Enlarges the arteries (blood vessels) that supply blood to the heart. Decreases blood clots Exercising decreases the tendency of the blood to clot in the blood vessels. It is important because small clots travelling in the blood are often the cause of heart attacks and strokes. Prevents high BP Prevents and manages high blood pressure. Protects against bone loss Increases muscle strength, giving greater capacity for other physical activities. Maintains, tones, and strengthens your muscle. Strengthens muscles Increases muscle strength, giving greater capacity for other physical activities. Maintains, tones, and strengthens your muscle. Helps relieve stress Helps manage stress and releases tension. Counters anxiety and depression and increases enthusiasm and optimism. Improves digestion Increases the efficiency of the digestive system, which may reduce the incidence of colon cancer. Makes your skin glow Increases the amount of blood that flows to the skin making it look and feel healthier. Makes you feel good Exercise, in addition to all the physiological and anatomical benefits, just makes you feel GREAT Boosts energy levels Boosts up energy level and improves sleep patterns Keeps weight under control Keeps weight under control by elevating your metabolism so that you burn more calories everyday. Reduces premature death risk Reduces the risk of premature death.