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How to Stay Fit While in LOCKDOWN!

There is no question that Covid-19 has affected all of our lives in a major way. We can’t visit each other, we can’t chow down at our favorite local restaurant, we can’t work, and we can’t…go to the gym! BUT… even though the doors to your local fitness facility are locked up tight, there is absolutely NO REASON why you can’t get fantastically fit even while stuck at home in quarantine.

You see, your muscles and your fat don’t know if you are on a treadmill or lifting a dumbbell…all they know is if you are challenging your body the right way, and consistently, they will respond. Your muscles will get BIGGER and your fat cells will get SMALLER! Sound cool? Excellent!

So, if you are serious about wanting to get and/or stay in shape while stuck at home during this pandemic, All rights reserved copyrights @ Forthmagazine

here are a few tips that can absolutely help you reach your goals!

• Shop for the result- I know it may suck to hear it AGAIN but eating right is your number 1 priority when it comes to getting fit. We are all stuck at home for much of the time now, and the fact is, if we have it at home, we will eat it!

Get rid of the junk…TRASH IT or give it away. Stock up on healthy items like frozen veggies (frozen is VERY healthy and lasts a long time!) grass fed or wild caught proteins, and water. Eat low sugar, eat REAL food, and snack on things like nuts and berries. If you ONLY buy healthy, you only EAT healthy…DO IT! • Schedule your workouts…DO IT! – The funny thing about having a lot of time on your hands to do whatever you want is, you still rarely do the things you NEED to! We all say, “I would be in such great shape if I only had time to work out!” Guess what? Your wish just came true! Now you DO have the time, but you still have to schedule your workout if you want to ensure you are knocking them out consistently. Planning EVERY day is the way to reach success no matter what your goals are. Go ahead and schedule your days and include at least 45 minutes every other day for GET FIT time. We all have a notes function on our phones (they have TO DO options) or a word doc you can open up on your computer etc. Take 15 minutes and create a weekly schedule and making your WORKOUT a priority item. DO IT! • Everything you need to get fit, is right there in your very own home-Forget all the fancy equipment you’ve been used to at 2

the gym. You are now stuck with what you have (or don’t have) at home for your workout routines.

BUT the good news is, you don’t need much IF ANY equipment to get fit! Here are some suggestions based on a variety of fitness goals: o Cardio/Fat Burn-Jumping jacks, sprints outside, mountain climbers, burpees, jogging in place…TONS of options here!

Go high intensity, keep the sessions short but intense and you WILL get results. o Building Muscle-Pushups, pullups (if you have a bar or way to do them), bodyweight squats, lunges, isometrics using a bath towel…again, PLENTY of options exist that can help you build muscle and increase muscle density.

• Creating workouts-Now that I’ve successfully removed any and all excuses it is time to get to work! There are a TON of fitness facilities offering streaming workouts for free or very little money. In addition, there are more than enough available on YouTube to keep you going for YEARS! Choose your fitness goal and search out workouts accordingly. As you get familiar with your new routine, you can experiment with creating some of your own workouts as well. The key is consistency, intensity, and proper form. If something doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. More is not always better, so make sure to rest and recuperate. Be consistent but BE SMART! There you go, some solid tips to help you stay fit and even get FITTER while locked down for this pandemic. Hope you stay well, no, reread the above and…DO IT!

Contents

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How to stay fit while in lockdown

Weight gain during quarantine

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Cover Model Stephani Rodriguez

Relaxation Therapy

Layout Design by: David Sunday (davotrail)

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FITNESS MODEL All rights reserved copyrights @ Forthmagazine

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FASHION MODEL 5

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COVER MODEL Stephani Rodriguez Athlete Fitness Elite Pro

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Navigating Weight Gain During Quarantine Introduction of weight gain:

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WHAT IS WEIGHT GAIN? Weight gain is an increase in body weight. This can involve an increase in muscle mass, fat deposits, excess fluids such as water, or other factors. Weight gain can be a symptom of a serious medical condition.

