Parwage Alam, Author at GOQii

A state level Athletic and Pole Vault champion, Parwange Alam encourages and motivates people to be healthy. While pursuing his graduation at the Punjabi University of Patiala, he also doubled up as a coach training students in running. His mission is to help people improve their lifestyle and lead them towards a healthier future with his acquired knowledge in fitness and experience. Apart from a sporting career he is also an artist and likes to express his feelings through painting. Parwage believes that every individual has a sportsman spirit within them and if coached well it can unveil that sportsman in the individual.

February 16, 2016 By Parwage Alam 4 Comments

16 major exercises to shed your excess weight -Part 2

In the first part of my blog, I mentioned 5 basic exercises that one can do to get fit and shed those extra kilos. In the second of part of the blog, I shall take you through with some major and slightly tough exercises, which will help corpulent people to get fitter. Start with some lighter exercise.

Warm Up Exercise:

Wrist rotation

Shoulder rotation

Shoulder adductions

Waist rotation

Ankle rotation

After your warm up, you can do the following exercise:

Wall Push-Ups: Stand at a distance of 4 feet from the wall. Face the wall and keep your hand outstretched and lean your body towards the wall with your palms well placed on the wall. Now start pushing your body forward and back until you are once again in a standing position.

Standing Cross Leg Stretch: Stand straight with legs crossed and outsides of feet together and bend to stretch.

Lying down one side’s upper and inner leg raises: Lie on one side with your head resting in a resting position on your hand just above your elbow. Keep your other arm in front of your central abdominal part with your palm facing down. Start lifting your top leg as high as it will go slowly. You can keep your free hand either on your hip or on the floor in front of you for some additional support. Keep looking straight in front of you instead of looking up at the leg. Gently lower your leg until it meets the other leg. Try to keep your spine straight and to avoid caving forward as you lift your leg.

Cat and Camel pose: Keep your hands and knees on your mat/floor. Your hands should be beneath your shoulders and your knees directly beneath your hips. Relax your head, and allow it to droop. Take a deep breath to start and while exhaling – gently pull your abdominal muscles backwards and towards your spine. Tuck your tailbone down and under. Gently contract your glutes, now your spine should look rounded upwards similar to a camel. After that gently inhale your breath and lower down your spine like a cat.

Child Pose: Kneel on your mat with your legs together and sit back on your heels and keep your palm on your thighs. Exhale and slowly rest your torso over your thighs so that your forehead touches the mat.

Yoga Pose -Bhujangasan: If you have carpal tunnel syndrome or other wrist injuries, or if you have recently had a surgery, or if you have back problems that are irritated while bending. Lie down on your mat facing towards the floor. Place your palms flat on your mat directly beneath your shoulders with your fingers facing forward. The tops of your feet should be flat on the floor.

Spread your fingers and press your palms against the floor. Rotate your shoulders back and down, away from your ears, keep your elbows close to your body and pointing behind you instead of out to the sides.

Lift into a low cobra pose. Keeping your hands, your hips, and the tops of your feet firmly planted on the floor, begin to lift your upper torso off the floor. Try to use mostly the muscles in your back to lift you. Tilt your chin upward and lift your chest toward the ceiling)

Pelvic Raises: Lie on the floor on your back with your arms behind your head. Bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor about hip-width apart. Contract your abdominals as you press your back down. Hold your back on the floor as you tilt your hips to raise your butt about an inch off the floor — 2 inches maximum. Stay in this position for a moment. Slowly bring your butt back to start. You may want to lift the lower back up. For the Pelvic Tilt to be effective, keep the lower back in neutral alignment for the duration of the exercise. Do not raise your head, neck, or shoulders. Remember not to arch your back.

Superman Raises: To begin, lie straight and face down on the floor or exercise mat. Your arms should be fully extended in front of you. This is the starting position. Simultaneously raise your arms, legs, and chest off of the floor and hold this contraction for 2 seconds. Tip: Squeeze your lower back to get the best results from this exercise. Remember to exhale during this movement. Note: When holding the contracted position, you should look like superman when he is flying. Slowly begin to lower your arms, legs and chest back down to the starting position while inhaling.

Crunches Half: Sitting upright on your butt on the floor, knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Sit up and hold your arms out in front of you while leaning back halfway (between sitting upright and lying on the floor) and then sit up completely, trying to touch your chest to your knees. Go down half way and then up again. This will work your lower back and upper abdominals.

Spot Marching: Walk in the same place at an easy pace, swinging your arms naturally.

Half Squats: Stand straight with feet hip-width apart. Keep your shoulder blades down & back. Brace the abdomen & squeeze the glutes. Squat by pushing the hips back and out before bending the knees. Stop when the thighs are halfway from being parallel to the floor. Return to starting position.

