Staying active during the whole day is compulsory for your working capability and better performance, but if you are a student or a job holder then you will surely have the issue of time shortage for your proper body care. But the desire of having a strong physique and a good body shape can never be compromised. So to overcome this issue you can adopt some basic, simple and short exercises, which are the main concern of this article.
In this short but detailed article, you are going to learn about 5 simple, beginner-friendly and easy-to perform exercises for students and busy professionals from which you can keep the balance between you are busy schedule and dream of having a perfect and attractive physique. Also, you will learn the right way to perform all these 5 exercises, what things you should avoid, and some additional tips for beginners. So without wasting any other words let's take a look at those exercises.
Jumping Jacks (Cardio warm-up)
The very first exercise is mainly for the warm-up of the body but it is also very effective. Jumping jacks, also known as star jumps can definitely be the simplest yet one of the most effective exercises when it comes to cardio and body warm-up.
How to perform
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Stand with your feet together and arms at your sides.
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Jump up, spread your legs wider than your shoulder-width apart, and raise your arms overhead.
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Jump again, returning to the starting position with your feet together and arms at your sides.
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Repeat for the desired number of repetitions (20-30 reps or 1-2 minutes are recommended). Very simple and easy.
Key benefits
Jumping jacks can be the best and most effective way to warm-up the body.
Jumping jacks are a great way to burn calories and help in weight loss or weight maintenance.
Additional Tips
You can start with a slower speed and gradually increase the speed of jumps
You can also consider variations in this exercise like half jacks or twisting jumps.
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Try to maintain a good posture of your body and do not let your body fall apart while jumping
Desk or Chair Dips (Triceps & Shoulders)
This exercise mainly focuses on your shoulders, tricep muscles, and the upper chest region of your body. Desk or chair dips exercises can also be called tricep dips. So let’s see how to perform this exercise correctly:
How to do it
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You will need a stable chair, bench, table, or even a gallon on which you can just sit but it must be stable.
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Now when you have it simply just sit on it at the edge and grip the edges beside your hips and point your fingers forwards.
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Slide your body forward off the chair, and extend your legs out in front of you. Your heels should touch the floor with knees slightly bent as shown above.
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Lower down your body while bending your elbows until your elbows become parallel to the ground.
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When your elbows become parallel, just keep the position for a while and then move upwards on the strength of your bicep and triceps muscles.
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Repeat the procedure to the desired number but 3 sets of 8-10 reps are recommended repetitions for beginners.
Key Benefits
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This simple exercise mainly focuses on your tricep and bicep muscle strength.
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You can feel a bump in your tricep muscle just after the first set
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Your shoulder muscles are also affected by this exercise and become much stronger and more stable improving your overall body posture.
Additional Tips
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Try to choose a stable chair or a bench for a better experience.
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Keep your elbows close to your sides and avoid letting them flare out.
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Start with your legs down to the floor but gradually increase the height of your legs but putting your legs on another table or chair and increase the difficulty of this exercise.
Wall Sit (Leg Endurance)
This is a common exercise that I think most of us have performed as a punishment in our schools. This is also known as the wall-squats . This simply involves forming an invisible chair while keeping your back flat against the wall. Let’s see how to do this correctly:
How to do it
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Stand against any wall while facing your back at the wall.
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Then sit down half while taking the support of the wall to your back. Make sure your legs are parallel to the floor and your body is making a chair-like structure.
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Keep the position according to your strength but 2-3 sets of 20-30 seconds of each is recommended by professionals.
Key Benefits
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This exercise has a great impact on your quadriceps muscles in the front of your thighs, making them stronger and harder.
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This exercise is an excellent way to build muscular endurance in your legs, which is the ability of your muscles to sustain repeated contractions over time.
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As this exercise doesn't require any instrument, making it convenient to be performed easily.
Additional Tips
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Try to keep your back flat on the wall. This will improve the overall strength of your legs.
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Keep your knees directly above your ankles and avoid letting them extend past your toes.
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On the first try, hold the position for 30 seconds and gradually increase the time period according to core strength.
5-Minutes Plank Challenge (Core Strength)
When talking about the simplest and most effective exercises, planks will always be a part of the discussion. Planks are very simple exercises in which we hold our body in a position similar to normal push-ups position but instead of hands, we hold the position on our forearms. That could be a simple definition of planks. Let’s see how to perform these exercises:
How to do it
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Firstly prepare for the planks: Prepare the ground for a position very similar to push-ups like getting a floor mat or making the floor softer using any other softer material.
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Now take the position just like you are performing the push-up exercise and then come on the forearms instead of hands as shown in the picture.
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This is the position of planks, it may seem to be easy but it is very hard and thus the most effective exercise for core muscle strength.
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Try to hold the position for 40 seconds to 1 minute and 2-3 sets for better results and improvement but you can adjust the time duration according to your body’s strength.
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Always consider increasing the time duration and to push your muscles to their limits.
Key Benefits of Planks
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Planks are incredibly effective exercises that mainly focus on strengthening your core muscles, including your abdominals, back, and obliques.
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While this exercise mainly focuses on the abdominals, back, and obliques but this exercise also has a great impact on overall body strength like shoulders, arms, and even legs.
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Planks require no equipment, so can be done anywhere, making them a convenient and effective exercise option.
Some Additional Tips
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Always start with a shorter hold time and gradually increase as it becomes easier to you.
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Try to keep your back flat and hips up or lifted.
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Keep a stopwatch for 1 minute or the time desired by you for holding the plank position.
Push-Ups and Variations (Arms and Upper Chest)
Your target is to get a better physique and improved body tone and if there are no push-ups in your workout routine, then your target means nothing and that’s the importance of push-up exercise in a single line. These are simple exercises to lift the body on the hands while lying down, in simple words. For more details let’s check below how to do this in a simple and easy way for beginners:
How to do it
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Start in a plank position, keep your hands shoulder-width apart, fingers pointing forward, and your body in a straight line from head to heels. This is the starting position of push-ups.
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Then lower your body by bending your elbows until your chest comes closer to the ground and then push back towards the starting position.
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Repeat the process as many times as you can but the recommended repetitions are 15-20 reps and 2-3 sets.
Variations in Push-ups
The list of push-ups has become huge and contains a lot of variations. Many of them become more effective but also become harder but below are some simple, easy yet more effective variations of push-ups that every beginner can easily perform:
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Wall Push-ups: Simple push-ups but instead of floor you can use any short wall, in this way, your body will gain an angle of 45 degrees or you can adjust the angle of your body according to your desire.
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Incline Push-ups: In this variation, the angle of the body to the floor becomes less than 40 degrees or more, making the push-ups harder, and also the advanced form.
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Knee Push-ups: This is also one of the simplest forms of push-ups in which you use your knees instead of toes.
Key Benefits
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This simple exercise has a great impact on your shoulders, chest, and tricep muscles.
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As it is clear that this exercise is also free of any external instrument, you can perform this exercise anywhere.
Additional Tips for Push-ups
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Always do a short warm-up before doing push-ups.
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If you feel any difficulty, consider the variations of push-ups as described above.
By including all these simple and effective exercises in your workout routine, you will surely get an enhanced experience and body strength in your daily life, also these exercises do not require any special equipment or technique making it convenient for the students and busy professional to perform all these simple, common, and yet effective exercises.
Share this detailed article with your loved ones who are facing the time shortage issue and also want to have a better body physique and shape.