CAUSES OF WEIGHT GAIN: A person generally gains weight by increasing food consumption, becoming physically inactive, or both. When energy intake exceeds energy expenditure (when the body

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is in positive energy balance), the body can store the excess energy as fat. weight gain and loss are complexes involving numerous hormones, body systems, and environmental factors.

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Other factors besides energy balance that may contribute to gaining weight include: • Social factors • Sleep and stress • Hormone and neurotransmitter imbalances OTHER CAUSES OF WEIGHT GAIN AND OBESITY: • Genetics Obesity has a strong genetic component. Children of obese parents are much more likely to become obese than children of lean parents.

• Social factors • Sleep and stress • Hormone and neurotransmitter imbalances • Junk Foods These products are designed to be cheap, last long on the shelf, and taste so incredibly good that they are hard to resist.

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• Food Addiction Junk foods can cause addiction in susceptible individuals. These people lose control over their eating behavior, similar to people struggling with alcohol addiction losing control over their drinking behavior. •

• Aggressive Marketing •

Junk food producers are very aggressive marketers. Their tactics can get unethical at times and they sometimes try to market very unhealthy products as healthy foods.

• Insulin Insulin is a very important hormone that regulates energy storage, among other things. One of its functions is to tell fat cells to store fat and to hold on to the fat they already carry.

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• Certain Medications Many pharmaceutical drugs can cause weight gain as a side effect, For example, antidepressants have been linked to modest weight gain over time • Leptin Resistance Leptin is another hormone that plays an important role in obesity. It is produced by fat cells and its blood levels increase with higher fat mass. For this reason, leptin levels are especially high in people with obesity.

• Food Availability Another factor that dramatically influences people’s waistline is food availability, which has increased massively in the past few centuries.

• Sugar Added sugar may be the single worst aspect of the modern diet.

That’s because sugar changes the hormones and biochemistry of your body when consumed in excess. This, in turn, contributes to weight gain.

MISINFORMATION People all over the world are being misinformed about health and nutrition. There are many reasons for this, but the problem largely depends on where people get their information from. Many websites, for example, spread inaccurate

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or even incorrect information about health and nutrition.

WHAT IS QUARANTINE? Quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in

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connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been exposed to a communicable disease, but do not have a confirmed medical diagnosis.

Stay at home sty safe in this covid_19 situation.

Doctor “Ursula White,” says Quarantine weight gain could have lasting impacts

have already done some type of harm,” White says the answers may lie in the fat itself. Fat tissue has many “The issue is during the weight functions besides storing excess gain phase, we just don’t know calories. what happens to different fac“We know that it’s important in ets of your body and physiology insulin sensitivity but fat tissue during that time,” said Dr. Ursula also secretes many factors that White. “So, yes, you may lose the can influence appetite, inflammaweight afterward but you may tion, your immune system, etc.

HOW TO KEEP FROM working, and also because GAINING WEIGHT DURING of the massive amount of COVID-19 QUARANTINE delays and cancellations of almost everything including, Weight loss experts have some sports, theatrical producadvice to help prevent weight tions, school, and church, to gain while people work from name a few things. home during the COVID-19 outbreak.

“You just got to eat healthily. Make sure you’re getting Workers are home a lot more that protein, make sure you’re than they’re used to because getting your vegetables and companies are utilizing telefruit. Limit those sugary drinks, 13

limiting that alcohol and snacking. And this will help boost that immune system and get us all through this.”

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According to Nutrition experts for Your Metabolism: Nutrition experts recommend eating small amounts of healthy food every two to three hours to keep your metabolism going.

Navigating Quarantine Weight Gain: Individuals tend to gain 3–4x more weight over the Quarantine which leads to more weight gain year over year. Navigating the Quarantine can be a challenge for many people.

1. Acknowledge calories matter, eating eat too many do have consequences, in the long run, Christmas is only a couple of days. However many case studies have shown you can gain lasting fat in as little as a day if you consume 3–4x your normal calories in a day. Aim to eat a normal and reasonable amount of food, I call it “your fair share”. Don’t spoil yourself or eat without thought or control.

2. Realize you’ve created a foundation of healthy habits, one day won’t change that. Rely on hunger cues and eat a meal if hungry.

