Your best fit

Published On: June 23, 2017 01:20 PM NPT

With people getting really enthusiastic about fitness, we get to hear of so many different forms of workouts that it often leaves us confused as to what to try and what will work best for us. If you are one of those people then don’t fret. There are some tried and tested exercises that work for everyone. The Week spoke to Sumnima Pandey, instructor at Dance Fever (Rhythm of Soul), Maitidevi, Kathmandu, to find out more about these basic exercise forms and how they can help you stay on the right fitness path.

Dance for fitness

One of the fun ways to stay fit, dancing is for people who are looking for a way to let loose and have fun than for people who are looking to lose weight. “If you are going through a tough time at work, or are really stressed, you should consider joining a dance class,” says Pandey. When you dance, the focus isn’t on trimming the fat, it’s on improving your flexibility. When your flexibility improves, your muscles heal from tears faster and you are less likely to become injured when you fall. Pandey teaches contemporary dance at Dance Fever and a lot of people, between the ages of 23 to 32, attend the class and they all seem to love it.

“Dancing gives you a freedom other forms of exercises don’t. You can practice a step and even give your own twist to some moves, making it entirely yours even though everyone else in the room is doing a variation of it,” she reveals. An hour of dance class will help you burn about 125 calories. While doing other kinds of exercises, people listen to an upbeat track and keep pushing themselves throughout the song. When you are dancing, there are a lot of changes in the pace of the music and the amount of strain it takes to keep up with the rhythm keeps changing. It is up to you to either be energetic and keep up or slack off, and that provides a challenge for you.

Sweat it out with Zumba

An hour long, intense dance exercise, you should only take up Zumba if you are 16 years and above. “The long and vigorous exercises aren’t meant for children, and the license to practice children’s Zumba hasn’t been given to anyone in the country yet,” she reveals. The exercise helps burn around 600 to 700 calories every session and people from ages 16 to 40 and above come for these classes. Depending on your weight, you can come for classes twice a week or every alternate day. In case of those who are quite fit already, and are just looking for some cardio exercises only, eating clean and exercising two times a week is enough to keep you healthy.

However, if you are looking forward to significant weight loss, you can opt to go for Zumba class every alternate day. “You can go for classes everyday as well if you wish, but remember that you need to rest and let your body recover as well. If you plan on doing everyday exercises, do it during the weekdays and take the weekend off,” she says. The fact that it is challenging but you are essentially just dancing is what attracts a lot of people to this form of exercise and also why it has gained so much popularity in the recent times.

Zumba helps define your muscles and has high step count and simple steps that have maximum impact on your body. It is considered the best workout method for people who hate exercising, and its marketing slogan “Ditch the workout – join the party” has really appealed to people who hate working out.

The basic cardio

Aerobics is one of the best exercises out there, especially if you are looking to work out from home. For someone who is just looking to be fit and not seeking to lose weight, 30 minutes of moderate exercise is enough. Moderate level exercises are those that just let you keep up with a conversation as you are exercising. If you are looking to lose weight, it is important to know and maintain your target heart rate. This falls within the limit of what your heart can handle during cardio exercises. One of the simpler methods to get an estimate for yourself is by subtracting your age from 220 and then multiplying it by 0.70 (70 percent).

“Include warm up and cool down sessions and remember that you also need to keep yourself hydrated throughout the day,” she says. She also adds that if you want to continue working out at home, and not slack off, you should enlist a partner to do it with who will keep you in check. It can be your mother, spouse or kids. This will also help determine the intensity of your workout by having someone to converse with throughout the duration of the exercise.

You also have to remember that exercising and eating fast food or junk food on a regular basis won’t help you lose weight. For the first six months or so, especially if your end goal is to lose weight, you should try to have as clean a diet as possible. Make sure you drink enough water to rehydrate yourself throughout the day, so that your metabolism rate stays at an all time high.