• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
GO TO EXPAT LIVING SINGAPORE
GET OUR NEWSLETTER

Expat Living Hong Kong HomepageExpat Living Hong Kong

Moving to Hong Kong and not sure where to start? Expat Living is the essential lifestyle guide to living in Hong Kong.

Login Pelcro Shop

Menu
  • Living In Hong Kong
      • Living Here
      • Where To Live
      • Schools
      • For Guys
        • SCMP Posties summer camps - journalismInteractive camps for budding journalists – and more!
        • Exciting summer programmes for kids – in HK and abroad!
        • Horoscopes for June 2023!
        • Serviced apartments in Hong Kong Kong - ParkviewServiced apartments and places to stay in HK
      • View all
    Close
  • Things To Do
      • Things To Do
      • What’s On/Calendar
      • Competitions & Offers
        • W Hotel Hong Kong Poolside PartyTop 35 Best Things To Do In Hong Kong This Weekend
        • Horoscopes for June 2023!
        • 10 things about the Dragon Boat Festival 
        • What to watch this month – Netflix & more!
      • View all
    Close
  • Kids
      • Activities & Things To Do
      • Education & Enrichment
      • Health & Wellness
      • Mums & Babies
      • Podcasts
        • SCMP Posties summer camps - journalismInteractive camps for budding journalists – and more!
        • Exciting summer programmes for kids – in HK and abroad!
        • International schools in Hong Kong - HKABest International Schools In Hong Kong, Primary to Secondary
        • Choosing a university and finding the right fit
      • View all
    Close
  • Homes
      • Home Décor
      • Readers Homes
        • BoConcept Danish furniture and interior design services in Hong Kong - roomsetBoConcept celebrates a decade in Hong Kong!
        • Home design and décor tips - ginger jarsHow to bring your living room to life!
        • Rebecca, Brian and daughter Billie in their newly renovated Fortress Hill homeTransforming a Hidden Gem in Fortress Hill
        • Horizon Plaza stores - Indigo Living Boston Brownstone CollectionOur guide to furniture shopping at Horizon Plaza
      • View all
    Close
  • Travel
      • Short Breaks
      • Further Afield
        • Pets and Planes: 5 Things to Consider
        • Sri Lanka - Where to go for a girls tripWhere to go for a girls’ trip
        • Best Surf Breaks in Southeast Asia - padang padangBest Surf Breaks in Southeast Asia
        • Outdoor activities in Hong Kong - hikingOutdoor activities for all the family
      • View all
    Close
  • Wine & Dine
      • Recipes & Groceries
      • Bars & Restaurants
        • Beef & Liberty burgers in Hong Kong - Falafel burgerTaste Test Burger Edition #1 Beef & Liberty
        • Seafood restaurant in Hong Kong - Lobster Shack4 restaurants to satisfy your cravings
        • Taste Test: Chinese Cuisine in HK
        • New bars and restaurants in Hong Kong - RositaNew nibbles: where to dine this May
      • View all
    Close
  • Style & Beauty
      • Fashion
      • Hair & Beauty
        • hair treatment at Glow Salon in Hong KongFour hairdressers and their styling solutions
        • Considering getting hair extensions?
        • Paraben-free skincare for men
        • Skincare anti-ageing products, overnight creams, face and eye serumsTried and Tested: Anti-ageing Products 
      • View all
    Close
  • Health & Fitness
      • Medical & Dental
      • Fitness
      • Wellness
        • 11 great gyms & studios to keep in shape
        • recurrent miscarriages – causes, risk factors, ivf treatmentHealth help: A focus on recurrent miscarriage
        • lung cancer - symptoms and treatmentLung Cancer: 8 Common Myths
        • Osteopathy in Hong KongOsteopathy for Body Aches & Pains
      • View all
    Close
  • Shop
    • Magazine
    • Advertise With Us
    • Close

Four ways to factor in fitness

14 June, 2022 by Expat Living 3 Min Read

https://expatliving.hk/health-and-fitness-exercise-tips-for-safe-workouts-bupa-global/

With work deadlines, social events and life admin, our day-to-day time can quickly run short – and exercise is often the first sacrifice. However, ditching the workout today could have implications on our health tomorrow. Bupa health advisor THOMAS HOOD runs through four areas of concern and some exercise tips to target them.

