NO EXCUSES FOR NOT BEING HEALTHY

Getting In Shape: 10 Workout Techniques For Everyone

Image: Scott Webb

If you want to stay healthy, getting in a reasonably decent shape is not a thing you can simply choose to do or not do. It’s a must. The good news is that, according to each goal, different workout methods have varying degrees of intensity. And there is a workout for everybody, no matter how fit or unfit you are.

Read on and find out about some famous and lesser-known techniques that help millions of people every day to achieve a healthier lifestyle and be in a better physical condition overall.

Image: Victor Freitas

Let’s start with one of the most obvious ones —and there is good reason for that. Strength training is a key component of overall health and fitness for everyone. It helps reduce body fat, increase lean muscle mass, and burn calories more efficiently.

Lean muscle mass naturally diminishes with age. Strength training can help you preserve and build up your muscle mass at any age. It enables you to develop strong bones, manage your weight, enhance your quality of life, manage chronic conditions, and even sharpen your thinking skills.

Image: Elena Kloppenburg

Pilates is one of those exercise methods that gained traction a few years ago. However, it was developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century, mostly as a method of injury recovery for dancers. Some of the principles that guide the Pilates method include concentration on each movement, use of the abdomen and lower back muscles, flowing, precise movement patterns, and controlled breathing.

Pilates routines can be performed on specially designed apparatuses, including a bed-like structure called a reformer, or more simply on a mat or blanket. Its main benefits include pain relief, core strength, posture, flexibility, balance and coordination, body awareness, breath control, and mental well-being. Not bad, right?

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As the name implies, functional training is an exercise that looks like movements you make in your daily life. Functional movements use large groups of muscles working together across your body. Picking up a heavy object, swinging a baseball bat, or carrying groceries are real-world situations that functional training helps improve.

For example, a senior individual might practice bodyweight squats to improve his ability to stand up from a chair. These everyday activities can get easier when you train for them. Functional training’s benefits also include balance and coordination, making different parts of your body move together smoothly, and is very helpful for older adults to prevent falling and related injuries.

Image: Monica Leonardi

You’ve probably seen this one in parks. Tai chi is a practice involving a series of slow gentle movements and physical postures, a meditative state of mind, and controlled breathing. Tai chi originated as an ancient martial art in China. Over the years, it has become more focused on health promotion and rehabilitation.

In this low-impact, slow-motion exercise, you go without pausing through a series of gestures named for animal actions or martial arts moves. The movements are usually circular and never forced, the muscles are relaxed, the joints are not fully extended or bent, and connective tissues are not stretched. Tai chi can be easily adapted for anyone, from the most fit to people confined to wheelchairs or recovering from surgery.

Image: Coen van de Broek

One of those fun activities that also doubles as a transportation method and a great way to perform a healthy, low-impact exercise that can be enjoyed by people of all ages, from young children to older adults, is cycling.

Riding to work or to do the groceries is one of the most time-efficient ways to combine regular exercise with your everyday routine. Nowadays, an estimated one billion people ride bicycles every day – for transport, recreation, and sport. Are you one of them?

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Another popular exercise, running is an appealing activity because it’s inexpensive and you can do it anytime that suits you. While it is not so great on the joints if done too frequently, running has some great health benefits, like helping build strong bones, strengthening muscles, improving cardiovascular fitness, burning calories, and helping maintain a healthy weight.

Also, running can be a social activity. Some runners choose to participate in fun runs, athletics races, or marathons. These days, a multitude of running clubs can be found online.

Image: Kaylee Garrett

A well-known and healthy workout, yoga offers physical and mental health benefits for people of all ages. If you’re going through an illness, recovering from surgery, or living with a chronic condition, yoga can become an integral part of your treatment and potentially hasten healing.

Yoga improves strength, balance, and flexibility, helps with back pain relief, eases arthritis symptoms, benefits heart health, and enables you to relax and sleep better. Want more? Yoga also helps you manage stress and promotes better self-care.

Image: Jon Flobrant

You might think of this one as an older people activity, but it’s no longer the case. Some good reasons explain why aqua gym training is becoming more and more popular. Working out in the water is one of the most therapeutic activities one can take part in. Water aerobics builds cardio, strength, and resistance all while being easy on the joints.

The water helps people to move more freely, helping those who suffer from joint problems. Hydrostatic pressure also enables blood flow to circulate more effectively throughout the body. This effectively reduces blood pressure and, in the long run, decreases resting heart rate.