Wide Squats: Same process of Half Squats but with the wider leg position

One Floor Stairs: You just need to climb stairs one floor three times in a day.

Hamstring Curls: You need to stand straight, if you are not able to stand properly in the same place, you can use chair or anything to support. Bend your knee by folding your leg and try to touch your butt with your ankle. Try to raise as much as you can. Try to do the same posture with both legs alternatively.

Standing Alternate Side Leg Raises: Stand next to a chair, which you may hold onto as a support. Stand on one leg. This will be your starting position. Keeping your leg straight, raise it as far out to the side as possible, and swing it back down, allowing it to cross the opposite leg.

Back Leg Raises: Stand up tall holding onto the back of a sturdy object like a chair or resting your hands on a wall. Raise one leg, pressing it straight back behind you, and squeeze your glutes at the top of the motion. Pause and then return to the starting position.

Now you have all the information with the right instruction, so what are you waiting for? Let’s pledge for the healthy lifestyle and move one step ahead into your fitness.

February 9, 2016 By Parwage Alam Leave a Comment

5 basic exercises to shed your excess weight –Part 1

In today’s hectic life – with packed schedules, calendars have no column for relaxation or time for doing anything good. This also translates into “No Time” for eating healthy food which invariably leads one to have all sorts of JUNK food available on the menu. and is a ready to eat option. Outcome of overeating junk food is ‘excess weight’.

Excess weight slowly and steadily leads to Obesity and to shed this excess weight and get back on track becomes a huge task. Nevertheless it is not impossible if one puts in the effort, had dedication and patience. Exercise is the key to creating a physically, mentally, and emotionally healthier body. However, at the same time, some of the moves may be too painful or nearly impossible for those who are heavy.

Here are some basic exercise which can be done to avoid unhealthy lifestyle, without any harm:

Walking–This is one of the best and basic workouts that can be done by one and all, anywhere without spending a single penny and is a low-impact aerobic exercise. It may still be difficult to work for those who are morbidly corpulent, which is when baby steps need to be implemented with a walker, walking cane, or assistance. Slow walking burns extra calories for those carrying extra weight because they have to exert more energy than a normal-weight person.

Exercise Ball Workouts: people on the heavier side often find it difficult to exercise in front of others. The best solution in this case is Exercise Ball, which is really a great help to do different workouts at home. An exercise ball will help them to do the variety of strengthening, toning, stretching and balancing exercises with support. Exercise balls can be used for abdominal crunches by lying on your back, setting your ankles onto the ball, and lifting upward with your core and both arms behind your head.

You can do:

# “Bouncing On the Ball Workout” targets: core, quads, glutes, and hamstrings

# “Inner-Thigh Squeeze Workout”, targets – Strengthens inner thighs and core

# “Half Squat” with the help of Exercise Ball and wall”, which targets: Strengthens abs, glutes, and hamstrings

Once you get comfortable with the ball, try incorporating it into your everyday activities, such as sitting on it while you are on the computer, eating at the dinner table, or reading a book.

Aqua Aerobics: You can perform your exercise under water because water makes you feel lighter by helping to support your body weight. It also lessens the impact on your joints. You can do swimming if you know.

For more read my Blog “One-Stop Shop Workout – Swimming”: http://goqii.com/blog/one-stop-shop-workout-swimming/

Seated Stationary Bike: The seated or recumbent stationary bike is different than a normal upright exercise bike. It provides a backrest optimal for heavier or obese people who haven’t developed a strong enough abdominal core to hold them upright long enough. It also places less stress on your lower spine, which is a frequent problem for those who are heavy. Biking also engages different muscles than walking or running do. Alternating exercise days between biking and brisk walking will also give the body a dynamic bonus aerobic workout.

Group Exercise Classes: There are chances that you will get bored and demotivated if you are working out alone. The best way then to motivate yourself is by joining a group exercise class that has people who all have similar goals such as yours. Each of them then motivates the other to achieve the respective goals. Initially, it will be difficult to achieve your goal, but with the continuous motivation and effort, you will achieve your goal.

Get up set your goal and start working towards it.

Look forward to the second part of my blog where I will take you through some more exercises.

Note: Please consult your Doctor before including the above exercises into your routine, as an individual’s body and medical conditions vary.

December 30, 2015 By Parwage Alam 1 Comment

10 New Year workouts for 2016

Are you planning to have some great health-related New Year resolutions? Every Year we set some resolution for ourselves for the New Year and end up with no result because of inconsistency in fulfilling the tasks.

This year let’s set some realistic goals and give a blow to our hidden talents. We always think that we’ll start the New Year with some regular exercising but due to boredom we are unable to continue. So try new things so as to make your workouts interesting.

