Tag Archives: Fitness

Dehradun- Views from the valley, Fitness

Himalayan highs-The healthy habit of hiking

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Doorways to the next dimension

Its hard to express the unparalleled euphoria of exploring a pristine dimension to unearth the ultimate sanctum in words. Although it has no door but the doorway into the infinite abyss of uncertainties can only be unlocked by a key of guts and passed by a spirit full of adventure.

Anyone dwelling in a valley would testify that the surrounding mountains allure you sooner than later. Dehradun is one such valley, ideally located at the lower Himalayas. The 10-25 km trails to surrounding peaks are a perfect platform for novice hikers.

Hiking or simply running up a mountain (without spraining your ankle or bruising your knee) is one of the best cardiovascular exercises. Moving up a mountain is an absolute physical and mental workout, specifically challenging the pillars of your frame( your lower body) and the resilience of ure brain. It also makes your lungs suck in more oxygen and your heart pump more blood, thus making both these vital organs function more efficiently.
Anyone looking to overcome health concerns this new year, can take up hiking. Although the health benefits are only a bit part of the overall package that hiking offers. The interaction with nature, typical to the specific terrain, infuses calmness and serenity to the hikers paradigm. Simple things teach you much more than elaborate researches and Byzantine texts.

Hiking

Hiking up a mountain can be quite debilitating by itself. But it will test the resolve of the toughest men if it follows their lower body workout day. My spirit for adventure overruled my lower body’s plea for recovery when an acquaintance made a spontaneous plan to backpack up the 18 km long path to Mussoorie, the queen of the Himalayan hill stations.

What to carry in your backpack?

I have made around 6 backpacking trips to Mussoorie and each time the backpack has gotten a little heavier. Our latest journey was much more organised as compared to the first one. So for anyone starting off with hiking here is what you can carry for your short trips:

1. Water Bottles- The elixir of life is the ultimate essentiality,.

2. Something to Eat- Carrots, Bananas, Chocolates, Chick peas and protein.

3. Army knife- Just in case.

4. Camera- So that you can share better photos than I am.

5. Footwear- How can I forget footwear, I slipped so much the first time. Footwear with good gripping is a must.

These might not include everything but they are definitely enough for simpler terrains.
Hiker1

You might get tired and want to turn around and go home where all the comforts of the world await, but then the feeling of reaching the peak,even of a hillock, cannot be mirrored by any luxury that your house beholds.

hiker2

 

Wellness

What does the new year promise?

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The Gregarian calendar, which graces most walls and wallpapers, is punctuated with jovial events. Ironically the grandest of these saturnalias corresponds with the ultimate cessation of the calendar. But  what would we be looking forward to once the euphoria and revelry welcoming the new year fades.

For the Country

A new Prime Minister, one who will be more vocal and understands the significance of digital communication. or maybe just communication. We would do well if we manage to be distinct in selecting the leaders of tomorrow. We can then help these leaders in weeding out the progress impeding  obstacles which have thwarted our progress.

For The Capital

Hope the national capital and its administration isn’t damaged beyond repair just like the river that it sits on.

For The Unhealthy

Though I am skeptical of resolutions but having a few is better than not having any at all. It helps you to instill trust and confidence in yourself if done in the correct manner otherwise they will be garbaged by the Republic day parade at the max. Setting the optimum resolution, which is not beyond your means and still keeps you on your toes, is the key. Most people get confused on resolution setting and end up quitting to early after choosing something way too difficult. You wont be able to transform yourself into Ronnie Coleman in an year nor would you be able to attain absolute enlightenment, but you might get better then where you are right now and that is incentive enough to start.

For the dreamers

Dreams aren’t limited by the calendar like your resolutions. The ones who dream understand that they have a faint chance but a chance nonetheless at achieving the incomprehensible, if an only if they stick to it. We live in an age where the majority settles for what they get rather than chasing what they deserve. I hope to see people following through with their dreams and dream even more than before so that they can break the shackles and live up to their full potential.

For Sport Fanatics

The biggest religion in India finds itself Godless. With Sachin retired the nation looks forward to a replacement. This is a great chance for other sports to come up at par with cricket.