#1 Improving Posture

If you spend hours at a desk and suffer from neck or back stiffness and pain, this may be due to poor posture and require paying more attention to core strength. Luckily, the beauty of core exercises is that they quite often require little to no equipment. You can do them in any spot with sufficient floor space.

Exercise Tips

Circuit training, Pilates and yoga all include core-strengthening routines. Check out classes available at your local gym for guidance in getting started. Once you’re confident, you can easily practice alone.

Benefits

Working on your core can reduce lower back pain and stiffness and prevent more serious spinal-alignment issues. Good posture can also improve your digestion and breathing efficiency.

#2 Reducing Blood Pressure

Often symptom-less, high blood pressure is most commonly linked to unhealthy lifestyle choices; these include stress, alcohol, smoking and excessive salt or saturated fat. Aerobic exercises can help alleviate the pressure and improve vascular control with circulation.

Exercise Tips

Running, swimming or cardio classes are ideal. If time is a factor, even a 45-minute spin session or a 20-minute walk over your lunch break can help.

Benefits

Studies have shown that reduction of just 10mm/hg pressure has been linked with 13 percent and 27 percent reductions in all-cause mortality and stroke risk, respectively. Aerobic exercise helps not only high blood pressure and weight loss, but is a great form of stress management too.

#3 Losing Excess Weight

As well as having multiple severe health implications, carrying excess weight can be a big knock to self-confidence. Here’s the good news; rather than traditional prolonged aerobic training, recent research has shown that shorter-duration, higher intensity exercise is just as effective to target weight loss. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) involves alternating short periods of near-maximal efforts – lasting between 30 seconds and three minutes – with lower-intensity training and recovery periods. Sessions typically last between 20 and 50 minutes.

Exercise Tips

Spinning, circuit training, boot camps and boxercise classes are all excellent HIIT workouts.

Benefits

During high intensity sprints, the body mostly burns carbohydrates from muscle stores, but switches to fat-burning during the recovery phase and can continue to elevate metabolism even after the session is over.

#4 Building Muscle

From the age of 30 onwards, our bodies typically lose between three to five percent of our muscle mass each decade, making it increasingly difficult to shift body fat. So it’s important to factor in resistance training to build muscle and boost our self-image. During resistance workouts, small amounts of localised damage is inflicted on muscle tissue. The body repairs the muscle, contributing to a boost in size and strength over time. It’s important to monitor your protein levels and seek guidance to ensure you train effectively and avoid injury.

Exercise Tips

Classes like body pump, sculpt and circuit training are ideal. You can also request a personalised resistance plan from your trainer.

Benefits

Matching resistance training with fat-loss exercises enables your body to maintain a healthy weight for the long term – eliminating the dreaded “yo-yo diet”. Increasing your resistance training can also minimise injury risk, boost self-esteem and make everyday tasks just that little bit easier to accomplish.

2531 8586 | bupaglobal.com/hk


Subscribe to Expat Living magazine now so you never miss an issue.

This article was designed and produced by Bupa Global by searching internal and external data and information for information provision and reference purposes only. Any views or information mentioned and set out in this article/webpage are based on general situations. Readers should not regard them as medical advices or medical recommendations. Before making any decisions about the theme of this article, you are recommended to seek independent advice from suitable professionals (such as doctors, nutritionists, etc.). It is clearly stated that Bupa Global will not bear any responsibilities for others’ usage or interpretation of the information listed in this article. Terms and conditions apply, please visit bupaglobal.com for full details on the insurance plans. The plans are insured by Bupa (Asia) Limited and administered by Bupa Global. Bupa Global is a trading name adopted by Bupa (Asia) Limited in relation to its portfolio of International Private Medical Insurance products and services. Bupa (Asia) Limited is authorised and regulated by the Hong Kong Insurance Authority. This material shall not be construed as an offer to sell or solicitation to buy or provision of any insurance product outside Hong Kong.

Categories: Editors Picks Fitness Health & Fitness Tags: Bupa Global Fitness Health

Get the latest events, stories and special offers sent to your inbox
Get the latest events, stories and special offers sent to your inbox

You May Also Like

10 things about the Dragon Boat Festival 

Hong Kong based author M.L. Wright at book signing of White Glove Life

Meet the Author: M. L. Wright

BoConcept Danish furniture and interior design services in Hong Kong - roomset

BoConcept celebrates a decade in Hong Kong!

Primary Sidebar

  • COMPETITIONS & OFFERS
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Subscribe

© 2023 Expat Living Hong Kong, All Rights Reserved.