Image: Arek Adeoye

Surprised to find something as simple and pedestrian (pun intended) as walking on this list? Well, physical activity doesn't need to be complicated. Something as straightforward as a daily brisk walk can help you live a healthier life.

A regular and vigorous walk can help you maintain a healthy weight and lose body fat, prevent or manage various conditions, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, and type 2 diabetes, improve cardiovascular fitness, strengthen your bones and muscles, improve muscle endurance, increase energy levels, strengthen your immune system, and reduce stress and tension, among other benefits. Not really into running? Try walking!

Image: Geert Pieters

Circuit training is a type of training that involves rotating between several exercises that target different muscle groups with minimal rest in between. It’s ideal for those looking for a quick, effective, full-body workout. Circuits range from 8–10 exercises, although that varies based on goals, time available, and the experience levels of the participants. Once all exercises have been completed, you may rest for 1–2 minutes, then repeat. Most circuits are completed 1–3 times.

The types of exercises included in circuit training vary considerably depending on a person’s performance and health goals, experience, mobility, and other factors. Its many benefits include increasing strength, muscle growth, and heart health. It promotes weight loss, improves your mood (as almost any exercise does), and is time efficient.

What’s the word for…?

An assortment of "thingies": Few people can name these everyday objects

Image: Sitthan Kutty

Have you ever found yourself pointing at something mid-conversation because you couldn’t name it? Or have you caught yourself calling it "thingy"? You wouldn’t be the first. Some very specific nouns exist that few people are familiar with, so they are seldom used. Read the full list and see how many of them you were already using correctly!

Image: Thea May Villas

Have you ever closed your eyes and noticed strange figments of light dancing before them? Possibly, we all have! They are "phosphenes". These visual sensations happen when pressure stimulates the retina, even in the absence of light.

Image: Irene Kredenets

The aglet is that little plastic or metal tip at the end of your shoelace. Its only job is to stop the lace from fraying and to help it slide easily through the eyelets. Its name derives from Old French, when aguilette meant "needle" or "pin."

Image: Ursula Gamez

How many parts of a fork can you name? There’s the handle, of course, and then the forking, spiked end. Those "prongs" have a correct name: tines.

Image: Andriyko Podilnyk

You know that smooth patch of skin between your eyebrows, where worry lines eventually meet? That’s your glabella. It’s the name of the underlying bone. It derives from the Latin glaber, which means "smooth" or "hairless."

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"Pinky" might work, but there is actually a correct term for it: The smallest finger, a.k.a the fifth digit, is called "minimus," its proper Latin name.

Image: Danielle Suijkerbuijk

Before you pop open a bottle of champagne, you’ll need to deal with the agraffe—that little wire cage around the cork. Its job is to keep the cork in place despite the bubbling pressure inside the bottle. Another name for it is "muselet."

Image: Tom Morbey

It sounds like some fictional character, but purlicue is the name for the space between your thumb and forefinger. When you're holding a pen, gripping a mug, or giving a thumbs-up, your purlicue is doing the support work.

Image: Ximena Mora

Look closely at your fingernails and you might spot a small, pale crescent shape near the base. That’s the lunule, which comes from the Latin for "little moon." It’s most visible on the thumbs and plays a role in nail growth.

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You know that earthy, comforting smell after a fresh rain. Science has proved there is a particular scent generated when rain hits dry soil. It comes from plant oils, bacteria, and a compound called geosmin.

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The peen is the rounded or wedge-shaped part on the opposite side of a hammer’s face. It's used for shaping metal or riveting, depending on the hammer type.

Image: Michelle Riach

Some people like the foam on top of a beer, some consider it just an aesthetic obstacle. That foamy top has a name, though: barm. In ye olden times, this froth was used as a fermenting agent in baking.

Image: Miguel Á. Padriñán

You would probably refer to the whole end-tip of a pencil as the "eraser," but that would mean ignoring the ferrule. That’s the name for the metal ring holding the eraser in place. Pencils didn’t always include that commodity: the brilliant idea of pencil-and-eraser combined began being sold in the 1900s.

Image: Kelly Sikkema

That little cardboard sleeve around your hot coffee cup has a name: zarf. Originally, zarfs were ornate metal holders for coffee cups in the Middle East. Today’s version is a little less glamorous but no less essential for saving fingers on the go.

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The tiny tripod inside your pizza box is often called a "pizza saver," but another word for it is "tent." It’s there to stop the lid from squashing the toppings underneath, especially when you stack the pizza boxes together.