The easiest is to start with remembering some of those childhood games and activities that you liked and played the most. Try them out again for a change. If you cannot remember them here are some exercises which will help you to stick to your routine and you will also enjoy achieving your fitness levels.

Roller-skating: Roller-skating as an exercise provides a lot of health benefits. Skating offers an effective cardiovascular workout, endurance training and strength training to build strong muscles in the pelvis and legs. Balance and coordination can also be improved by regular skating.

Hula hooping: Hula hoop is when you rotate your hip round and round. I am sure everyone heir childhood would have attempted this at least once. As an exercise, I can say that hula hoop is a bona fide piece of workout equipment that can tone your thighs, abdominals, gluteals, and arms. You barely feel like you’re working out while doing Hula hoop.

Dancing: Whether you like to jump or jive, tap or tango, shake your belly or your booty, dancing is one of the most enjoyable ways to get some exercise. If you dance 30 min in a day you will enjoy your day and feel very fit without realizing that you have worked out. Also, there is no age limit for the dance, anyone can dance. Regular dancing is great for fitness, maintaining strong bones, improving posture and muscle strength, increasing balance and coordination, and beating stress.

To get more information about Dancing you can check another blog written by my colleague Shimpli Patil. Let’s dance… for a better health and a better you!!

http://goqii.com/blog/lets-dance-for-a-better-health-and-a-better-you/

Trampolining: Everyone likes to jump. So we can relate this exercise to the above mentioned dancing exercise. If you know how to jump, you know dancing. Jumping itself is a great exercise but if you are jumping on a hard floor, you might hurt your legs, knees, so the best option is to use Trampoline. Jump workouts on Trampoline are not only a quick way to tighten, tone and build core strength, you can also shred calories and boost cardio as effectively as going for a run — without the stress on your joints.
Water exercise: As a kid most of us enjoyed playing in the water, be it in bath tub at home or in the pool. Believe me that the water exercises is a great way to stay fit without hurting your body. Water workout burns tons of calories but feels like an easy play. To know more you can read from the following link:

One-Stop Shop Workout – Swimming:

http://goqii.com/blog/one-stop-shop-workout-swimming/

Cycling: I still remember that my school was approximately 8 kms away from my home and I use to travel by cycle to school every day. It was fun and the same time kept me healthy. Cycling is indeed one of the best ways to be fit. My favourite weekend activity has always been cycling and every time I would pick a new route and end up exploring the place. Cycling is the easiest way of exercise because you can ride a bicycle almost anywhere, at any time of the year, and without spending a fortune. Cycling builds strength, muscle tone, builds stamina, improves your cardiovascular fitness, improves heart health and reduces stress. This also improves the mental health.

Cycling is good for your coordination: Moving both feet around in circles while steering with both your hands and your body’s own weight is good practice for your coordination skills.

Skipping: How many of us remember our childhood, when we used to skip and even had challenges among ourselves to find out who could skip the fastest. Those memories of my childhood bring back a smile on my face. I used to enjoy those skipping moments. There were several games we could play with the skipping rope and it was one of the cheapest games that one could purchase. The best part of a skipping rope was that people of all ages could use it.

You can read more on skipping in my blog – Did you know how useful a ‘SKIPPING’ rope can be?

http://goqii.com/blog/did-you-know-how-useful-a-skipping-rope-can-be/

Running: As a child all of us have ran so much while playing but as we grow older all these activities somehow comes to a halt thereby forcing many to lead an unhealthy life. Nowadays running is becoming a very popular sport and a craze among many. This in turn has also led to the number of marathons being organized in a year. According to me one of your New Year resolutions could be to take up running seriously and become a runner.

Here is another blog written by my colleague Mitali on how to prepare for a marathon- Are you running the Marathon? Here is your guide to training:

http://goqii.com/blog/are-you-running-the-marathon-here-is-your-guide-to-training/

Outdoor Games:It’s always best to play outdoor games. If you remember most of us from our generation would remember their times of playing in the parks but sadly nowadays kids are seldom found playing outside and are found more busy with their X-Box, video games, Ipad etc, which lead them to the unhealthy lifestyle. I would suggest you start going to park or nearest ground to play outdoor games like cricket or Foot Ball, which will then encourage your kids also to play outside. For more information about Cricket and Foot Ball, you can read my following Blog – CRICKET and FOOT BALL—Your healthy path to fitness!:

http://goqii.com/blog/cricket-and-foot-ball-your-healthy-path-to-fitness/

Hiking: Hiking especially with friends: If you like to explore new places, try to go Hiking, it will help you not only to explore new places but, also increase your strength and stamina, because you have to walk on the mountain which really needs balancing. Also, while doing Hiking, you are increasing your physical and mental health, because it will give you stress relieve from your whole week work burden.

