Three great workout routines for the weekend

Fitness at Lounge isn’t all about the aesthetics but we focus on building strength and being healthy. Over the past week, our writers, all of whom are fitness enthusiasts, have put together a great mix of stories that will help you on your own fitness journey. We highlight the three best pieces of the week, excellent combination of workout tips and health advice. They’re sure to get you up to speed with your training regimen. 

Whatever the distance or terrain, you need strong legs and good cardiovascular capacity for a trek
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Get fit for that trek in the mountains

Most of us haven’t travelled for over a year, and if you’re an avid trekker, you’re likely to have missed tramping through the mountains, but are you fit enough to hit the trails again? Bibek Bhattacharya has some tips on how to train for a hike and get back into shape for those long treks that combine travel, mindfulness and the sheer joy of being out in nature. Whatever the distance or terrain, the two most important points of fitness for a trek are strong legs and good cardiovascular capacity. You’d also need to train your core for stability, and build back strength to go the distance carrying a 10kg backpack. 

Running on uneven surfaces or bad roads can lead to knee injuries
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How to recover from a running knee injury

If you’re a regular runner and love racking up the miles, chances are you’re at risk of an injury. Running is one of the best forms of physical exercise, and there’s nothing quite like it for clearing the mind and feeling centred. If you’re in great shape, the risk of injury is lower, of course, but there’s no accounting for that unexpected sprain from running on a bad road, which, in our country, is common. Avid runner Sohini Sen writes that the most common injuries suffered due to bad and uneven surfaces are knee problems, and more specifically, ligament injury and soft cartilage injury or meniscal injury. She speaks to experts to find out the best way to rest, recover and return to form. 

You don’t need an expensive gym membership to build strength
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Use that wall to build muscle

Working out has gone through a transformation ever since the first covid-19 lockdown. Those who were used to the gym bought a lot of exercise equipment from resistance bands and pull-up bars to foam rollers and dumbbells. The more creative among us explored ways to use everything from buckets of water to doing hamstring curls using socks. And we realised that a good workout does not need extensive and expensive equipment and infrastructure, writes Pulasta Dhar. He provides tips and tricks to use that plain wall in your house to get a great workout, and build strength and muscle.