Jan 31

Mental health tips: Simple, everyday strategies to manage anxiety and depression

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How to Manage Depression: Coping with anxiety and depression includes self-awareness, lifestyle changes, and emotional resilience. Studies suggest that by making small, consistent changes, you can regain a sense of control over your mental health and improve your health. Anxiety and depression can make everyday life difficult, where even the simplest tasks may feel exhausting. While everyone experiences moments of stress and sadness, persistent anxiety and depression can interfere with life, relationships, and well-being. If left unaddressed, these conditions can impact productivity, self-esteem, and physical health. It is therefore important to timely manage the symptoms and improve mental well-being. A vital step in managing anxiety and depression is acknowledging the symptoms and understanding their impact, says Dr Astik Joshi, Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, New Delhi. “Anxiety often presents as excessive worrying and physical tension, while depression can lead to persistent low mood, fatigue, and changes in sleep and appetite,” he says. To effectively manage anxiety and depression, the first step is identifying specific thoughts, behaviours, and triggers that contribute to distress. Negative thought patterns can fuel anxiety and sadness, creating a cycle of worry and emotional exhaustion. “Once you recognise these triggers, you can actively work on regulating their responses. […]
Jan 30

5 Tips to Get the Best Gym Selfie

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Boost your confidence at the gym with these picture-taking techniques. Selfie: It’s officially a term in the Oxford Dictionary and Merriam Webster—just Google it and you’ll see. With 240,000,000 search results, it’s evident that selfies have weaved their way into our everyday lives. We take selfies at the park on a nice day, when the lighting in our apartment is just right, and the most obvious of them all: at the gym, before or after a long sweat session. To get the best selfie at the gym, check out these helpful tips.   Be Confident and Aware Do you ever get a bit self-conscious while looking in the mirror as you’re about to snap a selfie of yourself flexing? If you look at other people’s gym selfies, it’s guaranteed that they’re striking the same pose, except they all look confident. Forget about your surroundings and just focus on getting your best picture. However, be aware of the environment. Don’t take a selfie in the locker room—the last thing you want is a man with nothing but a towel on in the background of your selfie. Keep in mind that no one is judging you, and the guy next to you […]
Jan 29

Are you crazy about fitness challenges? This may change your mind

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Fitness challenges may seem like fun, but they can really make you end up with injuries. That is if your fitness levels are not at par with the exercise you are performing!   If there’s an important lesson that we have learned during the pandemic, it is that we must NEVER take our health for granted. As we stayed at home to keep ourselves protected from the Covid-19 virus, social media threw up various fitness challenges that targeted everything from abs to legs, and the upper body. Planks to squats, dumbbells to resistance bands – everything and more featured in these fitness challenges.   Are fitness challenges safe? While they may sound exciting, these exercises are NOT for everyone. It is your fitness level that determines if your body is prepared for a certain workout or not! And this has been confirmed by none other than Meenakshi Mohanty, a renowned fitness expert. Here’s what she tells HealthShots! “Before starting your exercise, it is always advised to check your fitness levels. A fitness assessment is a set of exercises used to examine your general health and physical condition. These exams involve various standardized tests, some of which are designed for medical […]
Jan 28

Stay Healthy All Year-Round: Check Ways to Boost Your Immunity During Seasonal Changes

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Strengthen your immune system with these simple yet effective tips to stay healthy and resilient as seasons shift. Seasonal changes bring a mix of excitement and challenges, from enjoying the beauty of new weather to dealing with a higher risk of falling sick. Whether it’s the cool breeze of autumn or the sudden warmth of spring, these transitions often leave our immune systems vulnerable. To keep your health intact, preparing your body to adapt to these changes seamlessly is essential. Here are some tips to strengthen your immunity and stay healthy no matter what the season brings:   1. Eat Seasonal and Nutrient-Rich Foods One of the simplest ways to boost your immunity is by eating seasonal fruits and vegetables. They’re packed with vitamins and antioxidants that your body needs. For instance, winter brings oranges and spinach rich in vitamin C, while summer offers hydrating foods like watermelon and cucumber. Eating a variety of fresh produce ensures your immune system gets the nutrients it requires to fight off illnesses.   2. Stay Hydrated Hydration is key, regardless of the weather. As seasons change, your body’s hydration needs may fluctuate. Drink plenty of water and include hydrating beverages like herbal teas […]
Jan 27

Do Gym Injuries Increase in Winter? Expert Shares Key Insights on Cold Season Fitness Risks

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Dr Debashish Chanda, an orthopaedic expert, shares insights on why gym injuries may rise in winter and how to avoid them with proper preparation and technique.   As the winter season settles in, many fitness enthusiasts flock to the gym to burn off the extra calories from holiday indulgence or to start fresh with New Year’s fitness resolutions. However, with the cold weather, comes a concern: Do gym injuries increase in winter? According to Dr Debashish Chanda, Lead Consultant in Orthopaedics and Joint Replacement at CK Birla Hospital Gurugram, there are indeed some specific risks to consider during colder months, but with proper precautions, injuries can be minimised.   The Risk of Winter Workouts “During winter, the muscles and joints tend to become stiffer,” says Dr Chanda. “When it’s cold, your body temperature drops, and as a result, your muscles lose their flexibility and flow. This can increase the risk of muscle strains, joint pain, and other injuries.” The expert further explains that the cold weather makes it essential to warm up properly before starting any workout. “It is particularly important to stretch and warm up well during winter to ensure that your body is ready for the physical strain […]
Jan 26

