Karine Laudort With the New Year approaching it is that time again when we make our New Year fitness resolutions, but this time we have some tips on how to stick to these resolutions. Some people enjoy going to the gym, others have gotten used to the home workouts we were forced to do in lockdown, but whichever way you want to exercise we can help.
Soul Sanity – Online Mental Health Gym
Exercise is important in keeping your physical and mental health well, in lockdown when the gym was closed a lot of people struggled. The UK’s online mental health gym Soul Sanity has launched, supporting members to focus on improving their mental health from the comfort of their own homes. This membership-based service offers a range of activities that are scientifically proven to relieve stress and anxiety, improve mindfulness, and encourages the release of dopamine.
Holly Novick, the Founder, said, “there are so many gyms out there for your physical health but nothing that focuses specifically on your mental health. Soul Sanity is truly unique in that way. It was something I personally felt I needed during a time of grief. I needed an outlet to feel better but all I got was fist-pumping music lifting weights, one to one therapy sessions which I found difficult to open up in and suggestions for tablets which I thought could be a slippery road. I also didn’t want to mask how I was feeling, I knew my body was acting this way as a signal because something was wrong. I needed a fix not a quick fix so Soul Sanity’s really been an idea in the making for a while and coincidently the pandemic has hit at the same time perhaps making it the perfect storm”.
All of the sessions are broadcast live, including:
You can get a one-month free trial by signing up at soulsanity.co.uk/memberships.
A fitness plan to help you burn extra calories whilst doing housework
It can often be difficult to juggle everything, so finding time to work out gets pushed to the back of your mind. In a survey by window blind business Apollo Blinds, Brits now spend on average almost five hours per week cleaning and tidying. This compares to a reported decrease in people doing ‘exercise’ and an increase in people being ‘inactive’. Personal trainer Sarah Jones believes that five hours of vigorous housework has the potential to burn through 3000 calories per week. Apollo Blinds has given us a six-step Clean Yourself Lean Exercise Guide.
1. Power lunge hoover and sweep
Perform walking lunges as you hoover or sweep, stretching out your arms and keeping your back straight. Do this for 10 minutes to target your thighs and glutes.
2. Vigorous mopping or scrubbing
Elevate your heart rate and keep working at a higher intensity by completing an aerobic activity like vigorous mopping or scrubbing.
3. Window and laundry squats
Perform squats while cleaning windows and blinds, lifting the washing basket or when cleaning inside your kitchen cupboards. Squat low to the ground, then stretch up high moving your arms in a circular motion, to give your arms and legs the perfect dual workout.
4. Scrub up and press up
Whilst you are on your hands and knees, take the opportunity to do at least 10 reps of press-ups.
Whilst you are on your hands and knees, take the opportunity to do at least 10 reps of press-ups.
5. Stretch, twist and burn
When reaching up high to dust, try tensing your abdominals and sucking them in, this works your core. Stand on one leg for 30 seconds, then the other, to work on balance and try 30 calf raises for toned calf muscles.
6. A clean lift
Use bottles of cleaning products to tone your arms.
With these tips, it makes it easier to work towards your fitness goals, even if you do not always have spare time to go to the gym. So no excuses! This is the year you smash your New Years fitness resolutions.
