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Exercises to Improve Your Mental Wellbeing

Posted on March 23, 2023March 29, 2023

You probably already know that exercise is good for your physical body, but did you know it’s just as good at maintaining your mental wellbeing?

The Mental Benefits of Exercise

There are tons of ways that exercise offers mind and body support. Here are a few benefits that could coincide with exercising on a regular basis:

Reduced anxiety
Reduced symptoms of depression
Improved self-esteem (and therefore improving your mood)
Reduced social withdrawal
Improved cognitive function

Best Exercises for Mental Wellbeing

The best exercises for mental fitness vary from person to person, since the most effective mental health activities are those that you enjoy doing. What matters most is that you’re moving!

But if you’re not sure where to start, here are three of the best activities for mental fitness:

1. Walking

Walking may seem simple, but it’s a great place to start – and it’s easily sustainable. Even a 15-minute walk does wonders to clear your head. Remember, you don’t have to complete high-intensity exercises for an extended period of time to reap the benefits.

As your body gets used to walking, amp up the intensity with a faster pace or more hills. You’ll see that your body starts to enjoy benefits as well as your mind.

2. Yoga

Yoga is wonderful for relaxation and releasing tension, and it also increases bodily awareness and muscle tone.

Regular yoga practice has the power to lower your heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and cardiac output. It can also help boost the serotonin levels in your brain! This means lowered symptoms of anxiety and depression in the long run (and even in the short term, too).

what works for you and you’ll notice benefits before long.

3. Running

Running is a mental fitness activity that can be done on the gym treadmill, or out in the fresh air in your neighborhood. This activity is known to boost the mood, encourage stress relief, and make for better sleep. All of those benefits put together makes for improved emotional health, reduced anxiety, and lessened depression.

Stay Active to Stay Healthy

Your physical body isn’t the only part of you that can benefit from regular exercise. As you can see, your mind benefits as well. Take some time out of your day to incorporate one of these three exercises into your schedule and see how great it makes you feel afterwards.

Yoga Poses to Help Relieve Your Back Pain

Posted on March 21, 2023March 21, 2023

If you want a pain relief method that can benefit your entire body, look to yoga for back pain. Yoga is great for your entire body, but included in this article are three poses geared specifically towards the back. These back poses can relieve many types of back pain, but it’s important to remember to check with your doctor before going all out.

Three Great Yoga Poses for Back Pain

If you’re having constant back pain, yoga stretches for the spine will benefit you in both the short term and the long term.

Take a look at these three great back poses:

1. Cobra Pose

The cobra pose is a great type of yoga for back pain because it stretches out the chest, shoulders, abs, and neck.

How it’s done:

Lie on the floor facedown with your legs out behind you. Place your hands flat underneath your shoulders, spread your fingertips, and press the tops of your feet into the mat.
Keep your elbows tucked in and lift your chest by pressing your palms against the floor mats. Lift up until you’re fully extended (or as far as you’re comfortable).

2. Child’s Pose

Child’s pose is great for relaxation, as it releases tension in all of your muscles.

How it’s done:

With your knees wide, sit on your knees and make sure your big toes touch each other.
Lower down so your belly is between your thighs and rest your forehead on the mat.
Extend your arms with your palms touching the floor, then extend through your fingertips and your tailbone.

3. Seated Side Stretch

This yoga pose stretches the side body, the hips, the hamstrings, and releases tension that builds up in the spine.

How it’s done:

Sit on the floor with your legs extended and your feet hip-width apart.
Open your left leg out as far as what’s comfortable and keep your foot flexed. Bend your right knee and place the sole of your right foot on the inside of your left thigh.
Extend your arms over your head and lean your torso towards the left foot. Keep your spine long and your gaze forward, and rest your hand on your left foot, shin, or thigh while your right arm continues reaching over your right ear.

Yoga Pose for Back Pain Relief

When it comes to home remedies for back pain, there’s almost nothing more useful than yoga you can Use spine supporters during yoga. The next time you’re feeling tight or achy, try out one (or all) of these poses for some much-needed relief.

