THREE HANDY HOME FITNESS EQUIPMENT TO OWN

Do you prefer to exercise at home, but, do not have space for a treadmill, or similar large gym equipment? Good news is, there are quite a number of small fitness equipment you can use at home and still get fantastic results. I have highlighted my three favorite home fitness tools.

Resistance Bands: Resistance bands are not commonly used. Many people tend to stick to dumbbells or machines. I bought one recently when I travelled because my dumbbells were too heavy to pack along. Resistance bands are more affordable and portable. They are a great way to workout when on the move or to add variety to your usual routine. You can do a number of exercises with the resistance band as it allows you to change your positioning in multiple ways. This changes how your body works and how an exercise feels. When buying a resistance band watch out for the tension level. Most bands would be marked small, medium or heavy. Exercises you could do with a resistance band include: chest press, bicep curls, triceps extensions, seated row, chest flies, etc.

Dumbbells: Dumbbells may not be travel friendly due to its weight, but, they are good tools to have at home. They are small and can easily be stored. Dumbbells provide many benefits for improving health and fitness, from muscle building to calorie burning to improved muscular endurance. You may add a set of dumbbells to your usual walk or run routine to power it up. You could also use dumbbells while doing your dance fitness videos.

Jump Ropes: Many of us may relate jump ropes with our childhood. Exercising with a jump rope is a great way to lose weight, improve cardiovascular fitness and tone the leg muscles. Your cardiovascular system involves your heart and the arteries and veins that bring blood and oxygen to and from the heart and the rest of the body. Therefore, by improving the ability of this system to work, you will not only have a greater ability to perform your daily tasks, but you will become less breathless during exercise.

NUTRITIONAL/HEALTH BENEFITS OF PLANTAINS

P lantains are widely eaten in West Africa. Plantains are similar to bananas but larger in size. While bananas are termed fruits, plantains are vegetables. Bananas are mostly eating raw, while plantains are usually cooked before consumption. Plantains can be eaten unripe, ripen or over-ripe. When unripe, plantains are usually green in colour, when ripen, they turn yellow. In Nigeria, for example, unripe plantains are usually used to cook plantain porridge, ripe plantains are mostly fried and used as a supplement to main dishes like rice and beans. Over-ripe plantains are used to make snacks like plantain fritters.

NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS OF ZOBO/SORREL DRINK

z obo/sorrel was a must have during family gatherings. As children, we loved drinking it, not only because of how nice it tasted, but also because it coloured our lips and tongues red. Zobo (Nigerian) or Sorrel (Jamaican) is a red coloured drink made from a flower called Hibiscus sabdariffa. The sorrel plant contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, calcium, niacin, riboflavin and a group of compounds called flavonoids. Flavanoids not only gives the sorrel plant its deep red colour, but, are also rich in antioxidants which rids the body of toxins. The sorrel plant also contains nutraceleuticals, which are said to be helpful to the health. Nutraceleuticals can help prevent and treat several diseases including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF LIME AND HONEY

L ime and Honey are two must haves in my house. I use honey as a substitute for white sugar. I remember a friend of mine visited me once and she wanted to drink garri (drinking garri is local to Nigerians, i.e. eating dried cassava with cold water as opposed to hot water), she was astonished when I told her to use honey to sweeten her garri. I'm not a tea person, but my parents are, and a cup of tea for them is not complete without limes.

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