The Best Exercise Equipment for Your Home Workout

/in , , , /by

When it comes to exercising at home, the key to a successful workout is the quality of the exercise equipment you’re using – not the quantity.

At the beginning of a new fitness regime or lifestyle change, it’s very easy to get a bit carried away and fill up the spare room at home with as many pieces of equipment that you can fit in.

However, before you go and purchase a brand-new rowing machine online to go with your new exercise bike, do your research, namely what are you trying to achieve with your fitness.

Your personal and fitness goals will determine which pieces of equipment are the most appropriate and relevant for your workout sessions at home.

However, there are some staple pieces of equipment that will benefit your fitness at home irrespective of what your individual goals are.

1. Adjustable Dumbbells: Dumbbells are perfect for toning and strengthening your chest, shoulders and triceps. Through investing in adjustable pair of dumbbells as opposed to five different sets of varying weights, you can not only save space but you will be able to physically see the progress of your workout as you increase the weights on your dumbbells.

2. Skipping Rope: If burning 10 to 16 calories a minute sounds appealing, then grab yourself a good quality jump rope to add to your fitness equipment. Jumping rope also improves cardiovascular activity and bone density which is even more reason to incorporate this into your home fitness routine. The best thing about a skipping rope, is that it takes up hardly any room!

3. Yoga Mat: Don’t skimp on comfort if you’re working out at home and allow yourself a bit of luxury for any floor work. Ensure your yoga mat is non-slip, even if you intend to do some workouts on carpet or grass outdoors. Purchasing a high quality non-slip yoga mat will be more versatile in use and you find you will use it more if you don’t have the slippage issue to worry about.

4. Resistance Bands: Another fantastic and compact addition to your home workout equipment collection are resistance bands. Resistance bands help to strengthen and build muscles with a huge variety of exercises available that you can find online or discuss with your personal trainer.

5. Fit/Swiss Ball: This is the ‘largest’ piece of equipment that should find it’s way into your home but with so many options available on how you can use your fit ball, it’s versatility in use for exercise will pay off in no time. Establishing a structured mini-work out around your fit ball will improve core strength and stability and is a low impact way to train with focus on one of the most important elements of working out – stretching.

Do you want to learn more about creating an eating plan or an exercise routine that will boost your results? Let’s get started towards your fitness goals. Chad of the OneBody Wellness and Transformation team specialises in female body toning and weight loss success and would be more than happy to talk to you about your personalised home workout plan. Click here to know more.

fitness dumbbell

The Top 5 Free Fitness Apps

/in , , , /by

No matter how determined we are, sometimes we need a little bit of extra help when it comes to our
fitness.

One of the best motivators for fitness is tracking and seeing actual progress which is where Fitness Apps
come in extremely handy!

We have sourced the top 5 fitness apps which help keep things on track and fun at the same time:

Sworkit: 25 million users can’t be wrong and that’s why Sworkit is on the list as one of the best apps to
help with fitness, no matter what your fitness level or experience. With an extensive library and
collaboration of video workouts that range from 5-15 minutes in length, Sworkit allows users to exercise
when they want and where they want.

Jefit: This is a complete workout training platform where you can create personalized workout routines,
record your training logs and analyze your workout data to help you understand your progress and work
towards improving your overall fitness. These include programs that can be tailored for gym workouts
with programs for fitness machines, weights and cardio workouts.

Pocket Yoga: Fitness doesn’t just have to be kept to running and cardio, yoga is one of the most
effective forms of exercise in regards to stretching, breathing techniques and overall emotional well-
being. You can choose from a range of levels starting from beginner through to advanced and the app
allows you the flexibility in selecting your own style of yoga exercises, all from the convenience of your
pocket!

Strava: Strava is Swedish for ‘strive’ and is also a great app for those who are a bit more on the
competitive side but also enjoy the challenge and comradery of ‘training’ with others. You can record
your activity and results where it will then appear on your Strava feed and can be seen by others in the
network. It’s a fantastic platform for athletes, professional or amateur, who thrive on training within a
community which can share fitness tips, compare results and offer encouragement.

Runkeeper: Boasting the promise that Runkeeper is a ‘top running app and a community that helps
people get out the door and stick with running’, this fitness app is extremely user friendly with it’s
functions to track your training and generally keeping its users motivated. Not just for runners, this can
be used for walking, hiking – any activity that keeps you moving.

Do you want to learn more about creating an eating plan or an exercise routine that will boost your energy, muscle and tone while losing weight? Let’s get started towards your fitness goals. Chad of the OneBody Wellness and Transformation team specialises in female weight loss success and would be more than happy to talk to you about your personalised wellness and fitness plan. Click here to know more.

fitness dumbbell

Exercise and Mental Health

/in , , /by

Exercise and Mental Health

We’ve all heard the saying ‘A healthy body makes a healthy mind’ well guess what – it’s true. Exercise
has been proven to be as affective as improving our mental health as it is improving our physical health
and there are number of reasons why the two are so closely related and rely so heavily on each other.
Here’s why keeping your body in shape as just as important for keeping your mental health in check:

  • Exercising changes the brain – in a good way. Exercising helps with neural growth and reduces
    inflammation.
  • Exercising releases endorphins which make you feel happy.
  • Exercising relieves stress and tension.
  • Physical activity boosts the brain’s serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine levels.
  • Exercising improves motivation, memory and concentration.
  • Exercising can help fight insomnia

Next time you’re working out you can have the double sense of achievement that you’re working out
your body as well as your mind.

Do you want to learn more about creating an eating plan or an exercise routine that will boost your mood? Let’s get started towards your fitness goals. Chad of the OneBody Wellness and Transformation team specialises in female weight loss success and would be more than happy to talk to you about your personalised wellness and fitness plan. Click here to know more.