At The Home Gym Equipment we aim to answer our audiences physical fitness questions and give advice on setting up home training and exercise routines.
It is our aim to assist each one of our audience with all the questions they may have on What, How and Why in relation to their personal fitness and health programs. We are not saying we are experts in the Fitness and Health subject but we research and come up with the best practices and the best procedures which we document here.
The following are some frequently asked questions on fitness and exercise.
What is physical fitness?
Physical fitness refers to the ability and wellness to move around doing your daily tasks and chores. It extends to the ability to perform physically demanding tasks, physical exercises and sporting activities.
Physical exercise involves the working of bodily muscles by pushing, pulling or lifting a weight. A sporting activity involves a physical activity in competition with opponents.
How do I know I am not physically fit?
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- Weak muscles and lack of strength to do daily tasks
- Being overweight due to the accumulation of fat deposits in the body. Obesity
- Inability to carry own body weight. Inability to walk even a few hundreds of meters
- Breathlessness from doing very simple tasks.
- Increased sweating more than the normal
- Diseases such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes. Clots in the blood lead to heart attack
- Diseases such as cancer
- Depression
- Lower back pain, Joint pain from carrying too much weight with weak muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments
How do I assess my weight?
There are some methods that can be employed to determine the state of your weight such as:
BMI is the result of dividing your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in meters.
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- BMI less than 18.5 = underweight
- BMI is 18.5 to 24.9 = normal
- BMI is 25.0 to 29.9 = overweight
- BMI is over 30.0 = obese
For example:
Weight of 70kg and Height of 1.72m = 70 divide by square of 1.72 = 23.66 BMI which is normal
2. Measuring your Waist Circumference
For Man : Waist Circumference in excess of 40 inches = overweight
For Women : Waist Circumference in excess of 35 inches = overweight ( if not pregnant)
The above methods are not conclusive because excess body weight might be because you have been working out and have gained lean muscle mass.
The methods work for someone who has not been doing any physical activity such that we rule out lean muscle mass. Genetics also play a part in determining height and weight of individuals.
What are calories?
Calories are units used to measure the amount of energy in the food we eat. Different foodstuffs that we eat have different amounts of calories.
On average
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- A man needs about 2 500 calories per day for daily needs
- A woman needs about 2 000 calories per day for daily needs
When you consume more calories than your daily needs, your body stores the extra calories in the form of fat deposits for later use. That is how you gain weight.
How do I lose weight?
To lose excess weight gained you need to :
1. Go into a calorie deficit.
Consume fewer calories than your daily need.
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- For a man : Eat less than 2 500 calories per day
- For a Woman : Eat less than 2 000 calories per day
You can still eat a balanced diet including all the food groups but aim to eat smaller portions. When your body is in calorie deficit per day it starts breaking down the fat deposits to make up for the deficit and produce enough energy needed for the day.
Avoid foods with very high calories like:
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- Sugary foods – Sweets, Ice cream, Cakes
- Fried foods – French fries, Fast Foods
- Refined Carbohydrates – White Bread, Pasta, White rice
- Highly Processed Foods – Processed meats, Cheese, Pizza
Aim to eat :
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- Raw Unprocessed Grains
- Lean Meat
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Drink lots of water
2. Engage in regular exercise
Exercise helps your body to burn the excess fat. At the time of high intensity exercise your muscles need a lot of instant energy. Your body will start by burning the food you have eaten to provide immediate energy for the muscles.
Thereafter your body goes to the stored fats to break them down and burn them for more energy.
That is how you burn fat by engaging in moderate to high intensity exercise. Light exercises may not burn fat that much.
It is important to engage in moderate to high intensity exercise 3-4 times a week to assist our bodies to burn the fat deposits.
What is cholesterol?/ How does it affect me?
Cholesterol is a waxy like substance found in all the cells in our bodies. Cholesterol comes from two sources :
1. Our bodies naturally produce cholesterol
2. From the foods we eat
Under normal levels cholesterol is essential in our bodies to produce hormones, digest food and make Vitamin D.
The problem arises when cholesterol accumulates in large amounts in the blood stream. Since cholesterol is waxy like it sticks to the walls of the blood vessels and accumulates preventing the smooth flow of blood.
