Edited by: Ayotomiwa Omotosho
The incessant strike actions are back at our faces, and this one doesn’t look like it’s ending anytime soon. I’m sure you constantly hear, “use this period to learn a skill.” That’s definitely not from parents, because they mostly want you to focus on the books, even when you have not done anything in school.
You will agree with me that reading during this period is nearly impossible. While learning skills is a great idea, you should never forget about your health and fitness. The best way to keep yourself fit while enjoying your stay at home is to engage in regular exercises.
However, before you get into it, these are four important parts of your body that you didn’t know needed a workout.
The Wrists
Many people often overlook the importance of the wrist joint. A good wrist improves your grip strength, which is vital when doing arm, chest, and shoulder exercises. It also helps you avoid injuries from repetitive motions. Take it from someone who has had a sprained wrist; it’s not fun.
So before that happens to you, here are exercises you could do to strengthen your wrists:
- Improve Your Range of Motion: If you’re making repetitive motions with your hands, this is an exercise for stretching or a relaxation break.
- Sit in a comfortable position and bend your elbow. Rest your upper arm on your leg or a table, or hold it with your other hand.
- Make a fist, and flex your hand at the wrist as far as you comfortably can.
- Maintain a smooth and continuous motion by moving your wrist back and forth ten times. Make sure you’re moving only your wrist, not your whole arm.
- Move your wrist to the left as far as you can comfortably, then to the right as far as you can comfortably while keeping your hand in the same position.
- Repeat this ten times in a smooth and continuous motion.
- Repeat with the opposite hand.
- Hand Ball Squeeze: This can be done with any ball that is about the size of a tennis ball. You can also use exercise putty, which comes in three different strengths: soft, medium, and hard.
- Sit comfortably and wrap your fingers and thumb around the ball or putty you’re using.
- Squeeze as firmly as possible.
- Squeeze for 3 to 5 seconds before releasing.
- Slowly loosen your grip.
- Repeat for about 5–10 times more.
The Calves
When you think of workouts, most people usually see a ripped guy with huge biceps and bulging chests. People often neglect to exercise their lower bodies resulting in people being shaped like upside-down water droplets.
The calves are the group of muscles on the back of your lower leg. They are important for walking, running, and other leg-intensive activities. Here is a simple exercise you can do.
- Explosive Calf Step-Up: You’ll need a small stool or box and a flat floor for this exercise. Then
- Stand firmly on the floor
- Place on foot on the stool or box
- Lift in a single burst using the stool as a pivot
- Swap your legs as you come down
- Now, repeat that about 10 to 25 times daily
The Ankles
Like the wrist joint, the ankle does not get as much care and attention as it should. The ankle is one of the most important joints in the body. A bad ankle will result in instability while standing and walking. Most people associate ankle problems with old age, but that’s not entirely true.
Every day, your ankle joints and associated muscles are subjected to a great deal of wear and tear, which can take its toll over time. Strengthening your ankles is a simple task that you can do without equipment. Just follow the steps below:
- Calf lift from a standing position: This simple exercise is especially helpful if you have swollen ankles.
- Hold a railing or sturdy chair for balance and stand on a flat floor with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Raise your heels to the point where you’re standing on your toes, then slowly drop them.
- Repeat ten times more.
- Do this at least once a day.
- One Foot Stand
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- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a sturdy chair or table for support.
- Lift one foot off the floor while holding the chair for balance.
- For 10 to 20 seconds, balance on one foot.
- Return your foot to its original position.
- Then repeat the process with the opposite foot.
The Toes
Your toes support your body weight when you walk, making them vital parts of your body. The toes are made up of small bones called the tarsals. Just behind them are five bones called metatarsals. These bones are arranged in an intricate, precise way that forms what anatomists call the arch of the foot. This arch is what ensures that you don’t trip or injure yourself when walking. It also makes standing and walking relatively effortless.
So now that we have established how important your toes are, what happens if you don’t pay attention to them? Have you ever woken up and felt your feet tightening up? That is your toes’ way of saying, ‘please, pay attention to me.’
Here are a few exercises you can do:
- Toe Lift: This exercise improves flexibility.
- Sit comfortably with your feet flat on the floor
- Lift your toes from the floor (as much as possible keep your feet on the floor)
- Hold for 5 seconds
- Lower yours and repeat ten times per foot
- Toe Lift and Spread: Like the toe lift, this exercise also improves flexibility. You could even add an elastic band for some resistance.
- Sit comfortably with your feet flat on the floor
- Lift your toes from the floor
- When lifted, spread your toes as far apart as you can
- Hold for 5 seconds
- Relax your toes and lower them
- Repeat the process ten times per foot
You could do several other toe exercises, but these two should be enough to keep your toes fit and healthy.
So there you have it, four parts of your body you didn’t know needed workouts. Now, get off your phone and start exercising right away. Before you drop your phone, though, let us know in the comments if you have any other exercises you recommend for these body parts. Have fun exercising!