Simple and effective exercises for maintaining body shape for girls

Let us allow ourselves some advice:

create the mood for yoga: settle in a comfortable place with a minimum amount of furniture, turn on calm music, put on the most comfortable clothes;
start your training with meditation and/or breathing exercises;
take your time, perform the asanas smoothly, slowly, at your own rhythm.

Why you need to keep in shape if you don't go to the gym

The older we get, the faster we lose muscle mass (after age 35, this happens at a rate of 1% per year). If you have trained before, this process will slow down somewhat, but you will notice the results of “truancy” quite quickly: after 3 weeks without training, the muscles will become less pronounced. “If you don’t train at all and move little, atrophy of many muscle groups will occur,” says Diana Ibragimova, a trainer at the Fitness Territory network of clubs . “ Keeping yourself in shape is important not only from an aesthetic point of view: weak muscles reduce the quality of movement and life in general, you will get tired faster, etc.”
What else happens in the body if you give up fitness? “During the first two weeks after the end of training , the level of MOC (maximum oxygen consumption) noticeably decreases, and a person faces some kind of hypoxia,” says Sergey Kotov, master trainer at the Escalada fitness club. — He notices that it is noticeably harder for him to climb stairs and do long-term daily work. At this stage, a person's stamina decreases. During the third week and beyond, there is a significant loss in strength. This is due to a decrease in neuromuscular impulse transmission from the brain to the muscles. There are fewer “active” fibers. By the fourth or fifth week after stopping training, strength indicators drop by about 20-25%.”

Moreover, it doesn’t really matter how much you trained before: loss of shape occurs at the same rate for everyone. “Both a beginner and an experienced athlete lose shape (structural and functional losses) in percentage terms relative to their peak of this same form in absolutely the same way. After a month, both the beginner and the master of sports experience a loss of strength qualities ranging from 20 to 25% of the peak, and even more in endurance,” explains Sergey Kotov.

More movement!

Walking the stairs instead of using the elevator, cycling or walking instead of traveling by car or public transport - none of this can be called a complete replacement for fitness, but adding a little activity into your life is always useful.

Cleaning the house can also be made more effective in every sense: by abandoning the mop in favor of a cloth, you will not only be able to clean the floor better, but will also add a number of bends and squats to your physical activity. By the way, do not forget to wash the floor behind the sofa - of course, after you move it, and also thoroughly rinse the area under the carpet, after rolling it up and setting it aside.

Here's a trick: the more you move, the more energy you release, so as you transition to a more active lifestyle, it will be easier for you to transition into regular exercise over time.

When you incorporate activity into your daily schedule, you increase your energy levels

How to stay fit without going to the gym

The basis for maintaining physical fitness is training that involves different types of loads (strength, cardio, functional). That is, even if you cannot go to the gym yet, you will still have to do fitness - so as not to lose muscles and maintain endurance. What to choose for this?

If you want to stay strong

“From the point of view of maintaining strength indicators during the period of stopping training, any regular (at least once a week) strength work with your own weight and the use of shock absorbers (elastic bands) would be ideal,” says Sergey Kotov. “The training format can be any, full body , duration - from 30-40 minutes until the feeling of fatigue in the working muscles.”

If you want to maintain your stamina

“To maintain endurance levels, strength training with aerobic “inserts” in circuit or HIIT training mode (at least 8 stations in both) is suitable. The same in frequency - at least once a week and lasting at least 40 minutes,” notes Sergey Kotov.

If you want to keep the visual component

Do cardio and strength training twice a week: for example, do a set of exercises for a beautiful body (we’ll show you one of these today) and go for an energetic walk more often. “When we talk about a healthy lifestyle, we in any case mean daily physical activity, so if you have the opportunity, postponing intense training, to fill this gap with daily intensive walking - this will be an additional plus,” says Anna Korobkina, doctor- dietician-nutritionist .

Also, be sure to watch your diet.

