If you are looking to lose weight then the first natural step that comes to mind is exercising, right? What if we told you that exercise is not really helping you lose weight? Well, it is true. Exercise has several health benefits, but weight loss isn’t one of them. Don’t get us wrong here, we are not saying that it plays no part at all in weight loss. We are just saying that exercise is not the magic solution that you think it to be. In fact, it does very little when it comes to weight loss. The idea behind exercising to lose weight is that you burn off calories when you go for a jog or run a mile. But if you stop to think about it for a second how many calories are you actually burring? You burn 100 calories per mile. Your calorie intake with normal meals per day is 2000-2500. So, just to offset the calorie intake you will have to run at least 20 miles every day if you want to have a shot at losing weight through exercise alone.
Exercise has a lot of benefits for our overall health and can help us remain healthy and keep our body fit. There are several types of physical exercises that you can do in your home in the current situation with COVID-19 to avail the benefits that they have to offer:
1- Aerobic activity
This is proven to be very effective in dealing with short term depression. Any exercise that causes a significant increase in your heart rate is recommended to deal with any symptoms of depression that you might be experiencing because of the pandemic. All you have to do is find a video of aerobic exercises that you like on YouTube and follow along. You don’t need have to be a pro at aerobics just try to have some fun while doing it.
2- Short bursts of intense exercise
If you are looking for a reprieve from stress then this is what you want to do. 30-90 seconds of going all out. Do this once or twice daily and you will be able manage your stress better. Push-ups, squats, jumping jacks, sit-ups and mountain climbers are all great options that can help you achieve this.
3- Strength training
Now, we know that this might not be for everyone. Because you are going to need specialized equipment for this. This sort of exercise is particularly effective in dealing with anxiety. If you have some equipment such as dumb bells etc. then use them. If you don’t have any equipment, then you can always DIY. You can use household items instead of specialized equipment. Books, water bottles and canned goods are all things that you can use to exercise and get rid of your anxiety.
All of the above mentioned are benefits that you can avail by exercising but keep in mind that weight loss is not a benefit of exercise. Contrary to what you might have heard, losing weight through exercise alone is pretty much impossible.