Elsewhere, as the Premier league heads into its second part we see a number of clubs in still very much in the title race. Not once in my living memory have I seen more than 2 clubs competing for the premier league and this year I am sure the title will be decided on the final day. Any of the top 7 can still win it, but obviously its easier to repeat a feat than to do it for the first time. Elsewhere Pep will pep Bayern to the champions league unless Carlo does something real about it.

For Gamers

2013 offered the ones who prefer sitting indoors never seen before graphics and gameplay through The Last of Us, The game ably created a virtual world which was so close to reality that it dented cognition in an absolutely distinct way. With the massive circulation of consoles like PS4 and the XBox1, developers will further enhance games and offer real life depictions. The new year offers games which would not only depict the present world in a better way but also give us glimpses of what the future beholds. Watchdogs is a classic example of one such game. We are living through a technological cyclone and soon everything around us will be under a common network. The game offers us the experience of living and controlling one such digitally enhanced city.

Their might be a dozen other things to look forward to but I just want to break the jinx of the 27th for now as it has blocked my expressions since a month now. 

Hope the new year brings you all the energy to follow your dreams and galvanizes your thought process to make your life fruitful and adventurous.  

 Happy New Year

Fitness

Breaking the Plateau

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Re-invention and improvisation are the offspring’s of instincts and spontaneity. the social contagions of fear and insecurity prevent this union from taking place. Instinctive freedom assists you in approaching previously arduous tasks with creativity and innovation and getting more efficient results due to your impulsive decision making. I try to super impose this pattern at the gym as well. Before diving into how, I shall discuss a line or two about the gym.

The show-offs groan louder, the indolent overdose on protein powder,

The sluggish keep waiting for the spark, baby elephants enjoying protein bars on their walk in the park.

Beauty queens smothered in make up, others sleepwalking the treadmill, trying to wake up.

Some asking questions like a detective, others flirting around dejected.

Midst these, the dedicated who inspire don’t have no swag or style,

They are the ones drenched in sweat and tears, still affording a smile.

True fitness demands sacrifice and patience there is no way that you can bilk,

Fight major wars later, begin with having your coffee without the sugar and milk.

The modern day fitness fad replicates the same craze as drugs from the hippy era. Everyone wants to make themselves extra fit, may it be by pulverizing a Tyre with a sledge hammer, dancing on a pole, enrolling in Spartan like combat classes,taking part in endless marathons or simply by going to the gym.

The gym of course is the focal point for all fitness enthusiasts, Everyone doesn’t come to the gym for the same reason. Whoever has cared to read this post till here will knows the different categories of “gym” people from the comfortably corpulent to the desperate housewives, from the despondent souls after a break up to the skinny predators trying to get a glimpse of some yoga pants, from the ones who were bully-ed to the ones hunting for the next prospect. Their purpose defines their commitment. On the other hand some of us just go to the gym to be in the habit of staying fit, some others to prevent others addictions by compulsively having a good one. Others still, have seen their loved ones suffer from unexpected health issues and believe in the “prevention is better than cure” adage.

The ones who think they belong to the second category of gym freaks might just benefit from this post. Anyone who follows any schedule in the gym reaches a point of time when he doesn’t perceive any muscle or strength gains, he reaches a self perceived plateau where the willingness to slog is about to be overtaken by the lack of belief as a consequence of less visible results. An improvisation helped me overcome this plateau and gain more strength in the process. The method involves following your normal exercise but approaching the sets of particular exercise in different ways. This is specifically for weight training.

  1. Warming Up– Take weights you’re comfortable with and do as many repetitions as you want to get warmed up.
  2. One rep max– This is where strength comes in. A one rep max helps you measure and improve your progress.
  3. The Drop Exhaustion– This helps in really tiring those muscles beyond limits. once you have measured your strength you try to exhaust your muscle for growth. This is done through a simple set wherein you do sets of 1,3,6 and 12 repetitions while dropping your maximum weight at these intervals.

This technique can be applied to any weight exercise you do. It will assist you in breaking all the physical and psychological plateaus as you would have a better measure of your performances. I don’t even need to be a gym geek and turn to my phone or diary after every set to keep account of my performances.

Other than this little pattern of working out, you should always keep all your sense open. Any new concept involves interlinking and representation of older concepts in a newer pattern. Hence by noticing all the exercises that you see around you, you can come up with exercises which suit you better. Although there are no shortcuts to fitness, the journey involves a lot of pain, sweat and patience but still you can make it a little pleasurable by improvising on your exercises. The improvisation is not limited to your exercise but expands to your eating habits too, which will require a blog or two.

