The coronavirus pandemic is spreading rapidly across the world, leaving behind a trail of bodies.
The daunting consequences of the contagion have incited people to focus on social distancing, face masking, hand washing, and even self-isolation.
However, too few are paying serious attention to the fatal ways through which coronavirus is transmitted.
COVID-19 is a respiratory tract infection disease that can range from mild to lethal.
“Once you get infected with coronavirus, your lungs might become inflamed, reducing the body’s capacity to take an adequate amount of oxygen. That’s the prominent reason for death with this severe disease,” says Grand Slam Fitness Director Prateek Sood.
Lungs health is imperative, even more so with the deadly disease that affects the respiratory tract.
At this juncture, we bring you some regular workouts that improve your respiratory health to survive better in the pandemic.
Apart from improving physical fitness, these exercises make your body more competent in delivering oxygen into the bloodstream and transmitting it to the working muscles.
At-home Workouts to Improve Lung Health
1) Breathing Exercise
Breathing exercises play a vital role in dealing with any respiratory conditions as they help keep lungs clear for airflow. You can start practicing the exercise by taking deep breaths for 5-10 times with a 2 seconds gap between inhale and exhale.
Always try to breathe into your stomach and not the chest when performing this exercise.
You can try belly breathing, pranayama, anuloma viloma and kapalbhati pranayama, among others.
2) Arm Curls
Arm curls help in improving lung health besides increasing arm strength. You can choose simple dumbbells, water bottles or any other weights to try arm curls.
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Hold the weights at your sides and take a deep breath. Now lift the weights towards your chest and exhale slowly. Then lower the weights down while you breathe in.
Do at least two sets of 10-15 repetitions.
3) Rib Stretch
This workout is all about taking deep breaths such that your ribs expand and contract while you inhale and exhale. Rib stretch helps in improving lung capacity to take the maximum amount of oxygen.
Stand upright, inhale as much as you can and hold your breath for 10-15 seconds. Then exhale slowly.
Do this exercise for at least 3 times a day for better results.
4) Skipping
The benefits of skipping are better than you know and can go a very long way in improving overall well-being including lung health. Skipping makes you breathe fast and hard.
This, in turn, slowly increases the lungs’ ability to intake oxygen and process it. Moreover, jumping rope can train your bones, muscles and heart to work more efficiently.
5) Pushing Out
Pushing out is a simple and effective breathing exercise to improve lung capacity to absorb more oxygen.
Stand straight and bend down as you exhale all the air in your lungs. Then come back to the standing position, breathing in the air. Inhale air as much as possible and hold it as long as you can.
Then extend your hands over your head and lower back to starting position while exhaling.
In Conclusion
During these exercises, the right breathing practice is essential for better results. Try to breathe slowly during the workouts.
Practice inhaling through your nose with your mouth closed as it helps in filtering the air. Then slowly exhale through your mouth to get all the air out.
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