Health and Fitness | StringsSG Blogs

June 6, 2024October 29, 2024

How To Eat Healthy While Saving Money In Singapore

It’s no secret that Singapore’s cost of living is rising, and with an abundance of affordable but less nutritious culinary options, finding ways to eat healthily while staying within budget can be challenging. Yet, with some planning and smart shopping strategies, you can enjoy a nutritious diet without breaking the bank. Here are some practical tips for healthy, budget-friendly eating in Singapore.

1. Plan Your Meals
2. Shop at Wet Markets
3. Buy in Bulk
4. Cook at Home
5. Utilize Discounts and Promotions
6. Grow Your Own Herbs and Vegetables
7. Choose Affordable Protein Sources
8. Embrace Frozen Fruits and Vegetables
9. Limit Processed Snacks and Sugary Beverages
10. Opt for Whole Grains

1. Plan Your Meals

I’m sure you’ve had your fair share of doom–scrolling and listening to social media fitness guru constantly emphasizing on meal planning, right? But do you know meal planning is the cornerstone of both healthy eating and budgeting? It’s important to spend some time each week planning your meals – taking into account your dietary needs and preferences. By knowing what you’ll eat each day for a week, you can easily create a condensed and focused shopping list and avoid impulse buys. Planning also helps you incorporate a variety of nutrients into your diet, ensuring balanced and healthy meals.

image of a vegetable seller at a wet market

2. Shop at Wet Markets

Wet markets in Singapore are every local’s best kept secret. Here, you can get fresh produce at lower prices compared to supermarkets. Fruits, vegetables, and even seafood and meat are cheaper and fresher here. It’s also crucial to take advantage of these markets to buy seasonal produce. Shopping here also means you’re supporting local vendors, which is always a plus. Make it a habit to buy seasonal produce as it is often cheaper and has a lower environmental impact due to reduced transportation and storage costs.

3. Buy in Bulk

This may come as a no-brainer but purchasing staples like rice, grains, beans, and nuts in bulk can significantly reduce your grocery bill. Bulk buying also reduces packaging costs and often comes with a discount for larger quantities. Proper storage is essential here —use airtight containers to keep items fresh and avoid pest infestations. This method also helps reduce packaging waste, making it a more eco-friendly approach to grocery shopping.

working professional cooking a healthy meal at home

4. Cook at Home

In this day and age, everyone should have basic cooking skills. Especially with the influx of air fryers and the like. Cooking at home also allows you to control ingredients and portion sizes – making it easier to eat healthily. Home-cooked meals are generally less expensive than eating out. What’s more, you can also experiment with all kinds of recipes that are readily available. Here’s a tip: batch cooking and meal prepping can save time and ensure you have healthy meals ready throughout the week. Additionally, you can use leftovers creatively to avoid food waste and stretch your food budget further.

5. Utilize Discounts and Promotions

Channel your inner kiasu and take advantage of discounts, promotions, and loyalty programs offered by supermarkets and grocery stores. Keep a lookout for card promotions to snag the best deals possible too. Many stores in Singapore offer weekly deals on fresh produce, meat, and dairy products. Apps like Fave, Shopee, Foodpanda, Grab, and Lazada also provide discounts on groceries. As such, planning your shopping around these deals can lead to substantial savings over time.

6. Grow Your Own Herbs and Vegetables

If you’ve a green thumb and the space to do so, you can also consider growing your own herbs and vegetables. You don’t need a huge garden — a balcony or windowsill with pots will do. Start with easy-to-grow herbs like basil, mint, or coriander, which can add flavor to meals and even replace store-bought seasoning. Not only is it economical, but gardening can also be a relaxing hobby.

