Heading to the gym and exercising five days a week can be intimidating and overwhelming if you are not an athlete or an exercise freak. Career professionals and students often find it difficult to take time out of busy schedules to engage in exercise, causing considerable damage to their waistlines and overall body health. But keeping your weight in control and protecting yourself from the hazards of obesity is a commitment that you need to make in order to live a healthier life, now and in old age that everyone of us is heading towards.  To make things easier for you, here are the five best exercises that can keep you fit and healthy and will help you improve your overall wellbeing.

Swimming

Swimming is the perfect total body workout. It not only improves your mental state but also lifts your mood, helping you to burn those extra calories and toning up your muscles. Swimming can be beneficial for arthritis patients well, as it requires less effort and weight bearing. Swimming is often regarded as one of the top exercises because it helps both in strengthening muscles and improving your cardiovascular abilities. With the winter almost over, get enrolled in one of the various swimming facilities across the town and let the water do its magic on your body.

Tai Chi

Tai chi is a Chinese form of martial art that combines relaxation and movements that are good for both your mind and body. Tai chi includes graceful movements with smooth transitions and is popularly known as “meditation in motion”. Tai chi is suitable for all age groups with varying fitness levels and works wonders for older people, providing them with fitness and balance that they generally lose in old age.

Strength Training

Strength training is the new talk of the town and includes lifting light weights that won’t bulk up your muscles but will make them stronger and in shape. Muscle exercises can help in burning calories and maintaining weight. Strength training also regulates healthy brain functioning. However, before starting a proper weight training programme, the learner must train under the supervision of a trainer or fitness expert.

Walking

Walking is a simple, yet powerful exercise that can be incorporated in everyday routine. Walking helps in maintaining weight, keeping blood pressure in control, lifting your mood, and improving your cholesterol levels. Walking regularly lowers health risks such as diabetes, heart diseases etc. and improves memory, protecting from dementia. Ideally, start from a 10 to 15-minute walk daily and increase the walking time up to 30 to 60 minutes, five days a week. To start things off, try skipping the elevator and opt for the stairs next time you head out of your office or classroom.

Kegel Exercises

Kegel exercises not only keeps you fit and trimmed but also strengthens the pelvic floor muscles that support the bladder. For kegel exercises, you need to squeeze your muscles in pelvic region. Working on these muscles helps you fight the effects of sedentary lifestyles that most people live these day. These exercises will help you strengthen muscles that get weakened by sitting for long periods of time, like at work or in class and even decrease the chances of developing back ache problems and overall posture issues.