Strengthen your body naturally

Dr. Raj, Double Board Certified (American and Canadian) Orthopedic Surgeon talks to Wellbeing Magazine about incorporating simple exercises into your day-to-day activites.

Between taking the kids to school, running errands, and working a full time job, it is almost impossible to find time to hit the gym these days.

As a result of this lack of free time, many health and fitness experts have been accentuating the benefits of naturally strengthening your body outside of the gym. How does one go about naturally strengthening their body? Dr. Raj, Beverly Hills based double board certified orthopedic surgeon and fitness expert, says it is simple. "Keep active at all times, not just during exercise hours. Pay attention to what you do on a regular basis and see how you can transform simple actions into workouts." Although this may seem less effective than using traditional strength-training tools, the results are rather gratifying. Just by incorporating simple exercises into your day-to-day activities, you tone muscles, burn calories, and keep your body physically active at all hours of the day.

Just by altering the way you accomplish daily tasks, you naturally strengthen and workout your body without having to go to the gym. If you feel like stepping it up a bit, some simple strength-training exercises can be done right at home. For example, squats and push-ups target your largest muscle groups and require no gym equipment whatsoever. Dr. Raj even states that there are many advantages to working out in the privacy of your own home. "It is your preference. When you work out at home, you don't have to worry about making excuses or feeling pressured-especially for beginners. Sometimes the gym only adds muscle confusion with its complexity of high-tech machinery."

Dr. Raj, as well as many other fitness experts, agrees that through naturally strengthening your body, you actively promote healthy habits throughout your daily routine. Whether it be taking the stairs up to your office or dropping down and doing some push-ups during your down time, the constant, yet undemanding, nature of these activities will help with overall improvement in your physique. They key lies within the fact that these are the muscle groups engaged in everyday activities-walking in the city, squatting to pick up the kids-and their well-being is crucial to a healthy lifestyle.

To help create a clearer picture of what natural strengthening looks like, Dr. Raj has shared three easy ways to naturally strengthen your body:

1. Take advantage of every opportunity you have to take the stairs - This targets the muscles in your thighs, calves, and gluts, while increasing the rate of your heart as you travel up and down those flights of stairs.
2. Eat and sleep well - By eating healthy and getting an adequate amount of sleep, your body is able to strengthen itself from the inside out. Your immune system will be stronger, you will have more energy, and your muscles will utilize the nutrients your body has taken in.
3. Walk as much as you can - By speeding up your normal pace, you incorporate cardiovascular exercise into your daily routine. This burns calories, tones up your muscles, and gets your heart pumping, without having to break a sweat.

Dr. Raj, is based in Beverly Hills, California, specialises in hip, knee, and joint replacements, arthritis pain, sports injuries, fractures, and additional focuses on providing top alternative, conservative, and surgical options for any joint, bone, or muscle pain.