7. Choose Affordable Protein Sources

Protein, despite being essential for a healthy diet, can be expensive. Hence, it’s important to opt for affordable protein sources like eggs, tofu, lentils, and canned beans. These options are nutritious, versatile, and cost-effective. Incorporate a mix of these proteins into your meals to ensure you meet your dietary needs without overspending. Eggs are versatile and can be used in many dishes, from salads to stir-fries. Lentils and beans are packed with fiber and can be added to soups, stews, and salads. Incorporate these alternatives into your diet to ensure you’re getting enough protein without overspending.

8. Embrace Frozen Fruits and Vegetables

Frozen fruits and vegetables are often as nutritious as fresh ones because they are frozen at peak ripeness. They’re also generally cheaper, last longer, and reduce food waste. You can easily incorporate frozen fruits into smoothies, oatmeal, or yogurt, while frozen vegetables work well in stir-fries, soups, and pasta dishes. By choosing frozen produce, you’ll have nutrient-dense options readily available, even when you’re running low on fresh ingredients.

9. Limit Processed Snacks and Sugary Beverages

Processed snacks and sugary drinks can quickly eat into your budget without offering much in the way of nutrition. They often contain high amounts of sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats, which contribute to health issues over time. Replace these with whole foods like fruits, nuts, or homemade snacks. Not only will you save money, but you’ll also benefit from healthier alternatives that offer more nutrients and keep you full longer.

10. Opt for Whole Grains

Whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, and oats are nutrient-dense and affordable. They keep you feeling full longer and provide sustained energy throughout the day. Buying whole grains in bulk can further reduce costs, and they are versatile ingredients that can be used across various meals. Try using brown rice or quinoa as a base for salads, grain bowls, or stir-fries to add fiber and essential nutrients to your diet.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, it is possible to eat healthy while saving money in Singapore! All you need to do is plan your meals and make smart choices. Remember, the key to affordable healthy eating lies in proper planning, budgeting, creativity, and making the most of available resources. With these strategies, you can enjoy wholesome meals and stay financially savvy in no time!

July 26, 2023October 11, 2024

9 Best Core Exercises at Home or Gym for Beginners

Building a strong core is not only essential for achieving a chiseled midsection but also for maintaining overall physical health and stability. Whether you’re a fitness enthusiast or just getting started on your fitness journey, incorporating core exercises into your routine is a great way to enhance your strength and balance.

You can do core exercises from the comfort of your own home and also at the gym. In this article, we’ll explore the best core exercises for beginners; both men and women to kickstart their journey to a stronger and more stable core.

What Are Core Muscles?
Why Is Core Training Important?
Top 8 Core Workouts At Home Or Gym For Strong Abs

What Are Core Muscles?

Core refers to the muscles around our trunk and pelvis i.e. the abs, chest, back and down to the pelvic floor. Our functional movements are highly dependent on this part of the body. Lack of strength in these areas, affects our stability. Core stability is very important to protect our spine and surrounding musculature from injury.

Why Is Core Training Important?

Core muscles are important as they serve as a base for strength, power, endurance and coordination. Attaining core strength means acquiring proper posture and saving the back from injuries while doing rapid movements or while lifting weights.

In order to evaluate our core strength, we must check our static core strength, dynamic core strength and posterior core strength. Exercises like plank, side plank helps to understand the static core strength while the knees to chest and toes to bar, hanging leg raises analyses the dynamic core strength. The dead lifts are for the posterior core stability.

Top 8 Core Workouts At Home Or Gym For Strong Abs

1. Planks

The plank is a fundamental core exercise that targets your entire core, including your abdominals, obliques, and lower back. Plank helps to develop strength in the core, shoulders and arms. Here’s how to do it:

Do Plank at home for strong core muscles

Start in a push-up position with your hands under your shoulders and your body in a straight line.
Engage your core muscles and hold this position for as long as you can.
Aim for 30 seconds to start and gradually increase your time as you get stronger.