Once you have decided the resolution for your new year, try to check on it in every interval of 15 days and ask yourself one question – are you following your Resolution? If No – get back on track and then enjoy your healthy lifestyle.

December 13, 2015 By Parwage Alam 2 Comments

The Best Post-Run Recovery Foods

All athletes plan their routine, in terms of their exercise, nutrition; practice sessions all of this is done to get the best results from his/her body. While you might get the expected results with your performance but, that certainly does not mean that your body is also getting the expected nutrition. In fact, some of the best athletes and more recently we have come across cases of regular marathon runners fainting or blacking out during the run or after the run. This situation occurs due to nutrition imbalance in body.

To be healthy we have to take care of our meals throughout the day. Similarly, we have to take care of our post run meals as well to recover our body. By eating the right foods at right times your body will recover and be able to perform the way you want it to. So if you are a runner or planning to run you need to be aware of what exactly you should be eating before, during and after your running events. This is important so that you are able to keep your body in optimal condition.

So let’s understand more about this.

Some basics before your run: If you are planning to jog no longer than 40 or 50 minutes at a relaxed pace, a glass of water might be all that’s needed ahead of time—provided you have had a decent dinner the night before. But, if the previous night’s meal wasn’t filling or if you ate it early, downing some orange juice or a banana will replace glycogen stores in your muscles to wave off sluggishness. If you’re heading out in the afternoon, have a snack with about 50 grams of carbs in it—like yogurt and a granola bar—an hour or two before hand
Post run, our body requires lot of different nutrition, so let’s divide into different category – PROTEIN, CARBS, ELECTROLYTES AND ANTIOXIDANTS.

Protein: Protein is the best resource to repair your body. It repairs muscle damage, diminishes the effects of cortisol—the so-called “stress” hormone that breaks down muscle—and, when taken with carbohydrates it speeds your body’s ability to replenish its glycogen stores, your all-important energy source for those long runs during marathon season. So post run your Protein ratio should be 1:4 which means 1 gram of protein for every 4 gram of CARBS
Carbs: Carbohydrates or carbs as is known commonly are body’s main fuel source, and are stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver, so eating carbs shortly after your workout helps optimize your body’s recovery. And it is during this time that your muscles are most receptive to rebuilding your glycogen reserves.
Electrolytes and Antioxidants: Electrolytes are minerals in our blood and other body fluids like Calcium, Chloride, Magnesium, Phosphorous, Potassium, Sodium, etc that carry an electric charge. It also affects the percentage of water in our body, the acidity of our blood (pH), our muscle functionality, and other important processes. While running, we sweat a lot and we lose electrolytes when we sweat. So we really have to replace our sweat by drinking fluids that contain electrolytes.

The techniques we can use

The fastest recovery techniques post training is rehydration, glycogen resynthesis and protein and antioxidant supplementation. These techniques replenish our muscle fuel supplies, hasten the repair of muscle damage and combat free radical formation in our cells.

Having said all of the above now it’s time for me to provide you with some resources for the post recovery foods that can help to replenish your body with the vital nutrients discussed above.

At first you start restoring the fluids in the body after your long run – the quick fixes for this are sports drink, lemon water or some plain water. However, the recovery process does not stop here so we have some specific foods that can help you to restore your body in recovery.

Salmon
Cherries
Kale
Oatmeal
Greek yogurt
Banana
Skim Milk
Chicken
Hummus
Green Tea
Tomatoes
Lean beef
Turkey breast
Sports/Energy bar
Whole-Wheat Pasta
Berries
Fruit Juice
Low-fat cottage cheese
Eggs
Almonds or other nuts
Vegetables

Its recommended to have your post run meal within an hour or so, but incase if it is not possible then you can go for the following options, which will help you to sustain for some time:

Have an apple which will give you some energy and raise your glucose level to sustain.
Protein bars, Protein shake with the combination of milk or water, whatever is convenient for you.
Banana is really good option to get quick energy.
Have Bread with some peanut butter.
My Favorite – Chocolate Milkshake.
Hummus and carrots
Some Greek yogurt.

As we love running and it’s a part of our lifestyle, routine and our health journey, so we really need to take care of the hard impact of it on our body. To continue our journey with running and healthy lifestyle we need to give appropriate rest and relaxation after every run and make sure that our body recovers completely after a every rigorous workout/running.

16 major exercises to shed your excess weight -Part 2

5 basic exercises to shed your excess weight –Part 1

10 New Year workouts for 2016

The Best Post-Run Recovery Foods

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