Category Archives: Fitness

Moving Beyond the “Shortcut to six pack abs” syndrome –

Shortcut to six pack abs is one of the most searched and researched  items online. Minimum effort for maximum aesthetic gain is the order of the day, in a attention craving, comfort loving society.

The youth want to the shortcut to six pack abs as if it is open up a treasure chest of riches for them. They are willing to go to any extent just to look good in someone else’s eyes. But even when they achieve it and don’t see the cave to their riches open, they are as clueless as the Casper like makeup wearing girl who doesn’t get attention at a party.

The saga doesn’t end at cluelessness, all the shortcuts they take, puts them at direct risks of injury,  external and internal. They either burn out muscles or liver, on their over trained over supplemented bodies.

Most of these chiseled physiques are like fine crafted glass, with minimal mobility, strength, endurance and energy.  The physiology is weak but their psychology is weaker. Anticipating praise and appreciation they never allow themselves to just relax and be. They end up triggering an  attention deficit hyperactive disorder.

So before researching shortcut to six pack abs, just research on the following words, exercise programming, over training, ill effects of steroids and why you should not anyone else judge how good or bad you look?

Here is something specially resourced for all the ones suffering from the “Shortcut to Six Pack abs syndrome”

Shortcut to six pack abs

It’s impossible to do 10 days hard work in one day similarly, the development of your core, the reduction of your body fat, takes time if done naturally. The ones looking at shortcut to six pack abs are going against nature, which always is a recipe for disaster.

Do have a look at this video in hindi if you want to develop a strong core

Shortcut six pack abs is a myth made by brands and celebs to take advantage of your greed, laziness and lack of work ethic.

Simple Weight Loss Tips for non Aliens

Although there are a million articles on weight loss tips but most of them are more sutiable for aliens than humans, as all outdo each other in terms of complexity and sacrifice.  But actual weight loss tips have to be easy enough to suit humans and be a part of their daily schedule.

First of all it is essential to understand, your body weight is comprised of fat weight and  muscle weight along with some water weight.

We essentially look to lose excess fat weight in any weight loss program. this is indicated by a loss of inches and might lead to an overall weight loss too (at times gain of muscle weight compensates some of the fat loss weight).

Weight Loss Tips 

So these weight loss tips are valid for you if you are a non alien. If you are non homo sapien then I am not qualified to give you weight loss tips but for all others I am a qualified Weight Management Nutritionist and Certified Personal Trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine.

The essence behind all weight loss programs is patience and continuity. all the shortcut weight loss tips never work as they are based on sacrifice and over training the body. Both of these can’t be sustained.

Even if you lose weight through this you will gain it back immediately.  Here are some weight loss tips on programming your nutrition plan:

  1. Don’t make huge changes quickly.
  2. Make a complete lifestyle change instead of following a diet, you need to work on moving your body and habit creation, rather than simply drinking soup.
  3. Understand your culture and daily lifestyle and use easily available healthy foods.
  4. Divide meals into smaller portions and eat regularly to ensure proper digestion and prevent overeating
  5. Divide the program into three parts, which I call the ICE phases      Initiation Phase, when you make minor changes for 22 days, Commitment Phase, when you make complete lifestyle changes till you achieve desired weight, Everlasting Phase, when you discover perfect balance of  taste and nutrition, you can read Improving Food Relations for this, to carry on your program for the rest of your life.

Even for those established fitness enthusiasts it is tough losing the final bit of fat, for them here are some weight loss tips for the stubborn fat:

