Best Free Physical and Mental Exercise Websites

Are you a physical fitness buff? No need to go to the gym and pay membership fees. There are now lots of websites that offer videos and instructional exercises for free. Personally, I’d rather spend the time and energy cleaning the house or gardening, haha. But hey, if you prefer to workout, here are a couple of sites worth trying out.

HufftingtonPost have a comprehensive list of free workout resources. Yoga, short exercises, no equipment, name it, this list has it.

The list, however, didn’t include DareBee. According to their website, they are a global health and fitness resource especially “designed to make regular exercise fun, easy to start and maintain and make part of your lifestyle—on a budget.”  They have numerous workouts designed for every need: for abs, for cardio, etc. The exercises are presented in a visually easy-to-understand format. The workouts don’t need equipment.

Just like your body, you need to keep your brain fit and active by exercising. How? By playing games, that’s how. There are now lots of websites offering this kind of service, considered “gym for the brain”. Memorado has more than 20 brain games designed to improve your working memory and cognitive control. They claim that it increases the “brain quotient” by 76% on average. Now that’s an improvement worth trying. You can start for free.

Lumosity offers games said to be effective regardless of age or background. The free membership includes 3 games as part of the daily training session. The games rotate daily.

I’m a chess buff and I love to play online against fellow humans, of course. Haha. Playing chess is excellent mental exercise and keeps your brain fit and alert. You also develop a patient and long-term strategy-oriented mindset. There are lots of online chess sites, but I found some that are special and worth joining in with.

Lichess.Org is highly commendable. You can play chess with other people from all over the globe or on the computer. Play in real-time or via correspondence. The games are rated, so each is serious. There are lots of very good players to test your wood-pushing skills with. In fact, there are grandmasters playing there.

The boards are highly customizable, and they have eye-friendly color combinations. You can set the game any way you want. There are several types, but I only play the classical game. If you are a beginner, the site allows you to train or watch others play, and they have a training feature where you get to solve problems and practice moving the pieces efficiently. Unlike other chess sites, Lichess is completely free and has no ads to distract you.

Aside from wood pushing, you can also read the latest news about chess events at Chess and Chess24. If you’re busy and every minute is precious, go to InstantChess. The moment the page finishes loading, you immediately play against the computer. No registration is required. For the visually impaired, BetterThanChess is for you. The board is extra large and in 3D, haha.

Start them young! ChessKid and KidChess are specially built for kids. Here they can learn, play and have fun with other kids from around the world.

Aside from chess, another interesting board game is the Game of the Generals. It originated in the Philippines, where it is locally known as “Salpakan”. It is a 1 on 1 game and involves a neutral arbiter. The game simulates armies at war trying to overpower, misinform, outflank, outmaneuver, and destroy each other. The identities of the opposing pieces are hidden from each player and can only be guessed by their location, movements, or results of challenges. The challenges are determined by the arbiter.

The player’s set of pieces represents 21 soldiers(combatants) with a hierarchy of ranks and functions. A higher-ranking piece(usually the officer) will eliminate any lower-ranking piece, with the exception of the 2 Spies, which eliminate all pieces except the 6 Privates.

Apart from the Flag (the Philippine Flag) and the Spy (a pair of prying eyes), the rank insignia of the pieces used in the game are those used in the Philippine Army.

You can play it here and here.

Another game that I love is Quordle. Its addicting. To beat it, I use these first two words: HUMAN and
GEOID. Both contains all the vowels. Then I use WordFind 5 letter words, works like a charm, haha.

On top of these, keep your brains busy by learning new things.

Using these services can help improve your memory, visual attention, and intelligence. What are you waiting for? Let those brain juices flow.

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