What emotions does your reflection in the mirror evoke in you? Delight and a satisfied smile? "Well, mother, it would not hurt you to lose at least five kilos! Otherwise, you can forget about your favorite jeans . . . "? Or "But once there were press cubes here . . . "?
Many people dream of losing weight quickly and preferably without much effort. Not everyone has the time and opportunity to visit a fitness club regularly. And someone is simply embarrassed to demonstrate their imperfect shape, afraid of sympathetic looks or ridicule behind their backs. If all this is about you, arrange a gym at home!
And we will simplify your task - we will offer the most effective exercises for the most popular problem areas and give some useful tips.
Small steps to ideal weight
The human brain is lazy and cautious. As soon as he suspects that hard physical labor is coming (even in the form of an intense fight against excess weight), he immediately uses all possible means to evade responsibility and save resources for more important, in his opinion, tasks. That is why we so often lack the perseverance and motivation to achieve the desired results. You can fight it! Kaizen will help - a simple and effective technique that was invented by the wise Japanese. It is actively used in business - for the continuous improvement of production and management processes. In life, this technique helps to painlessly leave the comfort zone and move towards the goal without fear of obstacles.
Its essence is simple: global goals need to be divided into subgoals, and them into tasks. This gradual progression avoids resistance and burnout.
So our goal is to lose weight. To do this, you need to take several steps:
Get your day in order. For a normal metabolism, including intensive fat burning, the body needs proper rest.
Analyze your diet. Remove harmful things, without which it is quite possible to do without, for example, fast food, all kinds of buns and lemonades. Think of tasty and healthy foods that saturate well and are not deposited in the form of unpresentable folds on the sides and stomach.
Establish a drinking regimen. Without enough pure non-carbonated water, excess weight will remain with you.
Conduct self-education: read on the Internet (or any other sources) about how the body works, how it gets rid of fat reserves and grows muscles. Imagine all this.
Get a sports uniform - something in which it will be comfortable and pleasant for you to work on yourself, improve your body, which will protect you from accidental injuries.
Decide on a training schedule. The optimal number of classes is 3-4 times a week.
Test different exercises and choose those that do not cause much resistance (which means there will be no reason to take a break from training).
Men and women lose weight differently
We all remember that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. And this difference is not the only one.
The body of a woman is designed to bear a child. Therefore, beautiful ladies accumulate fat much easier, sadly. The task of a man is to catch a (conditional) mammoth in order to feed his family. Therefore, his body is much more willing to part with fat and build muscle more easily. This point is very important to consider when planning training and diet.
Another factor influencing the effectiveness of the fight against extra pounds is age.
At the age of 18-30, it is easier to lose weight than after 30-35 years. First, metabolism slows down over time. Secondly, priorities change: a family appears, after leaving the decree, a woman with many times increased zeal gets involved in work, which often turns out to be sedentary, office work. There are bad habits that contribute to "hoarding".
After 40 years, experts recommend that ladies include in their training program not only cardio, but also strength exercises - they help strengthen muscles, create a corset that will support the body at a more mature age.
Men are more hardy, resistant to stress. Therefore, training can be more intense.
Effective exercises for weight loss at home
Even if you really want to lose weight, you should not test your body with excessive stress - quickly dropped pounds tend to quickly return as well. And in even greater numbers. Therefore, in any undertaking, moderation is important. You don't have to work hard every day! The best option is to exercise 3-4 times a week, giving the body 1-2 days to rest and recover.
The best way to burn fat is aerobic exercise or the so-called cardio training (running in place, raising your knees or overlapping your lower leg, jumping, jumping out). In order not to turn into a deflated balloon, tighten the skin, restore elasticity, cardio loads should be alternated with power - anaerobic (frequent low jumps with a rope, work with a barbell or dumbbells, a bicycle). In total, ideally, during the week you should get 2 strength training and 1-2 cardio.
What exercises are effective for losing weight at home? These can be basic exercises that involve the main muscle groups, as well as the study of problem areas.
Push ups. Take emphasis lying down. Straighten your arms at the elbows, put at an angle of 90oto the floor. Perform push-ups without bending in the back and without sticking out the fifth point. If the full version of the exercise - with straightened legs - does not work, you can do push-ups from the sofa or with emphasis on your knees. 1 approach - 15-20 push-ups.
Pull-ups. This will require a horizontal bar. Hands need to be spread to a comfortable distance and smoothly, without jerking, tighten the body. The chin should rise above the bar. An alternative would be to simply hang on the bar.
Bending arms with dumbbells. The exercise can be done standing or sitting. Take dumbbells (or one dumbbell) in your hands, bending your elbows, bring the sports equipment to your shoulders, return your hands to their original position.