Full yogic breathing

Full yoga breathing is an excellent practice for beginners, designed, firstly, to learn deep and correct breathing.
According to statistics, it is women - those on whose shoulders all the holiday fuss falls to a greater extent - who are prone to shallow breathing, which leads to problems with the immune system, accumulation of stress and other unfavorable factors. Therefore, we master the basics of full yogic breathing, which also promotes relaxation. We place one hand on the stomach, the second slightly higher, on the lower part of the ribs (on either side) - this will allow you to take control of your breathing. The task is to first fill the stomach with air, and our hand lying on the stomach should feel this and rise, then fill the chest with air - we control this moment with the second hand. Third: fill the upper part of your lungs with air and watch your shoulders - they should rise. It is best to learn this method of breathing, of course, while sitting in front of a mirror. We exhale in the reverse order: shoulders - chest - stomach. We control it with our hands.

Full yoga breathing is suitable for performing including Shavasana and Balasana. If you decide to practice it while lying down, you can place a light object on your stomach to track how you breathe with your stomach.

Staying physically fit: what adjustments to make to your nutrition plan

To avoid gaining weight during your fitness break, in addition to doing exercise to stay in shape, you will also have to change your diet plan. Why? “If your training was constant and intense (for example, you had 3 aerobic and 2 strength training sessions per week), then this lifestyle certainly required a certain diet,” says Anna Korobkina. “Most likely, at least 60% of your diet at that time consisted of carbohydrates.”

This is due to the fact that during physical activity they are the first to go “into the firebox”. “The body first uses calories from carbohydrates (glucose), obtained from food that has entered the body relatively recently, then from muscle and liver glycogen (glycogen stores can provide about 2,000 calories during intense exercise). And after an intense workout, any athlete knows about the anabolic window, when it is necessary to replenish the reserves of spent glycogen. Many athletes consume an additional portion of carbohydrate or protein-carbohydrate foods at this time,” recalls Anna Korobkina.

If there is noticeably less active training in your schedule (and a beautiful figure is still a priority), your nutrition plan will have to be reconsidered. “The main measure is to limit the daily diet to carbohydrates (but not completely abandon them),” says Anna Korobkina. - So, per day for a person who does not engage in sports, with an average weight of 65 kg, 4 servings of grain products (this is about 250 g), and 200-300 g of fruits or berries are enough. You will also need to recalculate the dose of protein (since without intense exercise you do not need additional amino acids). We take the formula for calculation as follows: 1.5 – 1.8 g of protein per 1 kg of weight (provided there is no kidney disease, in which case it is worth discussing the new diet with your doctor).”

What exercises to choose to maintain your figure?

If you want to stay in shape after quitting the gym, focus on basic strength exercises using your own weight, shock absorbers and dumbbells. We asked Diana Ibragimova to compose and show us a set of exercises to maintain a figure . “This is basic strength training, it helps strengthen the main muscle groups - arms, legs, abs, the things that usually interest us. This is necessary for good health and metabolism, for visual shape,” says Diana Ibragimova.

A separate plus is that it can be performed at home .

Arm swings

Standing straight and holding your arms parallel to your body, cross them at groin level.
Now we raise our hands in a circle to the cross, that is, the left palm should outline the circle on the right side and vice versa. When your hands are at the top, turn your palms outward.
Next, we smoothly lower our hands down, no longer crossing them, but in a circle. The right hand draws a circle on the right side, the left hand on the left.
We repeat five times.
The next stage is to stand straight, arms along the body, do not cross them.
We lift them up in a circle (as we lowered them).
And now we lower it onto the cross, as we raised it last time.
We also repeat five times.

How to build a lesson

Start your workout with a short warm-up, like this one . This will prepare your body for stress and protect you from injury.
Perform the exercises consistently at a calm pace. “It is important to monitor the technique: keep your lower back in a neutral position, control the work of the target muscles,” advises Diana Ibragimova.
Perform all exercises in 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions each.
Finish your session with a short stretch (like this one ) to release any excess tension in your muscles.
Add cardio. “You can use 5-7 minutes of cardio as a warm-up or devote half an hour to it after training,” adds Diana Ibragimova.
Do this program 2-4 times a week .