2. Side Planks

Side planks are great for strengthening the obliques and improving overall core stability. Here’s how to do them:

Start by lying on your side with your legs straight and your feet stacked on top of each other.
Place your elbow directly beneath your shoulder, forming a 90-degree angle with your forearm.
Engage your core and lift your hips off the ground, creating a straight line from your head to your heels.
Hold this position for as long as you can, maintaining proper form.
Repeat on the other side.

3. Russian Twists

Russian twists are great for targeting your obliques. Here’s how to perform them:

man doing Russian twists with weights — Russian twists with weights

Sit on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground.
Lean back slightly and lift your feet off the ground, balancing on your sit bones.
Hold a weight or a household object (like a water bottle) with both hands.
Twist your torso to one side, bringing the weight towards the ground beside your hip.
Return to the center and twist to the other side.

4. Leg Raises

Leg raises are excellent for working the lower abdominal muscles. Here’s how to do them:

Lie flat on your back with your legs straight and your arms by your sides.
Keep your lower back pressed into the floor as you lift your legs off the ground.
Slowly lower your legs back down without letting them touch the ground.
Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

5. Crunches

Crunches are a fantastic exercise to target your upper abdominal muscles. Here’s how to do them:

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
Place your hands gently behind your head, without pulling on your neck.
Engage your core and lift your head, shoulders, and upper back off the ground.
Exhale as you perform the crunch.
Lower your upper body back down without fully resting your head on the ground.
Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

6. Bicycle Crunches

Bicycle crunches engage both your upper and lower abs while also working your obliques. Here’s how to perform them:

Lie on your back with your hands behind your head and your knees bent.
Lift your head, shoulders, and upper back off the ground.
Bring your right elbow towards your left knee while straightening your right leg.
Switch sides, bringing your left elbow towards your right knee in a pedaling motion.

7. Superman

The Superman exercise strengthens your lower back muscles and complements your core workout. Here’s how to do it:

Lie face down on the floor with your arms extended in front of you and your legs straight.
Lift your chest, arms, and legs off the ground simultaneously, engaging your lower back.
Hold the position briefly before lowering back down.

8. Hanging Leg Raises

Hanging leg raises are excellent for targeting both your lower abdominal muscles and hip flexors. To do them, you’ll need a pull-up bar or a sturdy horizontal surface that can support your body weight, like a set of parallel bars.

Here’s how to perform hanging leg raises:

Find a sturdy horizontal surface, such as a pull-up bar, and hang from it with your arms fully extended.
Engage your core and keep your legs together.
While maintaining control, lift your legs straight up in front of you, trying to reach a 90-degree angle with your upper body.
Lower your legs back down to the starting position without swinging.

9. Deadlifts

Deadlifts are a compound exercise that can help strengthen your entire body, including your core. Here’s how to perform them:

Equipment Needed: A barbell or dumbbells (adjustable weights), and if available, a weightlifting belt for added lower back support.

Procedure:

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, with the barbell or dumbbells placed in front of you.
Bend at your hips and knees to lower yourself down to the weights. Maintain a neutral spine and keep your chest up.
Grip the barbell or dumbbells with both hands, using an overhand grip (palms facing you) or a mixed grip (one palm facing you, one palm facing away).
Engage your core and begin to lift the weights by extending your hips and knees simultaneously. Keep the weights close to your body as you stand up.
Stand fully upright with your shoulders back, maintaining a straight line from your head to your heels.
Lower the weights back to the ground with controlled movement, keeping your core engaged throughout the exercise.
Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

However, it is very important to correct our postures while training ourselves with the above mentioned core exercises. There are many professional personal trainers in Singapore who can train the correct form and guide us to attain the stronger self.
So without any more delay, let’s focus on building core stability first and then, proceed to build our core strength!

October 26, 2022August 31, 2023

Elderly Functional Fitness | Everything you need to know

senior citizens doing functional training in a group class

As per various studies, significant health benefits are seen in adults aged 65 years and older who participate in regular physical activity. Even people with some existing illness can exercise which will definitely improve the condition.

