10-minute stress relieving workouts you can do anywhere! -By Huma Batool Nakvi

 

Needless to say, this year has been stressful for everyone, so we'll be taking as well as sharing all the tips, tricks and hacks to release stress we can get our hands on. Be it meditation, or the physical exercises we'll be sharing here today to help you empty your thought to help you see things more clearly. According to research, a good sweat by getting a workout in your day helps fight fatigue and stress in your daily life. Here are 5 easy home workouts ranging from war-up cardio, core strengthening easy work outs to help relieve that slouch from sitting in the same position for hours, as well as those which target different muscle groups for an all around muscular activity that you can do whether you're at home, at work, or staying at a hotel. 

Your 10-minute workout routine:

Stationary jog

This is a good warm up to start your workout with. You perform a jogging motion like you would on a treadmill but standing in one place. Not only you don't even need a treadmill for this, it gets your blood pumping and activates your muscles. It is preferred that one does this before a proper stretching for workout because the warm up will prevent muscle injuries because there is a higher chance that  you pull a muscle while stretching too much in the beginning. Also because if you stretch before warming up, your muscles will relax and prevent them from getting activated which you would need while working out so in simple words, your muscles become lazy to function if you do stretches too much before working out. instead opt for a light stretch and then a warm up cardio in the start, and finally end with stretching. 

Push ups

This is a brilliant workout that merges your warm up cardio and actual workout where you activate different muscle groups specially your core, arms, and shoulders. This is a good workout for all age groups. 

                                                             

Squats

This can be done with or without weights. It's an excellent workout for those who don't walk enough during the day. It activates your quads, glutes, lower back, hamstrings and calves at the same time. Great for reducing thigh weight specially gained by sitting and not having been walking around during quarantine. 

  Twist crunches

For days when I've been sitting slouched working away all day, it's one of my favorite workouts to activate my core and strengthen my back and core muscles to make the aches go away!

                                       

Plank

A one minute plank is the perfect workout for strengthening your abdomen. It can be done in different variations such as a side plank or push up plank as shown below. It activates your core, back, arms, and leg muscles at the same time! A highly recommended exercise for those with a slouched tummy or posture.