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Getting rid of stubborn fat while maintaining muscles is what every intermediate level trainee wants. Shredding therefore is of importance to people who have already being on a healthy journey. For these people it's more about exercise and food management than exercise and form learning. Keeping that in mind, if you desire to burn stubborn fat and retain muscle try, Strength Training 2 to 8 reps of Heavy Weight as per your own one rep max for 4-5 sets of exercises, try to onvolve as many compound exercises as possible. Do around 4 to 5 exercises per muscle group per day depending on your schedule. HIIT high intensity interval training involves bursts of high intensity followed by bursts of lower intensity of a variety of functional exercises. The rest between exercises is the lower intensity variation rather than a complete stoppage. With these you can enegage in more calorie burn in 15 minutes than 50 minutes of moderate cardio. Protein plays a major role in muscle recovery and development, hence upping its intake to as much as 2gm per kg of body weight is recommended, along with this dietary fibre is essential during shredding. Rest through proper sleep along with an exercises schedule which ensures all muscle groups enough rest is critical for recovery and muscle gains. What are your shredding secrets? #healthandwellness #healthylifestyle #healthythoughts #sunday #lifecoach #change #habits #coach #lifehacks #healthyindia #fitindia #fitness #transformation #fitfam #healthy #healthandfitness #health #lifelesson #humfittohindiafit #india #healthawareness #mindset #bestoftheday #shred #shredding #ripping #musclegain

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Weight Loss Tips are as good as Your commitment to them

Setting up a blue print for a healthy lifestyle is more important now than ever. Weight loss  always starts from your brain, and this is followed by your body, read 6 ways to lose weight mentally,

Health can be your best friend or worst enemy depending on how you treat it. These weight loss tips will not only help you lose weight but become more energetic and efficient.

If you want specific help with designing and sustaining your weight loss program do reach out to us at SwasthyaFC

 

Fitness Motivation – Failure is Important

It’s not even me, there is a voice deep within,

Which makes some dance and makes others sing.

And when the time is ripe, it  makes me type.

The tools of fitness motivation have to be learnt so that it can become intrinsic.  When it becomes intrinsic it seeps into other parts of your life. The patience, resilience, and dedication  which you learn at the fitness arena can be recruited throughout your life in every sphere.

One of the tools of fitness motivation is being comfortable with failing.  Only someones who has the bitter taste of failure will push himself beyond and do whatever it takes to succeed.

Fitness Motivation – The Critical Crowd

Trying all the complex movements which I do have taught me that the people around you will always laugh.  First at you, then at themselves and then with you.

There are people around you who are too afraid to try anything new. Fear has crippled their lives into empty existence.  All they can do is  play the role of an audience. An audience doubts and laughs at others who try  something new, but when these people get better, the audience starts applauding and cheering them on.

The critical crowd will eventually be proud, till that time allow let their abuses to be mute and their cheering to be loud.

Stretch yourself beyond mediocrity into greatness.

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Fitness Motivation – Fail early

The earlier you fail in life the better it is. You will understand that after a while everything become alright. You adapt, learn your lessons and get better at the thing you failed at.

However if you live your life avoiding failures and risks you will prevent yourself from  growing and live a crippled life. Even with your fitness goals, if you don’t focus on progression and try different things fearing failure, you will never leave your comfort zone.

Failure teaches you humbleness, makes you resilient, dedicated and patient. Along with this failure fills you with the necessary fire required to surpass your previous attempts. The earlier this mentality develops, the better it is.

Fail Forward

In the fitness motivation video below you will see how I kept trying and eventually put in a good skipping routine, Although I failed many times, if I had stopped, been embarrassed or quit, I would never have been able to do it.

Belief over Doubt

So once you discover what you are after in the gym or in life, shut your eyes and ears to the doubters. Only be around ones who will fill you with confidence to chase your goals.

Most people don’t have it in them to leave their comfort zone so they impose their fear on the people around them.  Sad part is, that it can be your parents, your partner and your friends. But you have to make tough decisions in life to fulfill your human potential.  So  silence everyone who saps your belief although it might cause you temporary grief.

Don’t read or see things which make you doubt or spread, do things which make you believe.

My purpose is to spread fitness motivation and from there let it percolate to all parts of your life. I see potential in everyone, don’t restrict yourself by what others think about you and reach the zenith of your potential.

Core Workouts – From your bed to the bar

Core workouts are the basis to the stability of your movements. The core comprises of a complex series of muscles which is not limited to your abs and includes all muscles other than your arms and legs. These muscles are recruited for all activities and movement.

Along with this core muscle development also initiates some fat burn which will lead to weight and inches loss. So engaging in core workouts is not only beneficial in the long run but also has some short term aesthetic benefits.

