As the world slowly goes back to normalcy after the worldwide lockdown, women have to go back to their regular schedule of work and keeping house. However, it is crucial for these working women to be healthy, working out and staying fit with regular exercising. It is easy to make up excuses to not exercise, since jobs and work-life take up a predominant amount of time in a day, followed by keeping house; but it is imperative now, more than ever, o pursue a lifestyle that help keep women fit and healthy as they get back to their normal scheduled lives. I read somewhere that, “Busy women should be healthy women” and this is absolutely true. Women are role models in their households, and as such, their lives should be well rounded: hey should work hard, play hard and exercise hard too.
Boosting the immune system: The foremost step to living a good, healthy and long life is having a good immune system. What we put into our body is directly related to how we live our lives. The good food we ingest will enable us to stay strong, and live longer. Fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins and antioxidants and super foods like Kalo Jeera (black cumin seeds), honey and raw turmeric are the kinds of food our diet should consist of so that we can boost our immunity. This will enable us to stay healthy and not get sick often; and this s more important now than ever before. Since COVID19 is here to stay, we need to manage our lives around it. The best way to do that, is to prepare our bodies and arm it with good healthy immune boosting food so that we are able to sustain even when we are unwell.
“If you want to fulfill your dreams, you must face barriers. And if you are a female, then the barriers might even be doubled if not more. As we all know, our society, as well as our families, don’t allow females to do everything that man can do. Woman are not allowed to stay outside the entire night, they are not allowed to travel alone, sometimes they are not even allowed to do a job. I also faced a lot of barriers as my profession is traveling. But to overcome all the barriers with confidence is what we need to do. I believe the inner motivation and will power of a woman can take her places,” she pointed out.
“My biggest inspiration is people’s appreciation for my work. Appreciation always motivates and inspires me to do things with full energy. Also, I respect my critics, as I get to know my faults through them and have opportunity to re-correct them.”
Last but not the least, her message to the women: A short message from me to the woman in this society is that never be dependent on others, never allow others to take your decisions. It’s your life, live it fully by yourself. Aspire to reach your goals and your dreams will thrive. And it’s only possible when you are financially solvent.”
Exercises upon waking up in the morning: We all need time to get ready when we wake up in the morning, and taking a little extra time to feel even better and stronger while we are getting ready for the whole day’s work, is advised. Taking a little more time to stretch, breathe deeply or even walking on the roof is helpful to start a good, busy day. It releases the good chemicals in the body that gets it ready for a busy day ahead. This is a habit all working women should get into, it does not take long and the advantages are limitless.
10 minute workout to boost metabolism: Strong or high metabolism is very important for the body. The faster the rate at which the body burns the food that one ingests into energy, is better for maintaining a good healthy lifestyle. This ability, to burn ingested food immediately, is not innately present in all women’s bodies, due to age, lifestyle and predisposition. So it is very important to make sure that one strives to boost one’s metabolism as much as possible. By doing so, the fat turns into energy faster, than staying in the body longer and being deposited into unwanted areas of a woman’s body, like in the arms, face, tummy, thighs or buttocks. Exercising does not always mean working out for an hour, it can be simple and over in 10 minutes. Some quick cardio such as Jumping jacks, Skipping (with or without ropes), Spot jogging (if one does not have the space in the house) or actual jogging, be it on the roof or one’s garden or in the neighbourhood park, along with some Squats and Lunges are very good examples of workouts that target and boost the metabolism.
Fat burning and toning exercises HIIT: high intensity interval training is ideal for working women who just do not have enough time in a day for all the responsibilities at home and at work. It does not take long at all, but gets the work done as effectively as an hour’s worth of working out at the gym or with a trainer. Exercises such as Planks to strengthen the core, knee assisted pushups to strengthen the upper body, and circuit training (a combination of exercises like crunches, squats and jumping jacks in a circuit and on repeat, as in sets of 2s or 3s that address all the body parts) is highly effective. It works out all parts of the body and will leave a working woman sweating intensely in a matter of minutes. These high intensity interval training are very good for burning fat and toning the body all at the same time.
Lean and strong body workout: A working woman knows how much energy she needs to get through her day. She needs enough strength and energy to get through all her responsibilities at her workplace as well as at her home. For this, she needs a lean and a strong body that is able and will get her through her days. Aerobics is very good for an entire body workout, from head to toe. If she spends at least 3 times a week doing aerobics or pilates she will burn her fat and make her body lean and strengthen her body at the same time. Weight training is also an effective way to make the body strong and lean, which can be incorporated into their aerobics routine with dumbbells. It can be done without dumbbells as well and at the workplace, with filled up water bottles. Two: 1 litre or � litre filled up water bottles on each hand can also be used as weight and can be as effective. This way, one can get a good workout just by sitting at one’s work desk. Instead of taking a tea break, a working woman can do some free hand training with the water bottles for the hands and arms and get the good chemicals flowing, instead of filling up on caffeine for the tenth time in a day. This is a good utilitarian break while being at work!
Do-anywhere workout: Some weeks it is just not possible to take extra time out for workouts or even walks on the roof. However, it is a myth that one needs to invest in machines and gyms to get a good, productive and effective workout. It is possible to get some exercise anywhere at any time. One needs to be conscious and have the will to do it. For example, taking the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator whenever and wherever possible. This is a very good habit to build and have. It firms the body, accentuates a woman’s curves in all the right places and makes one strong by building stamina and capacity. Working women can even be sitting in their office rooms or cubicles and get a good workout. Like I have said before, two filled up water bottles can be used as weights and give one a good arm workout while they are simply sitting in their chairs. One can also use the chair as a tool for some exercises. Chair assisted squats are also effective workouts that sound simple and easy, but are actually quite challenging and definitely effective. These conscious decisions are a better and more proactive way of utilising one’s 10 minute caffeine break. Sometimes a few free hand kicks and throws or 5 minute rope free jumps can really get the blood going, and get the mind thinking as well. If one is feeling less creative or blocked at work, this is a good way to redirect the mind and the body which results in productivity.
Evening workout: The best gift a working woman can give to herself to end her day and prepare for the next, is a good workout after the end of her day’s responsibilities. This can be catered to however long she can dedicate to herself, so anywhere between 10 minutes to 1 hour will go a long way and be helpful. It can also be designed any way she wants: walking on the roof or in the park along with some aerobics and circuit training, or simply putting on a workout video online, or some yoga etc. A lot of trainers now including myself, due to the pandemic, are hosting online classes and are available at versatile and flexible hours. So one can always sign up for some classes and have a professional help her out, on a one-on-one basis and help wind down her day and stay fit. This will release good chemicals that the body needs to heal and rejuvenate during the night and not to mention a restful, good sleep as well, to get a working woman’s body ready for the challenges and responsibilities of the next day.
