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Lonely Workout

Mala Bhargava Nov 08, 2014

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[When you can't find the time to make it to the gym or go out for a long walk in this heat, grabbing a bit of exercise when you can is a good alternative. A good session of Pilates, a yoga routine, a round of calisthenics — any of these will keep you in good shape. But, exercising on your own steam has a few dangers. Listen To Your Body One problem with plugging into music or being otherwise distracted while exercising is that you may not be listening to your body enough. Always be instinctively aware of your movement and its effect and impact. If you have known vulnerabilities and weak points, keep a special eye out for those, but in either case, stay specially aware of your back (learn how to bend with flat-back moves), knees, neck, and hamstrings. Stretch if you feel soreness – and stop if you sense unusual pain. But don't miss the signs from lack of listening. Never Skip Warm-up No matter what flavour of exercise you embark on, don't do yourself the disfavour of glossing over or outright omitting the warm-up. It's the easiest way to open yourself up to injury. You can make it more enjoyable by turning up some catchy music and walking in place, moving with light steps where you don't lift your feet too high and picking up the pace after two minutes. Add some arms to take the heart rate up a notch. Slow down again and do a few aerobics-style kicks. Ease into some basic stretches to prepare your hamstrings, back, and core to get the blood flowing. Breathe Easy During exertion and focus, one often tends to hold one's breath in without being aware of the fact. With yoga, a breathing pattern is part of the asanas. Time is set aside to learn diaphragm breathing and pranayamas. But breathing in tandem with movements is important with all exercises, though it differs from one type to another. The Internet can help you find which breathing pattern to use while working with your chosen style of exercise. Don't Get Into The Proving Trap Whether anyone's watching or not, everyone goes straight into proving mode as we try to see how far we can reach, how big  a weight we can move, how fast we can go, and how long we can keep at it. If there has been a gap of no exercise, you're treading on dangerous ground. You may injure yourself and not even realise at that time, later wondering why it is you have that sharp pain in the back or what caused the nagging pain in your knee. You can reactivate old injuries as well. The key is easing into exercise, not barging into it with bravado. <table style="width: 450px;" border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td><img src="/businessworld/system/files/images/May_12/exercises_450x140.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 5px;" height="140" width="450"></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Graphic By Sajeev Kumarapuram</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Know When To Cool It A cool-down is as important as a warm-up, and more tempting to skip, because by the end of an exercise session, you probably can't be bothered with it and just want to quit. It does depend on the kind of exercise you did, though. Yoga may not need a cool-down – unless you did several fast-paced rounds of sun salutation cycles – and usually involves routines that wind down to breathing exercises. To go from intensely active cardio-aerobic exercise like jogging or a game of tennis straight to collapse-on-couch is inadvisable. Slow the moves down, bring the heart rate back to normal, and end with some stretches. (This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 07-05-2012)

Mala Bhargava

BW Reporters Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.