It is a given that exercise is important for any human being - be it a 9 year old or 90 year old. Exercise keeps our muscles going, and promotes cardiovascular health. And the good news is that you can choose from the kind of exercise you want - right from gym, home exercises, pilates, aerobics, zumba, running, walking etc, almost anything and everything is at your disposal. While cardio exercises (any exercise that makes your heart pump blood faster) are considered to be the benchmark for weight loss and overall health, not everyone likes doing cardio, or is unable to do it because of a health condition. For them, here is what they can do on a daily basis, and still burn calories....
Strength training exercises
If you don't like cardio, then you could mix it up with some strength training exercises for added benefit. Some options include:
Squats
Considered excellent for strength training, squats involve lowering your hips from a standing position and then standing back up. A fairly simple exercise, squats build strength and muscle in your lower body.
Lunges
The lunge is a full body resistance exercise that primarily works the leg muscles. At its core, the lunge targets the quadriceps and the hamstring muscles in the thigh, the gluteal muscles in the buttock, and also the lower leg muscles.
Push-ups
Push-ups strengthen your chest, shoulders, triceps, and core, and can be performed almost anywhere.
Burpees
The burpee, a squat thrust with an additional stand between repetitions, is a full body exercise used in strength training. The movement itself is primarily an anaerobic exercise, but when done in succession over a longer period can be utilized as an aerobic exercise.
Pull-ups
Pull-ups are a challenging upper-body strength exercise that primarily targets the back muscles, especially the latissimus dorsi (lats), but also engages the biceps, shoulders, and core.
Please note that all these exercises should be done under the supervision of a physical trainer only, especially if you are new to workout.
Here are some low impact exercises that you can do, while restricting your cardio to once or twice a week only:
Walking: Walking for around 45 minutes everyday can burn upto 400 calories provided you do it the correct way. Make sure you are taking a brisk walk, and are consistent with your speed. To burn even more fat, try walking on an inclined road for a couple of times.
Gardening: Not only is gardening a huge stress buster, but also a great exercise. Gardening, that includes pruning plants, sitting down and weeding, watering, lifting etc can burn upto 250-400 calories in one hour. Combine it with some walking in the garden as well.
Swimming: Great for overall fitness, swimming is a full body exercise that burns calories, and is also thoroughly enjoyable. The buoyancy of water reduces impact, making swimming an excellent low-impact cardio exercise.
