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.

October 26, 2015 By Parwage Alam 1 Comment

Exercises for overweight and obese people

Everyone is busy in today’s life – with a packed schedules, calendars have no column for relaxation or time for doing anything good. This also translates into “No Time” for eating healthy food and for satisfying hunger we make do with all the JUNK food that is available. One of the reasons is that it is a ready to eat option. Ultimate result of eating junk food can get you one title- OBESE. With the effort and taste of 4-5 years when we reach the level of being OBESE, it is then that we realize something is going wrong with our body. We start visiting a doctor multiple times and also start searching for options that will help us to reduce our weight and get back to on track.

Losing weight is hard for anyone but, not impossible if one is willing to put in that extra effort, dedication and have 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 carrying extra weight.

With the help of Junk food restaurants, the new generation of overweight and obese adults is a plenty. If we really want our children to have healthy future with proper fitness than childhood nutrition and exercise intervention needs to be implemented as soon as possible.

Some exercise which can be done by any OBESE person, without any harm:

WALKING– One of the best and basic workouts can be done by anyone, anywhere without spending a single penny, low-impact aerobic exercise. It may still be difficult to work for those who are morbidly obese, 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: For a person who is OBESE, it’s uncomfortable to do the exercise in front of others, so the best solution 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” which Target: Works core, quads, glutes, and hamstrings

# “Inner-Thigh Squeeze Workout”, which Target – Target: Strengthens inner thighs and core

# “Half Squat” with the help of Exercise Ball and wall”, which target: 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 at the computer, eating at the dinner table, or reading a book.

Aqua Aerobics:You can perform your exercise under water because while doing exercise in water, 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. To get more information about this you can 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 overweight 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 with excess weight. 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 when you do any exercise, you will get demotivated and stop giving your effort to achieve your goals. So this is the best way to motivate yourself – Join Group Exercise classes with other people who all are having a common goal, in this way everyone will motivate each other to achieve the goal. Initially, it will be difficult to achieve your goal, but with the continuous motivation and effort you will achieve your goal.

Are you still reading, it’s time to show your effort? So let’s get up, set your goal and start working towards.

Note: Please consult your Doctor before applying the upper suggestion into your routine, as an individual’s body and medical condition vary.

June 9, 2015 By Parwage Alam Leave a Comment

WWW vs HEALTH

Welcome to the world of technology. Today, most of the work can be done via technology and seldom people are ready to move their bodies to complete any task. This is a going to create a huge problem for the current and the coming generations. While time spent online can be hugely productive, compulsive Internet use can interfere with daily life, work, and relationships.

Gradually, when you end up feeling more comfortable with your online friends than your real ones or you can’t stop yourself from playing games, browsing different sites, do all kinds of R&D, or compulsively checking your smart phone, tablet, or other mobile device ——then you may be using the Internet too much.

Risk factors for WWW addiction :

Anxiety: There comes a point when you start using Internet to distract yourself from your worries and fears through different sites. An anxiety disorder like obsessive-compulsive disorder may also contribute to excessive email checking and compulsive Internet use.
Depression : Whenever you are feeling depressed, you might start taking support of internet for chatting with different people, shopping or focus your mind in different area but, too much time online can make things worse. Internet addiction further contributes to stress, isolation and loneliness.
Cause of other addictions: Research shows that many Internet addicts suffer from other addictions as well, such as drugs, smoking, alcohol, gambling, and sex.
Unhappiness in life: With Internet addiction you often use social networking sites (facebook, twitter etc), instant messaging, or online gaming as a safe way of establishing new relationships and more confidently relating to others but, in real life you would be away from your real-life friends.
Frustration : While playing a game on the internet, if your internet is not working or if you start losing the game you get frustrated. You get frustrated when your smart phone dies out.
Tolerance and Obsession — Needing to play more and more in order to experience the same “rush”, hence spending most offline time thinking about past online experiences and planning for future online sessions.

Physical symptoms of WWW addiction: Internet or computer addiction can also cause physical discomfort such as:

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (pain & numbness in fingers and wrists)
Dry eyes or strained vision
Back aches and neck aches; severe headaches
Joints issues
Sleep disorders
Insomnia
Pronounced weight gain or weight loss
Internet addiction can cause physical damage to the brain, just like drugs.
Poor personal hygiene (again, neglecting this important issue in order to focus on online activities)
Poor nutrition (failing or refusing to eat in order to remain online)

So this is the time when we have to go out and start using our old outdoor games and get back to real health and fitness.

May 15, 2015 By Parwage Alam 2 Comments

Breathing: A source of life

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of a doctor? I would imagine a stethoscope. Stethoscope is used to hear our heart beat or the voice of our breathing. Breathing sounds can indicate problems within the lungs such as obstructions, inflammation, or infection and is an important part of diagnosing many different medical conditions.

The quality of your breathing is a powerful determinant of your physical and emotional state of being. I would like to share some of my knowledge and experience with you.

