Top 10 Natural Exercises Ghanaians Do Without Even Realizing

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Welcome to Ghana, the country where things are so hard, everyday life feels like a gym.

Life in Ghana is bound to get you ripped by the time you hit your 30’s. Most Ghanaian young men are said to be rhomboid in shape and appear muscular but we hardly visit the gym too and most foreigners don’t get the secret behind this, but the simple truth is all around us – our lifestyle.

The food we eat, the jobs we do, chores we are assigned to are all hectic to the extent they get you ripped by the time you hit your forties without ever visiting the gym.

If you check closely, most of the people who visit the gym in Ghana are known as “Dadabees” and that’s because they’ve never experienced the real hustle out there and usually end up chubby and will definitely need a gym to get back in shape but not the regular Ghanaian guy on the street. Life shapes us till we hit the age where we get to buy ourselves some beers and then begin getting these pot bellies. If we were to continue doing what we used to do when we were young, you will realize, we wouldn’t need a gym at all and here are the reasons why we saying so.


1. Pounding Of Fufu

When it comes to the pounding of fufu alone, it’s just like using the lat push down the machine in the gym and you will be pounding this till your siblings take over or you become old enough to leave home.

Pounding builds your triceps, biceps and chest and so ask me why would we need a gym and if you doubt this, take a walk to any “Chop Bar” and check out the guys pounding fufu all the time.

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2. Drawing Water From The Well

Yes! In Ghana, we still draw water from the well especially around this time of the season where all the water runs dry and Ghana Water also goes off, you have no option than to go draw some water from a well.

Now in case you don’t know, drawing water from a well is a lot of exercises and it’s just like swimming. When drawing water, your whole body participates in the action to get the water to the surface, so why would we need a gym. Another reason why we are ripped as hell.

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3. Masonry

Most masons in Ghana are muscular, why is that? This because tools used for certain jobs on the job are not available and so masons are forced to use their physical strength.

Where in some countries, there is a machine that mixes the concrete for you, it is different here in Ghana, masons do the mixing themselves with spades and carry it to the site to be used. And when it comes to carrying the cement to the site, it’s is done by physical strength where they carry it on their shoulder.

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Credit: Alexander Strauss/YouTube

4. Pulling of “Trucks”

In Ghana, there are self-made trailers that are pulled in market places to carry wares from one location to the other and are known as “truck”.

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5. Kaya

“Kaya” means load and in Ghana, there are many men and women who help carry your wares in the market when you purchase some things and want to move them around.

It doesn’t end there, most of the men also help offload bags of rice, cement and many other items from lorries. You should see their stature and nobody needs to tell you they don’t need a gym.

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6. Chopping of Wood

If you owe a gas cylinder and a burner, then this wouldn’t be a problem and those that also owe coal pots don’t really need to bother but there are those that need firewood before they can cook and those people need to chop the wood before firing it up and it takes a lot of strength to get it done, so tell us, do they need a gym.

Image result for ghana wood chopping

7. Bicycle Riding

If you’ve ever been to the Northern part of Ghana, then you will understand why don’t really need a gym because almost 45% of the population owns a bicycle and those who don’t own can rent or even borrow a friend’s own. And as we all know, riding a bicycle all the time is equivalent to riding a tricycle in the gym.

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8. Cooking Banku or Kenkey

For those of you who do it in small quantities, you might not see the value of its impact but try taking a look at those who cook it for restaurants and “chop bar” and you will get what we mean and this includes the cooking of Kenkey too. It takes a lot of strength to get it done and when you’re finally done, it reflects in your muscles.

Image result for omgvoice cooking banku

 

9. Grinding of Pepper and Other Vegetables

These days, many homes in Ghana own a blender but it does not mean the earthenware bowl for grinding pepper is extinct, many homes in the country still use it and it takes a lot of strength to do it, some homes still use the stone slab to grind pepper and you should the energy that’s needed to complete that task and you will clearly understand why some of our women are that well built.

Image result for grinding pepper ghana

 

10. Routes To Our Various Homes

Access to our various homes is not easy and usually, you don’t have the luxury of being alighted right in front of your house and in some cases the distance you will walk from the bus station to your house is equal to the distance you just completed with a car. You will need to walk long distances and that’s enough exercise for the average man.

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