Core workouts – Overcoming Aesthetics to prevent Injury

Once your love affair with six pack, biceps and triceps ends, you start understanding the finer points of your fitness.  The aesthetically appealing parts are what get you to the gym, but if you want to be fit in the long haul it is the core you have to focus on.

A weak core will sooner or later lead to injury. These injuries will be as a result lack of proper form and stability. These can take place anywhere on your body.  To prevent this from happening you have to regularly engage in core workouts to strengthen these muscles which support all other movements.

This will help you train without injury for longer periods which is the key to a healthy lifestyle. Regularity  is the key and many people fall victim to some injury and give up on their journey to fitness. Engage in some regular core workouts to prevent this from happening.

Pre-Beginner, Beginner and Intermediate Core Workouts 

Here are some core workouts for people who are starting off, who have basic fitness and the ones who are at slightly higher level of fitness.

Pre Beginner Core Workouts

These simple exercises  will help you if you have never tried any core workouts. From the comforts of your bed you can start developing a strong core.

Beginner Core Workouts

These exercise require something to hang yourself by, a bar at your home, at the garden or at the gym.

Intermediate Core Workouts

These exercises are specially for the people who want to take the next step in developing their core.

Guts over Fear

The best time to start your core workouts was 3 years ago the next time is today. So check out these exercises and choose the ones that suit you.  Perform movements slowly and make the mind muscle connection before progressing.

Intra Workout Drink – What to drink during your workouts?

I used to think the term BCAA(branch chain amino acids)  was synonymous to an intra workout drink.  Yes the same heavily marketed BCAA’s which have amazing flavors and are pushed by supplement stores.

But my ACSM certification in nutrition  has helped me understand what to look for in an Ideal Intra Workout Drink.

Firstly , I am not against using BCAA’s but most people treat them as purely an intra workout drink without understanding what they are made of and meant for. This lack of knowledge has many implications in the long run.

The Scientific Breakdown of BCAA

Branched chain amino acids (BCAA) are the building blocks of protein. These are essential for muscle growth and recovery, and can be consumed throughout the day. Having them together with a high protein diet leads to excessive uric acid which is detrimental to bone health.

Treating  BCAA as an intra workout drink(if managed well with the protein you take daily)  is not wrong, but during a workout your body needs some other elements to enhance performance and prevent dehydration.

Here is what your body requires during a workout.

Components of an Ideal Intra Workout Drink

  1. Energy

During a workout your body needs instant energy as it has to undergo excessive stress. For this a high glycemic carbohydrate is ideal. (something which immediately provides energy, without much need to be broken down). The simplest  and fastest dissolving form of Carbohydrate is glucose. Thus glucose should be one of the components of an ideal intra workout drink.

2. Electrolytes 

The body looses water in the form of perspiration(sweating) during a workout.  Along with sweat, the body also loses essential salts, which need to be replaced. Here are some of them and their functions.. intra workout drink

3. Tonicity- Water enters and exits body cells by the process of osmosis. Wherein it travels from its higher concentration to its lower concentration through the semi permeable cell wall.  In simple words water moves from a solution where it is present in abundance to the solution where it is lesser. This is maintained by the electrolytes mentioned above.

Based upon the tonicity drinks can be classified in to :

  • Isotonic sport drinks contain similar concentrations of salt and sugar as in the human body.
  • Hypertonic sport drinks contain a higher concentration of salt and sugar than the human body.
  • Hypotonic sport drinks contain a lower concentration of salt and sugar than the human body.

The best suited among these for your intra workout drink is an isotonic drink.

Why Drinking Water is Not enough?

Pure water is not an ideal intra workout drink as it might help you quench thirst but it will not ensure proper hydration. Water provides no sodium, which helps the body hold onto water and helps fluid get to the right places in the body, like muscles and blood.

What do I recommend?

There are a number of ways in which you can make an isotonic drink at home. But I choose to use Enerzal . As it has all the essential elements of an ideal intra workout drink. intra workout drink

Do give it a try and no they dint pay me for saying this, yet.