Clenching hands. Bending your elbows, bring your palms together in front of your chest. Fingers point up. With maximum effort, squeeze your palms and linger for a couple of minutes in this position. Unclench your palms, relax your hands. Repeat exercise.
burpee. A popular, rather complex and effective exercise that involves all muscle groups - shoulders, chest, back, abdomen, buttocks, legs. Starting position - standing, feet shoulder-width apart, arms lowered along the body. Squat deeply, in a half-jump go to the plank position, push out once, half-jump back into a squat and jump up, trying to reach the ceiling with your hands. The exercise is performed several times in a row. Lightweight version - no push-ups.
plank. Simple, at first glance, the exercise allows you to work out all muscle groups. It is important to do it correctly. Take an emphasis lying down, bend your arms at the elbows to get an emphasis on the forearms. Straighten your legs, stretch back, resting your socks on the floor. Do not bend in the back, do not stick out the pelvis - keep the bar. Remain in this position from 15-20 seconds to 1-2 minutes (depending on physical fitness).
Lunges. They help to properly work out the muscles of the inner and front surface of the thigh, buttocks. Stand up straight, pick up your stomach, bring your shoulder blades together, put your feet shoulder-width apart. Step forward, bend the front leg at a right angle (the knee should not go beyond the toe), put the back leg on the back of the toe. Keep your back straight, do not stoop or bend. Return to starting position. Repeat the same with the other leg. Do a couple of sets of 15 reps.
Pendulum. The exercise involves the oblique muscles of the abdomen, back, buttocks, hips. Starting position - lying on your back, the abdominal muscles are tense. Raise your legs to a right angle relative to the floor. Extend your arms to the sides. As you inhale, lower your legs to the left, touch the floor. On exhalation, return to the starting position. Repeat the same to the right.
Twisting. The abdominal muscles work. Starting position - lying on your back. Put your hands behind your head and clasp them in the lock. Pull your legs towards you. Feet can be fixed under some kind of support or ask someone to hold. Raise the body to the knees, then return to the starting position. Do 2-3 sets of 15-20 reps.
Plie squat. The classical exercise was borrowed from ballet dancers. The buttocks and inner thigh are actively involved in the exercise. Spread your legs wide, turn your toes outward. Keep your back straight. On an inhale, slowly lower yourself down. The thighs should be parallel to the floor. Hold for a couple of seconds at the bottom. At the exit, return to the starting position. Perform 4 sets of 10-15 reps.
The so-called high-intensity interval training helps to quickly utilize excess calories - when 5-6 different exercises are performed in a circle, each of which involves a specific muscle group. An example of such a complex is tabata. The circle may include regular squats, plie squats, push-ups, a plank with knees pulled to the stomach, etc. Exercises are performed at a fast pace - for 20-60 seconds, followed by a break of 10-40 seconds. The shorter the pause, the higher the intensity of the workout. Between circles - a break of 1-1. 5 minutes.
Sports equipment - do you need it?
On the one hand, you can exercise at home without exercise equipment and other devices - your weight will be quite enough to create the necessary load.
On the other hand, sports equipment will add variety to your workouts and help you work out specific muscle groups better and increase efficiency. How best is up to you. We only suggest to take into account:
Dumbbells. They help pump biceps and triceps, serve as a burden when performing lunges, squats. For women, dumbbells weighing 2-3 kg will be enough, for men heavier - from 5 kg. Over time, the body adapts, and the weight needs to be increased.
Expander or fitness band(and it is better to immediately set with a different level of resistance). Diversify and complicate squats, bridges, swings, leg raises, etc.
Fitball. Helps to reduce the load when there are contraindications.
jump rope. By changing the pace of jumps, you can adjust the load and energy consumption.
press roller. It is lightweight, compact, suitable for both men and women. Helps to pump the press, tighten the stomach and reduce the waist.
The main thing is not to harm!
So that the pursuit of excellence does not lead to the collapse of all hopes and does not cause serious injuries, you should adhere to the following elementary rules:
Any workout starts with a warm-up. Especially if you are a beginner athlete. Just 5-10 minutes - and your muscles and joints are warmed up, set up for training.
Between sets, pause, but do not delay them - 30 seconds will be enough to take a breath.
While resting, drink small sips of water, especially if it's a cardio workout.
If your goal is to remove the stomach, you do not need to endlessly pump the press and work out the sides. This is tiring and quickly boring, which means that training can end as soon as it starts. Not to mention the fact that we do not lose weight locally. The training program should include strength and cardio elements, exercises for all muscle groups, including problem ones.
No need to self-torture! Training should bring pleasure, not suffering.
For exercise to have an effect, you need to combine physical activity with a calorie deficit.
Are you a beginner who is just starting on the path of self-improvement and needs support? Seek help from a professional trainer. He will help to draw up a training program, control the correctness of the exercises, adjust the diet. Or take a fitness course. Then you can help yourself and others.