To perform the complex you will need a mat and dumbbells.

A set of exercises to keep fit

Do it as often as you like. Be sure to control the work of the target muscles - this way the exercises will bring more benefits.

Sumo squats

1-sumo squat
Stand up straight, place your feet shoulder-width apart, point your toes slightly to the sides. Bring your hands together in front of your chest. Bend your knees and work your abs, back, and legs to lower yourself into a squat. Don't arch at the waist. Then smoothly straighten your knees and return to a vertical position. This will amount to one repetition, complete the required number of repetitions.

Lunge Squats

2-lunges

Stand straight, place your feet hip-width apart. Step your left foot back, place your hands on your belt. Bend your knees almost to a right angle and lower yourself into a squat. Work the muscles of the abs, buttocks, legs and back, do not bend in the lower back. It is permissible to slightly lean your body forward. Then straighten your knees and return to a vertical position. This will amount to one repetition, complete the required number of repetitions.

Plank

3-bar

Get down on your knees and stand in a plank position, leaning on your straight arms and toes. Do not bend in the lower back, work the muscles of your back, abs, legs, and arms. Lock in this position for 40 seconds. This will amount to one repetition. Perform 5 repetitions.

Push ups

4th spin

Take a lying position, place your hands on the sides of the mat. Place your toes on the floor, stretch forward with the top of your head, do not bend in the lower back, work your abs, back muscles, and arms. By bending your elbows, smoothly lower your body down, then straighten your arms and return to the starting position. This will amount to one repetition. Complete the required quantity.

Crunches

5-twisting

Lie on your back, bend your knees, place your feet on the mat. Stretch your arms behind your head. Smoothly lift your arms above the floor, then the back of your head, then your neck and entire body, and at this moment stretch your arms upward. Work your abdominal muscles, try to turn off your leg muscles. Touching your stomach to your hips, smoothly return to the starting position: lower your back first, then your neck and the back of your head. This will amount to one repetition, complete the required number of repetitions.

"Scissors"

6-scissors

Lie on your back, stretch your arms along your body. Raise your legs straight up, with your toes stretching away from you. Activate your abdominal muscles, lift your neck and head above the floor. Smoothly lower your left leg until it is parallel to the floor (the right leg is still extended upward). Then change the position of your legs: now the left one is extended upward, and the right one is lowered to parallel with the floor. This will amount to one repetition, complete the required number of repetitions.

Pelvic lift

7-pelvic lift

Lie on your back, bend your knees, place your feet on the floor, stretch your arms along your body. Work the muscles of your abs, back, arms and legs. Smoothly lift your pelvis off the floor and extend your left leg up. Hold at the top for 3 seconds, then smoothly lower your leg and pelvis to the floor. This will amount to one repetition, perform the required number of these in each direction.

Swing your legs while lying down

8-mahi leg

Lie on your right side, extend your right arm behind your head. Place your left palm in front of your body on the floor, leaning lightly on it. Working the muscles of your hips, back and abs, smoothly lift your left leg up. Try to move in one plane, without “tilting” your pelvis back or forward. Then slowly lower your leg to the starting position. This will amount to one repetition, perform the required number of these in each direction.

Body tilt with dumbbells

9-tilt body with slope

Stand up straight, take a dumbbell in your left hand with a straight grip. Place your right palm on your belt. Shift your body weight to your left foot. Gently lean your body forward while simultaneously moving your right leg back. Work the muscles of your abs, back, arms and legs. Do not increase the arch in the lower back or round it. Return to the starting position for one repetition. Do the required amount in each direction.

Bicycle instead of exercise machine

Is your two-wheeled friend gathering dust at home, or has a bicycle rental service opened nearby? Use this to your advantage! In the summer, clock up kilometers in your favorite park, and in the winter, install your bike in your apartment on a bike rack, which you can purchase at a sports store or even make yourself.

A home exercise bike will be an excellent helper for those who want to lose weight, develop endurance, strengthen leg muscles and the cardiovascular system. But don't forget to use a smartwatch to measure your heart rate during exercise.