There are different types of breathing techniques available, which you can do to make your body, mind and soul healthy and fit. When we are talking about breathing techniques “YOGA” word automatically occurs to you and while talking about yoga -Pranayama, Anuloma Viloma will automatically comes to our mind. I have been practicing yoga for several years and would like to share some of my experiences with you and help you understand about breathing better.

Pranayama breathing techniques: Pranayama also has different kinds of breathing techniques like Dirga Pranayama, Nadi Shodhana, Ujjayi Pranayama, Kumbhaka etc..

Dirga Pranayama : It’s a basic technique which teaches us the various ways of breathing and how to breathe right – Deep Breathing. We usually breathe shallowly and use approximately one fourth portions of our lungs. This technique helps us to learn how to utilize the lungs properly for breathing. We have to breathe deeply so that our stomach fills with air, then our chest, till finally it seems like our shoulder blades are being displaced by the air you are breathing in. Dirga Pranayama is akin to filling up and emptying a vessel with water and replenishing the body and soul.

Nadi Shodhana: Nadi Shodhana, also known as Alternate Nostril Breathing, is a powerful breathing practice with wide reaching benefits. Alternate Nostril breathing is a beautiful breathing technique that helps keep the mind calm, happy and peaceful by just practicing it for a few minutes.

In this you have to cover your right nostril using the thumb of your right hand and take deep breaths with the left nostril. In the pause between inhalation and exhalation, you release the right nostril and close your left nostril with the ring finger of your right hand. Once you finish exhaling fully, you inhale through the same nostril. In the pause between the inhalation and exhalation, you close your right nostril with your thumb while releasing the left nostril.

Ujjayi Pranayama: The beauty of unifying breath and movement is truly majestic. More popularly the term Ujjayi Pranayama is known as ‘Ocean Breath’ or ‘Victorious Breath’. In this Inhale slowly from your nose and exhale from your mouth. When exhaling, produce the sound ‘HHHHHAAAA’ (ocean sound).

Now, try to keep your mouth closed while exhaling. Generate the same sound as before but, this time with your mouth closed. Inhalation and exhalation are both done through the nose. The position of your throat is unchanged and natural. Make sure the sound originates from your throat and not from your nose.

The “ocean sound” is created by moving the glottis as air passes in and out. As the throat passage is narrowed so, too, is the airway, the passage of air through which creates a “rushing” sound

Kumbhaka : This technique is an advanced level of Pranayama where you have to hold your breath either at the end of each inhalation, exhalation, or both. Do not practice this technique on your own but, only under the supervision of a learned practitioner.

You can also do Kapalabhati, which is most popular in Yoga. Kapāla means skull and Bhati means light. This exercise gets its name from the fact that when practicing the mind fills up with a bright light. This is due to the change in oxygen and energy levels received by the mind. It cleanses your nasal passage, lungs and your entire respiratory system or in short you are strengthening your lungs and stomach muscles.

In this technique, you take passive inhalations followed by forceful exhalations, by contracting your abdominal muscles quickly as you exhale rapidly through your nose. Try to learn this correctly from a certified yoga instructor, It will help you to avoid any drawbacks.

I would like to conclude by saying that you are still breathing, But, if you breath as per the above techniques, you can take your body, mind and soul to the another level of fitness.

April 13, 2015 By Parwage Alam 6 Comments

CRICKET and FOOT BALL—Your healthy path to fitness!

How often have you taken a cricket bat and ball or just a football and decided to go to an open ground and play with your group of friends? I am sure very often. Both these games that originated in England and is a world sport today is very popular and played both among children and adults across the world.

More so playing these games as a hobby is very cheap and also makes one healthy and fit. These sports help you develop muscles and burn calories while improving your coordination and stamina. Working on your coordination and stamina are important for this game.

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits that Cricket has to offer in terms of fitness:

Endurance and stamina – You need to have strong endurance and stamina as you have to concentrate and play for several hours.
2. Improved hand-eye coordination – Whether you are bowling, batting or Fielding, playing cricket will improve these skills.
3. Physical fitness – This involves short bursts of sprinting and throwing, no matter what your position, either between wickets when you’re batting, when you’re running up to bowl, or when you’re running after a ball in the field, which is good for cardio-vascular health..
4. With eleven players a side, you’ll make ten new friends and that’s healthy.

An interesting fact is that Cricketers for better performance play football to build their stamina and increase their fitness levels. Various international research papers indicate that men who played football for an hour-3 times a week had lower levels of blood fats, lower body fat, increased muscle mass and lower blood pressure than inactive men.

Benefits of Playing Football

Football has greater health benefits than jogging because it combines slow and fast movement with sprinting and this combination of fast, slow and sprint makes the heart work at different paces, which really helps one to control body fat and increases overall fitness. Playing football also releases a healthy level of endorphins, which act as mood stabilizers.

Playing football improves the coordination of your body, as the intensity and different range of movements involved in Football vary, including kicks, turns, twists and sprints, provide better overall exercise.

So forget the gadget games and keep aside your x-box. Gadget games will only reduce your life span and make you lead a sedentary lifestyle. Instead get your group together and shake your hands and legs playing cricket or Football in the outdoors. It will only increase your lifespan and make you more healthy and fit.