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mies of good and bad foods helps no one, A positive mindset that acknowledges this can be liberating and reduce Quarantine stress.

6. Don’t punish yourself for “failing” this only makes you eat for emotional reasons out of remorse or self-pity.

7. If you know certain situations will cause you to overeat, seek support from those around you, suggest putting chips in the kitchen, etc.

8. Don’t try to burn off the Qurantaine weight gain, that is a form of disordered eating, trying to burn off excess calorie intake with extra exercise is non-purging bulimia, get back on your normal routine.

3. When you feel hungry eat protein-rich foods, don’t snack, eat a meal, drinking too much water will likely make you more hungry and dehydrated.

hold a glass of water or unseated beverage instead, sip on it, lots of us eat because we are nervous or don’t like socializing.

5. If you want something, eat 4. Don’t eat to occupy your it, there are no foods that make hands or mouth while socializing, you fat, creating false dichoto-

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9. Go lift something heavy, set a personal best at something and celebrate your wins, Being strong changes the lens you look at yourself through. Like I mentioned trying to “burn off” the excess weight.

10. More positive self-talk, you’re awesome, you’re strong and food doesn’t control you.

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Stop the weight gain with a few painless steps Here are some Tips: • Avoid the snacks and sweets aisles Stock up on fruits, veggies, nuts, and seeds. Try your hand at making your kale or sweet potato chips.

• Break the cycle of mindless eating Keep a regular schedule of mealtimes. Drink a glass of water instead of reaching for a snack. Distract yourself from cravings by doing five minutes of your preferred at-home exercise. Repeat as necessary.

• Control your portions If you absolutely must have some Doritos, don’t sit down on the couch with the bag. Fill a small bowl and put the bag away.

Savor each one slowly.

• Distract yourself If your go-to stress reliever is a beer or a bowl of ice cream, think of a non-caloric replacement.

Listen to three favorite songs.

Take a hot bath. Spend a little time on a hobby. Play with your kids or pets.

• Exercise, exercise, exercise Find an activity you enjoy that can be done at home or around the neighborhood. Set aside time each day to work out.

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• Forgive yourself Recognize that this is a tough time, and everyone is dealing with challenges and uncertainties. You can have some chocolate or cake or chips. Just don’t make repetitive hand-to-mouth motions your principal form of exercise.

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Items are available wa.link/gouN Instagram: @Steph.fitstore HighQuality Sports Clothes. Shop Online. Sports Supplements. Direct Link to Whats App 19

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Relaxation Therapy For body & Mind

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INTRODUCTION: According to the Oxford dictionary relaxation is when the body and mind are free from tension and anxiety. Relaxation is a form of mild ecstasy coming from the frontal lobe of the brain in which the backward cortex sends signals to the frontal cortex via a mild sedative.

Relaxation can be achieved through meditation, autogenic, and progressive muscle relaxation. Relaxation helps improve coping with stress.

Stress is the leading cause of mental problems and physical problems, therefore feeling relaxed is beneficial for a person’s health.

When we are stressed, the sympathetic nervous system is activated because we are in a fight-or-flight response mode; over time, this could have negative effects on a human body.

Relaxation is a state where you feel calm and manage your Daily life without Stress, Anxiety, and Mental Issues.

“Relaxation also has other related health benefits, including lowering your heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate. reducing muscle tension and chronic pain” “ Relaxation has many Mental and Physical health benefits, and the Techniques can be practiced almost anywhere 21

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any time” Relaxation Helps. When you feel stress, your body responds by releasing hormones that increase your blood pressure and raise your heart rate. This is called the stress response.

How to use Relaxation for Relaxing the mind: • Take slow, deep breaths.

Or try other breathing exercises for relaxation.

• Soak in a warm bath.

• Listen to soft music.

• Practice mindful meditation.