Everything You Need to Know About Resistance Bands

Posted on March 3, 2023March 3, 2023

If you’ve been looking for new ways and equipment to change up your workout routine, chances are you’ve heard about resistance bands, flex bands, stretch exercise bands, or something of the sort. So, what exactly are they? Let’s take a look at some of the uses and benefits of resistance bands, and what they can do for your daily exercise routine!

Benefits of Flex Bands

What edge do resistance bands have over other pieces of exercise equipment? The answer? A surprising number of benefits, many of which you probably wouldn’t expect. Most notably, there’s the price. Resistance bands are incredibly inexpensive as far as high-quality exercise equipment goes, but they’re no less useful because of that.

As for their usefulness, it’s nearly limitless. They’re an extremely simple piece of equipment, just stretchy exercise bands with handles, which leaves them open to a number of uses. One of our favorite ways to use them is for a solid shoulder exercise with bands.

Sets of resistance bands like this one allow you to pick the resistance weight you’re working out with and move up as your muscles grow, giving you a very real sense of accomplishment and progress. Not only does this make for a great workout, but it also provides you the motivation you need to keep your routine going, making them one of our favorite pieces of equipment on the market.

Resistance Bands Vs. Weights

These can be used in place of weights in most common weight resistance exercises, but they can also be used in plenty of others as well. They’re also extremely useful for increasingly popular HIIT workout routines and are easy enough to carry around so you can get a solid workout anytime, anywhere.

The versatility of resistance bands allows you to implement them in exercises involving movements that wouldn’t be feasible with weights. Though we aren’t saying you should throw away all your weights for resistance bands right now, bands such as these are generally a better pick for your standard workouts.

Best Workouts for Resistance Bands

Resistance bands can be used for countless exercises that you’re probably already familiar with, especially exercises that involve natural movements like curls and lunges. If you already have resistance exercises you enjoy doing, you can just use a resistance band in place of the tool you used before, and you’ll be good to go!

Looking for more quality tips and equipment to enhance your exercise routine? Visit our site at NineFit today!

5 Pieces of Yoga Equipment That Belong in Your Home Gym

Posted on March 1, 2023March 1, 2023

The health benefits of yoga can’t be understated in your everyday exercise routine. If you’re interested in starting with a few basic yoga exercises, you’ll need some high-quality equipment. Fortunately, we at NineFit are here to help! Take a look at our five favorite pieces of yoga equipment to get for your home gym.

1. Basic Yoga Equipment

Before moving on to the more specialized yoga accessories, you have to take care of beginner yoga equipment. Be sure to pick up a comfortable yoga mat, a high-quality yoga towel, and of course, some light, breathable yoga clothes. Once you have the basics covered, you can start looking for more specific pieces of equipment.

2. Yoga Cushions

Yoga cushions can be used for certain exercises, and also help to make your exercises more comfortable as a whole. If you need to kneel for a certain yoga pose, for example, you can put a yoga cushion underneath your knee to ease a bit of the strain. In addition, you can invest in a meditation cushion to make long meditation sessions a bit easier.

3. Flexbands

Flex bands can be used to add a bit of extra challenge to yoga poses, as well as any other resistance-based exercises. Typically made of a thick rubber cord, flex bands create tension when stretched, requiring much more effort to move than you’d need under normal circumstances. Naturally, they’re a great way to build muscle strength and get the most out of your yoga exercises.

4. Yoga Blocks

Yoga blocks are similar to yoga cushions but may be made of tougher materials. Because of this, they can help you stabilize some of your trickier yoga poses and simplify your exercises. They may also help to commit further to a yoga pose than you’d otherwise be able to. Essentially, it’s one of those yoga room accessories that are small but can have a huge impact on the quality of your workout.

5. Yoga Strap

Yoga straps are essentially the opposite of flex bands, designed to help you stretch further than normal. Just put one of the strap’s loops over the area you want to stretch and pull on the strap’s other end. Though it certainly still takes effort, using a yoga strap is one of the easiest ways to become more flexible and build up your range of motion.

Looking for more great equipment that suits your active lifestyle? Visit NineFit to learn and shop today!