Some of the many benefits of Functional Fitness:

Proper exercising also slows the ageing of the brain.
Exercising at this age helps to improve your strength and thus stay independent.
Exercising adds up to one’s energy level too.
Diseases like as diabetes, osteoporosis or diseases related to heart can be to avoided by regular exercising too.
It also improves your balance thereby preventing accidental falls.
Moreover emotional fatigue, depression or anxiety can also be checked.

Common Function Fitness Exercises

The types of exercises you can do are many to choose from. However, it is always better to understand your body and accordingly select them where personal trainers play a very important part.

Just as the other name of Aerobic activity i.e. ‘endurance activity’ suggests, older adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week in order to stay fit for longer time. You can choose to go for brisk walking, jogging, water aerobics, dancing, cycling, swimming or play tennis – there are ample options of aerobic activities.
Many such exercises that older adults should do every day to improve strength, flexibility, and balance are Abdominal Contractions which will help to increase strength in the abdominal muscles.

It is very important for all age groups to strengthen your muscles like of the hips, back, legs, chest, shoulders, arms and abdomen and particularly older adults must do some Muscle-strengthening activities at least 2 days a week. You should continue to carry the grocery bags home or go for some yoga classes, do some body weight exercises. You can also get personal trainers to guide you with weight training exercises using exercise bands or weight machines.
You can do Wall push ups to increase the strength in the chest and shoulders

Wall push-ups — Make your chest and shoulder stronger with wall push-ups

Toe taps are good for strengthening the lower legs and Heel raises are important to strengthen the upper calves. On the other hand, knee lifts strengthens the thighs and the Ankle rotations strengthens the calves.
Another very important thing for older adults is Balance Boosters. It is very common that accidental falls leads to injury for many elderly people. To avoid such situations, you should incorporate balance exercises in your exercise regimen. Doing balance exercises, such as Shifting Weights or Single leg balance or Tai chi orYoga will make it easier to walk on uneven surfaces without losing balance.

However, it is always advisable to talk to your doctor if you have any chronic health condition or even any symptoms before starting a physical activity program.

So cheers to long and healthy living with functional exercising! Get a personal trainer to help you with your functional fitness.

October 26, 2022August 31, 2023

Top 3 exercises with UGI ball for best results!

One of the hot favorites in the world of fitness is the UGI Ball. It is a great buddy for workout as it does not restrict us to exercise only in the gym. We can work out with it at home or carry to a hotel or beach while on vacation!

Since it is a hybrid of a medicine ball and stability ball, we can kneel on it, stand on it, and do our planks or crunches. However the trick is, the softness of the ball makes the surface unstable and thus our body has to work harder. In the process it helps to lose more!

It is a 30-minute full body workout routine but it makes workouts fun. Using UGI is awesome to work on our body balance, to build our core strength and also helps to strengthen and stabilize our muscles. It is recommended by various fitness trainers or personal trainers as well to their clients who look forward to achieve that dream body but in a fun way.

This UGI Ball can be used variously for various exercises like –

1. Dips

Dips with UGI Ball — Dips are great to get our upper body toned!

Dips are a very good workout if our target is to tone Upper Body. We should start in a bridge position, keeping our hands on the ball and feet should be flat on the floor. One thing very important here is that we should keep our lower back close to the UGI Ball. Now all we need to do is to bend our elbows in order to lower our butt without touching the floor. After this we need to extend our elbows to return to the starting position. Now repeat.

2. Right & Left Leg Lifts

This Right and Left leg lifts are good when we target to lose fat and tone our Lower Body. It is quite easy too. All we need to do is to balance our right/left knee on the UGI ball. Now we need to extend our other leg straight out with toes pointed to the side. We must remember to keep our leg straight and toes pointed and then raise our extended leg up and down. Throughout the workout we must focus to keep our Abs tight and maintain a flat back. Now we have switch sides and repeat the same on the other leg.