• Do yoga. You can get books ation and videos to do at home or • “When the five senses, take a yoga class. along with the mind, remain • Try progressive muscle still and the intellect is not The goal of mindful meditation relaxation. This process active, that is known as the is to focus your attention on involves tensing and highest state. They consider things that are happening right relaxing each muscle yoga to be firm restraint now in the present moment. For group. Progressive muscle of the senses. Then one example, listen to your body. Is relaxation can reduce becomes un-distracted for your breathing fast, slow, deep, anxiety and muscle tension. yoga is the arising and the or shallow? Do you hear noises, If you have trouble falling passing away” such as traffic, or do you hear asleep, this method may • Poses of Yoga Exercise only silence? The idea is just to also help with your sleep • Wide-Legged Forward Bend note what is happening without problems. When you relax Pose trying to change it. your muscles, your body • Lizard Pose gets the signal that it is okay • Sphinx Pose • Write. Some people feel to fall asleep.

• Supported Bridge Pose more relaxed after they • Take a walk or do some other • Forward Fold Pose write about their feelings. activity. Making time to do • Reclining Bound Angle Pose One way is to keep a journal. things you enjoy can also • Legs Up the Wall Pose • Use guided imagery. help you relax.

With guided imagery, you • Get a massage or have Benefits of Relaxation Techimagine yourself in a certain someone give you a back niques: setting that helps you feel rub.

• Relaxation improves your calm and relaxed. You can • Have a warm drink that mental health. Relaxation use audiotapes, scripts, doesn’t have alcohol or decreases Stress, Anxiety, or a teacher to guide you caffeine in it, such as herbal Mental health issues. through the process. tea or warm milk.

Relaxation also has other related health benefits, How to use Relaxation for ReWhat is Yoga and how to use including: laxing the body yoga for mind and body Relax• Lowering your Heart Rate, All rights reserved copyrights @ Forthmagazine

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Blood Pressure, and Breathing Rate • Reducing Muscle Tension and Chronic Pain • Improving Concentration and Mood • Reducing Fatigue • Reducing Anger and Frustration • Boosting Confidence to Handle Problems Kinds of Relaxation Techniques: • There are two kinds of this Techniques.

• Relaxation Techniques apply to • Muscle Relaxation and • Breathing Muscle Relaxation is where you feel Tense and Relax

Different Muscles of Body by Exercising You can relax different groups of Muscles.

Other Techniques: • Visualization, where you create a mental image of a calming place for you • Deep Breathing, where you refocus your attention on your breathing • Hypnosis • Meditation • Mindfulness • Exercise • Music therapy • Art and Drama Therapy Visualization is another powerful technique that can help you unwind and relieve stress.

Visualization involves using

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mental imagery to achieve a more relaxed state of mind.

Visualization works to expand your ability to rest and relax by focusing your mind on.

Method how to Deep Breathing for Relaxation : • Sit comfortably with your back straight.

• Slowly Breathe in through your nose.

• Slowly Exhale through your mouth, pushing out as much air as you can while contracting or stretching your abdominal muscles.

• Continue to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

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Hypnosis: Role of Relaxation in Hypnotherapy. A state of relaxation means that you get rid of anxiety, stress and body tension to connect with your inner self. Hypnotherapists develop different relaxation techniques for their patients.

These approaches are based on what provides a calm state of mind for the affected party.

Mindfulness Meditation: This practice involves sitting comfortably, focusing on your breathing, and bringing your mind’s attention to the present moment without drifting into concerns about the past or the future. This form of meditation has enjoyed increasing popularity in recent years. Research suggests it may be helpful for people with anxiety, depression, and pain.

Exercise: exercise has many positive effects on health that are unrelated to stress. If exercise is to be effective in inducing relaxation, it must be noncompetitive, moderate in intensity, and pursued in pleasant surroundings.

Music therapy: Music Therapy. As the music plays, allow it to wash over you, rinsing off the stress from the day. Focus on your breathing, slow and become regular. Concentrate on the silence between the notes in the music; this keeps you from analyzing the music and makes relaxation more complete.

Ways to include relaxation in your life Search a Relaxation Technique That works for you and make it part of your Daily Routine, even if it’s just for 5 or 10 minutes a day.

If you’re interested in Mindfulness You may want to use Mindfulness Colorings books to help you focus on the present moment and take your mind off other things.

This includes an aspect of Art therapy, Another Relaxation Technique.

Keeping a healthy work-life balance helps with Relaxation and Managing Stress.sta

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