G Plus Volume 1 Issue 45

18
Health
G PLUS AUG 09 - AUG 15, 2014
Do it at home
g plus feature
Combating skin monsoon threat
We’ve all been there—the 5
o’clock after-work rush to
the gym. It’s loud, crowded,
and you’re waiting forever for
equipment or free weights. But why
deal with that mess when you can get
a workout from home? Well, here are
some routines we’re confident you’ll
approve of.
Pulling
Pulling exercises like rows and
pull-ups use your body weight against
you, and allow you to control the degree
of difficulty by manipulating
leverage. They also happen to be two
of the most primal, most functional
exercises you can do, creating a larger
anabolic response than isolation exercises,
leading to greater gains in
size and strength.
Lunges
No home workout routine
would be complete without a good
lower-body exercise. Enter the walking
lunge. You don’t need barbells,
dumbbells or kettle bells to make this
exercise challenging; you just need
strict form and persistence. But if you
are looking to make this harder for
yourself, you can hold dumbbells by
your side or a plate above your head.
The key to the exercise is to forcibly
contract your gluts rather than relying
on your quad muscles to get you
out of the hole. This will emphasise
the proper motor pathways, correcting
the bad habits you learn by
spending all day sitting at a desk.
Pushups
One of the oldest exercises is still
one of the best. From primary school
to the Marines, pushups are a great
test of upper body strength. Add intensity
either by doing more reps or
by giving yourself a time limit and
seeing how many pushups you can
do within a given time. Whichever
variation you choose, make sure your
form is good: legs and back in line (do
not arch your back or allow your pelvis
to drop), hands underneath your
chest. Control your descent and be
explosive.
Planks
are one of the most basic ab exercises
available, but don’t be fooled:
They may look easy, but they will
have you sweating and shaking in
seconds. The main benefit is to your
core, which is forced to brace itself
against the weight of your body.
Standard planks work your upper
and lower abs, and side planks target
the oblique. As with all body-weight
exercises, you can manipulate your
body position to increase the degree
of difficulty, try, for example, doing a
side plank with your upper leg raised
off your body.
Agility and anaerobic
conditioning
Few people do agility work or
anaerobic conditioning. And there’s
a good reason for that: It’s hard. It’s
not as glamorous as working on your
bench press, it’s not as fun as running
outdoors, and it won’t stroke your ego
like doing bicep curls in front of the
mirror. In fact, agility work and anaerobic
conditioning will kick your
ass. It will humble you. And that’s exactly
why you have to do it. You don’t
need much: some open space and a
pair of good shoes will do. The goal
is to push yourself to your limits for
short periods of time and to take long
rests between sets to give your body
time to recover. This is not something
to do when you’re already tired -- you
want to force your nervous system to
adapt by working at maximum intensity
at all times.
Finish with Cardio
By the time you’ve finished the
preceding exercises; your body will
be in a state of glycogen depletion.
The advantage to being in such a state
is that any further exercise forces
your body to draw on your fat stores
for energy, making this an ideal window
to do some running, swimming
or other form of cardio.
It’s not enough to train hard;
sometimes you have to train smart.
And taking advantage of the natural
changes in your body chemistry is a
great way to see improvement and
make the most of your workout.
Monsoon is indeed a
beautiful season. Splattering
rain and cool
zephyrs captivate your heart, and
you find yourself falling in love
with the dark sky above. Yet, with
cold rain drops comes humidity.
Despite its beautiful disposition,
this season is not a friend to
your skin. Your skin might have
to endure a number of irritants
and problems during Monsoons.
Here’s how you can take care of
your skin during the rainy season.
For dry skin
Keeping the skin hydrated
all the time is very important.
Cleansing is important during
the monsoons. The high humidity
causes sweat, build-up dirt,
and dust along with other toxins
on the surface of skin, keeps skin
nourished. Loss of moisture from
skin makes it appear dry and lifeless.
Use a good moisturizer at
least 2 to 3 times a day.
For oily skin
Use a very mild cleanser to
get the dead skin and dirt off from
skin. Use pure oatmeal scrub to
cleanse oily skin or use ripe papaya
pulp as a mild exfoliate.
Skin Care
Apart from cleansing, toning
is a necessity at night. During
monsoon, a lot of airborne and
waterborne germs are let free. So
a good anti-bacterial toner will go
a long way to prevent skin infections
and breakouts. It is a good
idea to get anti-bacterial face
wash too.
Moisturizing
Moisturizing in the rains is
as important as it is in summer.
Monsoons can mean a de-hydrating
effect on dry skin and an
excessive-hydrating effect on oily
skin. The skin gets wet often and
with the constant wetting and
drying, a lot of dehydration takes
place. That explains the itchy feeling
one gets during monsoons.
Use a non-water based moisturizer,
if you happen to get wet often.
Otherwise a water- based moisturizer
will do just fine. Though
its monsoon, still don’t avoid the
usage of SPF, minimum is SPF
15 as UV A rays are all the time
around us hence do follow the use
of sunscreen on daily basis.
Fungal problem
Major issue during rainy
season is the fungal infection. So
never keep your skin and body
wet for long time. Lukewarm
water for bath, antifungal soap,
cream and talc will be beneficial.
Ayurveda and
monsoon skincare
During rainy season our
body is weak and susceptible.
Ayurveda experts say, “According
to Ayurveda, rainy season is
the most unfavourable time for
health. Dosha imbalances will
have their manifestation on feet,
nails and skin too.”
Some simple tips:
Eat a warm, unctuous diet
(ghee and olive oil are best).
Avoid drying foods like crackers.
Drink plenty of warm water
throughout the day and eat sweet,
juicy fruits. Avoid alcohol-based
skin cleansers. Increase intake
of nuts, (almonds, walnuts and
their oils), seeds (sesame, sunflower
and their oils), grape seed
oil, soybean oil, whole grains, and
legumes.
Wash your face two to three
times a day with a mixture of
green gram powder and channa
powder (equal proportion) made
into a paste with water.
Make a paste of papaya, honey,
milk. Apply on face, and leave
for 15 minutes and then wash off.
A paste of neem leaves mixed
with honey can be used as a face
pack. Remove the pack before it
dries up on your skin.
Use a mixture of honey and
curd for body massage before
shower.
Keep your feet dry and clean
at all times and moisturise them
daily. Cut your toe nails regularly
and keep them free from dirt.