3. Plank Mountain Climbers

Girl doing mountain climbers on UGI ball — Plank Mountain Climbers using the UGI Ball

Another great way to use this ball is to do Plank Mountain Climbers. This is a great Cardio workout that helps to get our heart rate up. We should always begin in a plank position keeping our forearms resting on the ball. We need to keep our legs straight and feet on floor. After this position is set all we have to do is to alternately drive our knees towards chest. Our back should be flat throughout the exercise.

The UGI Ball enables us with so many various forms of exercises UGI Caterpillar, Toss and catch UGI, UGI Swing, Side Lunge Jumps with UGI, V-Ups, Reverse Lunges with Shoulder lifts, UGI Push ups to Jump Squats etc.

This great exercise ball helps us to workout with versatility and thereby enables us with cardio, strength training and core training. UGI Ball thus helps us with a full-body workout.

So without any further delay, let’s get our own UGI Ball and start working out today with a personal trainer to guide us with the correct postures!!

October 26, 2022August 31, 2023

The 7 Best Types Of Yoga & Their Benefits!

The origin of the discipline “Yoga” is in India. It is not only a physical but also a spiritual practice that helps us to reduce our body weight and also stabilize our mind. Modern forms of yoga encourage exercising, focusing on our strength, physical and mental well-being and flexibility.

There are so many variations of Yoga like – Hatha yoga, Iyengar yoga, Yin yoga, Yogalates, Power yoga, Yogasthenics etc. Our fitness level determines the type of yoga class is best suited for us. So it is best to consult a doctor and have a personal yoga instructor to guide us with the right techniques.

1. Ashtanga Yoga

It is based on ancient yoga teachings. It synchronizes our breathing and movement in the asanas. Amongst many other benefits this asana helps to improve our blood circulation, removes toxins from our body and betters the joint pains.

2. Bikram Yoga –

This yoga is held in an artificially heated room of 105 degrees! This form of yoga helps to stretch our body, relieve stress, tone and detoxify our body. It also helps to heal pains like arthritis, knee pains or even back problems.

3. Iyengar Yoga

This form tries to find correct alignment in each posture by using different props like blocks, straps, blankets etc.

4. Kundalini Yoga

It is a form of yoga where we meditate to release kundalini energy. Kundalini yoga class starts with chanting and ends with singing along with meditation and pranayama.

5. Hatha Yoga

Traditionally, Hatha yoga brings peace to the mind and body thereby preparing it for deeper spiritual practices. This style is more gentle and slow. It is great for beginners.

6. Jivamukti Yoga

It traditionally means “liberation while living”. According to David and Sharon, ‘there are too many positive physical benefits to list but the main thing is “you build up a body of light” and feel more comfortable with who you are’. Jivamukti yoga, includes, meditation, chanting, pranayama etc.

7. Prenatal yoga

These are yoga for the pregnant people. This yoga is designed to help pregnant woman in all stages of her pregnancy. Moreover, it also helps to get back to shape post pregnancy faster.

The above mentioned forms are only a few of the varied typologies of Yoga. The list is really a never ending one!

Major Benefits of doing Yoga

Increases our physical strength, balance and flexibility – From ages Yoga has been a major inspiration for many across the globe. It is a safe and very effective workout style which helps to increase our physical strength, balance and flexibility.
Prevents the elderly from sudden falls and injuries – Injuries due to accidental falls amongst older people are very common and a global health concern. Yoga helps to improve our body balance and thus prevents the elderly from sudden falls.
Yoga is very good during and post pregnancy – It is even advised to pregnant women to go for yoga classes as it helps to experience fewer problems in pregnancy and labor.
Anxiety and depression – Yoga is a powerful treatment for depression and anxiety.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease – This disease also called as GERD is greatly benefited with Yoga practice. Regular practice of Yoga like Kapalbhati and Agnisar kriya improves GERD to a great level.
Yoga is like a treatment – Doing yoga is good for people suffering from Arthritis and Asthma. It is also beneficial for people with bipolar disorder. It also works significantly for patients suffering with Migraine.
It reduces cancer related fatigue and breast cancer cognitive problems – Survivors of cancer often report cognitive problems, yoga can effectively reduce cognitive problems in survivors of breast cancer.
Yoga improves chronic neck pain and chronic heart failure – Studies revealed that regular yoga practice improves chronic neck pain or any neck-related disabilities or problems. Yoga has also significant positive effects on cardiac function. People under cardiac rehabilitation Yoga programs have had markedly stable health impacts.
Flexibility- Yogacan make our body more flexible. Yoga has positions that act upon the whole body which in turn stretches the muscles as well as the joints.