Fitness, Wellness

6 cures to the chill

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My morning research led me to the diminishing number of Gaelic speakers and the beautiful Isle of Skyes located at the inner Hebrides of Scotland.  I was in admiration of the aesthetic magnificence, that means a lot considering that  I have plenty around the Himalayan valley I dwell in, but I felt a chill after glancing through a few photos. By the afternoon, the chill transferred from my brain to my city. An unexpected downpour bought down the temperature considerably, but the change  was a pleasant one.

As we look forward to the approaching winter, I would like to elaborate on what I will do to use the changing conditions to my advantage. These aren’t medically tested but self tested, so they are comparatively safer.

1. Long runs will lead to strong lungs

This is true for any kind of cardiovascular exercise all throughout the year but with the winters running provides the added incentive of nullifying the cold temperatures. Nothing is better than a cold morning run to kill the laziness that keeps you hooked to your bed.

2. Feel the power with a cold water shower

Its a myth originating from someone unwilling to come of their comfort zone that, one shouldn’t take a cold water shower in winter. On the contrary a cold water shower is the best thing that one can do to himself as it helps in blood circulation making one think and feel better throughout the day.

3. Test your will go hiking on a hill

The perfect natural adventure awaits you if you are willing to take the first few steps towards the nearest mountain or hill range. The winter hike will help season your lungs better. They will improve on their oxygen absorbing abilities when you hike up a hill, where the air is thinner ( has lesser oxygen).

4. Be prepared for the frigid fight add nuts and resins to your diet

As most of us know prevention scores over cure, so make sure that you spend some time and money on stacking up readily available resins and nuts, and not leaving the house without stuffing a few in your mouth and many in your pockets. The essential fats in these will protect you against the cold by keeping you warm and enhancing your resistance.

5. If you feel unwell just make some chicken soup, it will definitely help you recoup

Everyone has there own chicken soup recipe, mine involves some chicken a lot of black pepper, ginger, garlic,some chilly and some Himalayan herbs. The spices help wash away the mucus from the throat and provide resistance against the virus. The soup should be consumed as soon as one recognizes symptoms suggesting the imbalance which include an itchy throat, running nose and a mild body ache.

6. If it all gets too byzantine just guzzle on some red wine

At times the weather outside is too detrimental, in such cases sitting by the fireplace, listening to some music and guzzling on some hot chocolate or wine is the best alternative. I would include a book into this setup but you can replace them with friends.

As mentioned in an earlier post Superimposing negative habits with positive ones is the basis for inculcating new changes into our identities. Thought condition can only take place if our grievous habits are over written by salubrious ones. If we cannot get out of our comfort zones it will be impossible for us to make any kind of changes to ourselves. Lets not waste time complaining that we cant and make necessary changes in ourselves to attain what presently appears unachievable.

Fitness

The positive predilection- Fitness of body, mind and soul

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Truculent souls keep fighting peace, the corpulent ones cant give up cheese

The smoker engages with counting buds, the crooks gone too crooked trying to be thugs,

Digital addictions don’t let you lose sight of the screen, others losing themselves chasing the gloss and the gleam.

The opulent are victims to the urges of prodigal shopping, while indigent derive ephemeral pleasures from bottle popping.

The overly consecrated couldn’t care less about their neighbors dying, while TV maniacs turn belligerent seeing their favorite daughter-in-law crying.

Deleterious addictions are too sweet to swallow, breaking all the rules is too easy a task to follow.

I don’t intend to daze and amaze in my pursuit of creating a better life, I merely intend to pay the dues for just being alive.

Post workout sores are the sweetest treat, like any good addiction they don’t let you sleep.

The time that you actually waste, can be used in making others life better, sweetening their taste.

It doesn’t matter if you’re weaker than a newly hatched cherub when you begin, ure positive predilection is finally gonna make you win, soon you’d be putting impossible to the test every time you enter the gym.

An earnest step in good faith(towards your nearest fitness centre) will fill you with energy that simultaneously feeds the essential triad of mind, body and soul….

and as this addiction grows hear my voice ringing in your head saying “I told you so…”