5 daily habits to boost your mental health

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Replace your toxic habits with these positive ones to improve your mental health and lead a happier and healthier life. A sound mental health is important not only to cope with the pressures of daily life, have good relationships in life and achieving your work targets, it’s also about feeling comfortable in your own skin, having healthy thought patterns, and managing your emotions well. While we may not be paying attention, but our daily habits can have a significant impact on our mental health. Lazing around, binging on movies, sleeping late at night, eating a lot of junk, waking up late in the morning can all lead to poor health. Incorporating positive habits like meditation, spending time in nature, eating healthy, doing yoga and breathing exercises can give a much-needed boost to your mental health. “Our habits not just shape our day but our mind, body, and soul as well. In our hectic and chaotic lifestyle, all we need is solace for some time. A little break to wipe off all those frown lines from our foreheads and feel refreshed and reconnected. And to achieve a perfect balance between the mind, body, and soul, all we have to do is […]
Jan 25

Is It Bad to Do the Same Workout Every Day?

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If you really love an exercise routine, is it bad to work out every day? Luckily, there is a way to repeat exercise routines without compromising progress. When it comes to workouts, most people fall into one of two categories. Some love to mix it up: HIIT one day, running the next, with a few barre classes thrown in for good measure. Others are creatures of habit: Their workouts look the same day after day, month after month. But is it bad to work out every day if you’re in the second camp and do the same workout every time you exercise? While there are perks to both, most fitness experts will tell you that it’s the people who gravitate toward variety who reap the real rewards of exercise — and studies support the fact that workouts that challenge your body in new ways are the most beneficial over time. However, some of the most popular forms of exercise such as road races, rowing, and cycling call for training that more or less looks the same every time. So is sticking with the same workout every day ever a good thing? The answer is complicated, so read on for a […]
Jan 24

How to Set and Achieve Your Fitness Goals For 2025

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Overstretching goals can place strain on your achievements, so aim for steady gains.   If you plan to set health and fitness goals for 2025, it’s best to leave the “go big or go home” mentality behind. Setting excessively high goals may seem beneficial, but it can leave you feeling overwhelmed and unmotivated. (Raise your hand if this sounds familiar!) “This time of the year is brimmed with possibilities, excitement, and expectation,” says Teddy Savage, National lead trainer at Planet Fitness HQ. While that can be a thrilling combination, ‘It can also be the recipe for unfulfilled promises, discouragement, and frustration if you’re not careful to create the right mindset around it and focus more on the journey than on the ultimate destination,” says Savage. The personal trainer feels that people aim too high when their end goals take them too far from where they are currently. While a typical fitness resolution is usually centered around a point very far out in the distance, Savage explains if more people focused on creating their goals around plotting a course that’s both feasible and enjoyable, it would allow them to be more pragmatic with their approach to progress and forego “perfection.” Ahead, […]
Jan 23

Best bicep exercises: 7 of the best bicep exercises for building your arms

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Here’s how to build your bicep muscles So you want to build your biceps for summer? If you’ve been working on your arms for a while, you’ll know that not all bicep exercises are created equal. But what are the best bicep exercises to focus on if bigger, stronger, or more sculpted arms are your goal? “You can build your bicep muscles by eating right, training effectively, and by isolating your training to target the arms,” FightCamp founding coach PJ Shirdan told Tom’s Guide. Far from being just an aesthetic goal, stronger biceps can help improve your overall upper body strength, helping you lift heavier weights in and out of the gym. Shirdan has outlined some of the best bicep exercises to isolate the bicep muscle below, but has caveated that these exercises aren’t the only way to improve your bicep strength. “The other way, that I believe is more fun and effective, is utilizing movements in which the biceps are a secondary/auxiliary muscle worked. For example, with pull-ups, chin-ups, and reverse pull-ups, we are activating the lats, deltoids, rhomboids, and your core all at the same time while working the biceps,” said Shirdan “I love to train biceps, but […]
Jan 22

12 tips for healthy eating on a budget

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Is it possible to eat well for less? Our tips for healthy eating on a budget will show you how   It’s never been more important to eat healthily, but eating a variety of fruit, vegetables, and other nutritious foods has become harder for individuals and families in recent years, with food prices surging. We’ve got 12 tips for healthy eating on a budget, to ensure you and your family are eating well every day. According to the US Department of Agriculture, at least one in 10 US households was food insecure at least some time during 2020, and 5.1m households had very low food security. Experts define food insecurity as being unable to access enough affordable, nutritious food to enable normal growth and development. In this article, we aim to provide support and information on how families and individuals can access nutritious, affordable foods even on a tight budget. From advice on planning meals and shopping lists to tips on making the most of coupons, we have helpful hints to make your money stretch further. We’ve also spoken to Kimberly Snodgrass, registered nutritionist and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, for her expert advice on finding healthy […]
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