However it also true that Yoga is challenging for beginners. Moreover if the postures are incorrect it will not help on the contrary we might injure ourselves. Therefore it is always suggested that we should take the help of a Yoga master or Yoga trainer to learn it properly to yield maximum benefits from it.

October 26, 2022August 31, 2023

Top Benefits Of Stretching Exercise You Need to Know!

In fitness world, all fitness trainers are big advocates of stretching. It is important when we look at being fit. Stretching helps us in lot many ways. It makes our muscles stronger, flexible, improves our range of motion, improves our posture and also helps to calm our mind. Stretching loosens up the tightness of our muscles which in turn reduces our joint pains too!

Top 5 types of Stretching

1. Active stretching –

Active Stretching is also called as static-active stretching. It helps to increase flexibility and strengthens our muscles. Here, we use our agonist muscles. We assume a position and then hold it there using the strength of our agonist muscles only. Thus in this type of stretching, our muscles are under the load of body weight in gravity.

Active Stretching-helps to increase flexibility and strengthens our muscles. — Active Stretching for Legs and Hips

2. Ballistic stretching

This type of stretching involves uncontrolled movements that involve momentum and bouncing.

3. Dynamic stretching

Dynamic stretching warms up the muscles and increases the blood flow and thus prepares them for a workout. Unlike ballistic stretching, dynamic stretching involves controlled movement with a defined range of motion.

4. Passive stretching

In this form of stretching, our muscles are at rest while it is being stretched. This is also referred to as relaxed stretching.

5. Static stretching

It is a very common form of stretching. In this form of stretching, we hold on to a challenging but comfortable position for some time. Static stretching helps to improve our flexibility.

girl doing static stretching — Static stretching for strengthening muscles and improving balance

Some of the Benefits of Stretching are as follows :

Helps us to do other physical activities at ease – It is often seen that doing some basic stretching before any type of physical activities like for example, any type of sports helps to perform well. This is why even personal trainers do stretching on their clients before and after their workout sessions.
Can calm our mind – Stretching helps to calm our mind. This further helps us to complete many other activities which need focus and calmness.
Helps to increase our flexibility – Stretching means becoming more Flexible! Being flexible is the key to be able to perform many daily activities with ease.
Helps to heal back pain – Stretching helps to strengthen our back muscles and this in turn helps to cure muscle strains and any existing back injuries too.
Stretching gives us relieve from headaches – We often get headaches from stress or tension in life. Stretching helps to relax our mind and this in turn helps to reduce our headaches from tension.

However, it is very important to stretch correctly. It is the best idea to train under professionals like a personal trainer or a certified trainer, who can help us to get the most out of it. It is true, that sometimes we get into the dilemma as to whom to hire as our own trainer; what if he is not good or it doesn’t work for us.

NOT TO WORRY!

STRINGSSG HAS COME UP WITH ANSWERS TO ALL YOUR WORRIES AND CONCERNS!

Stretching under the guidance of a personal trainer. — A personal trainer can help us with the correct forms and postures of Stretching.

STRINGSSG PROVIDES YOU A PLATFORM WHERE YOU CAN FIND THE BEST PERSONAL TRAINERS AS PER YOUR CRITERIAS AND CHOICES!

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