The vessels become clogged and fail to deliver blood to the organs and throughout the body where it is needed. Such a condition is fatal when organs fail to receive nutrient and oxygen rich blood.
Since our bodies already produce cholesterol we must try to limit the amount of cholesterol that we consume in food.
That is why we must limit foods with high cholesterol like:
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- Animal fats found in meat. Choose to eat lean meat without a lot of fat
- Dairy products like cheese
- Chocolate
- Baked foods
- Processed meats
- Deep fried foods
Genetic factors also contribute to high cholesterol in our bodies
How does exercise reduce cholesterol?
There is two types of cholesterol. Good Cholesterol (HDL) and Bad Cholesterol (LDL). Regular exercise reduces bad cholesterol in the following ways
1. It stimulates the body to produce more of the HDL-good cholesterol which assists in transporting the bad cholesterol from the blood stream to the liver. The liver then flashes out the bad cholesterol out of the body
2. When you exercise your heart starts pumping faster. This causes a faster flow of blood in the vessels to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the muscle cells. The faster flow of blood enhances the movement of accumulated bad cholesterol in the vessels to the liver which flashes it out.
Where do I start without equipment to exercise?
There are a lot of exercises you can do at home without any equipment. Bodily muscles are exercised by pushing, pulling and lifting a weight. Your body weight is enough to workout your muscles.
If you weigh 65kg that means you have that 65kg to start working out with. You can do some of the following body weight exercises:
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- Jogging
- Squats
- Lunges
- Crunches
- Push-Ups
- Planks
- Dips
>>> Click here for Home Exercises without equipment <<<
What is the basic equipment for exercising
The basic equipment you may start with when buying is the small multi functional items. These items do not cost much and will enable you to do your workouts and enjoy all the benefits of a lifestyle of working out.
The following items will suffice when you start buying.
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- Apparel – Sports shorts/pants and a sweat vest or T-shirt
- Exercise shoes – with rubber sole for a good grip
- Exercise mat – Choose a non-slip mat for floor exercises
- Ab Roller – for working out your abdominal muscles
- Pull-Up Bar – You can start with a doorway pull-up bar which does not need to be fixed to the door
- Gym Gloves – for the protection of your hands and palms from getting blisters
- Dumbbells – Basic weights for strength training
- Grip Strength Trainer – to develop strong grip in your hands
- Resistance Bands – for basic strength training
- Skipping rope – Useful for warming up and cardio exercises
>>> Click here for our Basic Equipment Review <<<
How do I stay motivated to Exercise for Life
Make regular exercise a lifestyle. Make it a habit and ensure you enjoy it. The following tips can keep you motivated to exercise:
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- Remind yourself of the benefits of exercise, the benefits of being physically fit
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- Pick the exercises that you love and enjoy doing so that you don’t get bored. Besides the home exercises you could go out jogging or do a sport that you enjoy.
- Make your routines short. Start with routines that do not go over 30 minutes. Just 30 minutes 3-4 times a week is not a lot of time considering the benefits you get to enjoy.
- Get a colleague or friend to work out with if possible. To keep you company and you motivate each other.
- Plan your weekly routines. Put it down on paper and try to stick to it. Commit yourself to it.
- Set yourself some goals. Start with short term, small measurable goals and measure your performance as you go. Celebrate the small victories you achieve.
- If you are up to it enter some competitions. Preparation for competition keeps your spirits high. At the end of the day it’s all about exercising. Who knows, you might just win.
- When you start doing strength training, start with small weights and small resistances. Slowly build up as your muscles get stronger and you get used to working out. Starting with big weights when you are a beginner is a sure way to make you quit.
In conclusion
It pays to exercise regularly. You chase away the diseases that come with inactivity, you get stronger and look better after shedding off some pounds.
If your exercise routine is of high intensity you do not need to workout every day. Give your body and muscles time to recover and rest. If you do light exercises you can exercise every day.
Please leave a comment in the comments section. If you have any questions or need to engage, do not hesitate to write in the comments section. I will definitely get back to you.
Cheers…….
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