Stay fit while it rains

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The showers bring with them a welcome dip in temperature, soothing weather and lots of laziness. Most people avoid stepping out of their homes when it’s pouring and prefer to sit back and curl up with a plate of piping-hot samosas instead of sweating it out in the gym.

And yet, fitness buffs will tell you that the rainy season is a good season for ‘gymming’.
“Monsoons are the perfect time to work out because you won’t tire easily. You get a chance to push yourself more. If heavy rain washes away your workout plans, you can turn your house into a gym,” advises celebrity fitness trainer Prashant Sawant.
To start preparing: buy a pair of dumb-bells, exercise bands and a mat, well in advance. “The most important part about working out at home is to treat it like a normal exercise regimen. Dress appropriately and do the exercises step-by-step. If you didn’t get a chance to prepare in advance, you can use towels and water bottles as props,” says Prashant.

Home workouts
“Start your workouts with stretching. People who work out at home have a tendency to ignore stretching, but it’s important, especially when you are exercising at home,” explains Prashant.
He suggests that one can move to push-ups from stretching. Prashant explains, “Push-ups can be done on the ground or using the support of a wall or kitchen slab. This will take care of the shoulders and arms. Then you could move to doing squats and after that, to lifting weights. You can use dumbbells or filled water bottles as weights. Skipping can also be an effective option for exercising the legs.”
The monsoons can be tempting when it comes to food, so abdomen exercises are a must. “Crunches are essential to ensure that the abdomen is in shape. Apart from that, to exercise other parts of the body like the back, you can use a towel, stretch it on top and slowly move backwards. Since you will probably be watching a lot of TV during this season, you may develop some back pain,” he says. If you are someone who enjoys outdoor workouts, the monsoon season could be a little annoying. Cheer up, you can still stay fit by running on a treadmill and skipping — indoors.

Control cravings
Careful with the hot, fried stuff. The monsoons invite a lot of water-borne diseases, so eat properly cooked home food. “It would be unfair to ask someone not to eat tasty food in the monsoons. So go ahead and eat, but ensure that it’s not in large quantities,” advises Prashant.