Total physical fitness can also be achieved by doing five minutes exercise either at home or in the office.In our day to day life,it may not be always possible to cover all the components of fitness every day i.e. suppleness, strength,stamina and speed.
At home, the five minutes exercises can be done in the morning before leaving for office or starting housework.
In the office, these exercises could be done before starting the work, during the lunch break or in the evening before leaving the office.
Five minutes exercises program at home
1) neck rotation- ten times each side –
Effect – relieves tension,relaxes and strengthens the muscles of neck and vertebrae and reduces fatty deposits under the chin.
2) Arms rotation..Ten times each way
Effects – brings about mobilty of the shoulder joints, relaxing the muscles of the shoulders ,arms ,chest and back.
3) Waist – four types of exercises are affected.
a) waist rotation- ten times each side
b) alternate toe- touching ten times each side
c) side swing- ten times each side
d) side bends- ten times each side
Effect – the effect of all those four waist exercises reduce the accumulation of fat in the waist area. It also gives suppleness to the waist and spine.
d) Back stretch toe touching – ten times
Effect – relaxes and stretches the spine,relaxes the muscles of the back , stretches the muscles of the leg and abdomen.
The above four five minutes exercises are basically warm up exercises to relax the muscles and prepare the body for more strenuous exercises to follow.
e) push ups – ten times
Effect – this exercise strengthens the entire muscles of the arm, shoulder and chest making them firm.
f) Sit- ups – ten times
g) partial Sit- ups – ten times
This exercise strengthens the entire abdominal muscles making them firm. It is also beneficial to the muscles of the back.
h) Leg exercises
Effect: strengthens the abdominal muscles and also beneficial to the muscles of legs,hip and back
I) Backward leg raises- ten times each
This exercise is specifically for ladies
Effect – tighten the muscles of the bottom and also beneficial to the back, muscles of hip and legs .
J) sideward leg raises – ten times
This exercise is also specifically for ladies
Effect – reduces the fat on hip and upper thigh areas
K) running – 100 steps
It is the most important single exercise as it is a cardio vascular exercise.
Effect – strengthens the muscles of the leg including ankle,feet and knees. Improves circulation and respiration and strengthens the muscles of the heart , reduces stress and tension.
L) squat- ten times
Effect – strengthens the muscles of the legs including thigh, ankle and calf etc
M) Deep breathing – ten times
Effect – beneficial effect on the lungs and circulation.
Five minutes exercise program at the office
These exercises can be done while commuting in a bus, train or airplane.They may be done in the office or in school or at seminar, meetings etc.
Long hours spent in the office doing a sedentary and monotonous job can be used effectively with five – minutes exercises program not only to energies the body but also as a result to improve productivity.
Five minutes group fitness program
The five minutes group fitness program is to be done every day at the beginning of duty hours either in the office or at the work site.
The benefits of this program is not only total physical fitness and increased vitality and stamina but also in the reduction of stress ,back problems and heart problems. It increases circulation and purification of blood.
The following exercises are the group exercises –
1) Neck rotation
2) Arm rotation
3) waist rotation
4) toe touching exercise
5) push- ups
6) leg raises
7) deep breathing
8) spot running
Five minutes exercises are not meant for the super – fit athelete but are suited for the normal sedentary male and female for whom exercise is not a priority. These five minutes exercises can bring freshness and maintain fitness to meet the daily needs of a body .
Dr S.k.jha
DocWorld 