Search Results for: workout

July 30, 2014 By Mitali Ambekar 5 Comments

Do you know your Body Type?

I have always come across people who think that any diet can be used to lose weight/maintain weight/gain weight, which is not the case. There are different body types according to which a diet is made; of course individual health history is also important. In fact even gym workouts are based on this different body types..

The Three Body Types are:

Ectomorph

People with this body type are very thin in structure. They have small shoulders and light build. Their metabolism is way too high thus; they find it hard to gain weight. In fact the metabolism is so high that the body burns fat for sure but even uses muscle as a source of energy, thus making them look so thin. These are people who despite eating a lot do not gain weight. Their tendency to lose weight is more than gaining.

Triats of Ectomorph

Small Shoulder
Thin Body Frame
Under weight/skinny appearance
Long limbs
Fast metabolism thus very low fat
Hard to gain muscles.

MESOMORPH

The most athletic body is this one, where in they have large body structure. They gain muscle and lose fat very easily. This body type has positives such as low body fat like ectomorph and large frame like endomorph. This is the kind of body everyone usually dreams of. But, again if not maintained well it’s no use having such a body type

Traits of a Mesomorph

Shoulders are wide
Easily gain muscle
Lean body
Has less body fat
Small waist.
Large frame.

ENDOMORPH

This body type is the one which has more fat. People with this body type have short limbs and gain weight very easily. Appear large in size. They find it hard to lose weight in spite of working on their diet and workout.

Traits of Endomorph

Broad Shoulders
Appear large
Gain fat easily
Metabolism is slow
Short limbs.

Every body type has its own advantage and disadvantages. According to an individual’s health goal, we work towards it.

It is not necessary for a person to be of any one specific body type only. There is even a combination of the above body types like Endo-Mesomorph or Ecto-Mesomorph.

With the above information, you can figure out your own body type easily. But, it is not necessary that Endomorph cannot become a Mesomorph, With dedication, efforts and hard work anything is possible.

July 28, 2014 By Shimpli Patil 3 Comments

Let’s dance… for a better health and a better you!!

How many of us look at dance as a form of exercise?

For me the word “Dance” itself has so much of energy and power that it sets my pulse rate in motion. Dance is something that I have been doing since my childhood. Being a child, I used to dance just for fun and enjoyment… little did I know about the positive changes that it was creating within me.

Dance has several benefits not only in terms of our physical health but also for our emotional and mental health.

The best thing about dancing is that there is absolutely NO AGE LIMIT for it! It’s something that can be taken up early in life and still provide plenty of entertainment well after retirement. It’s the perfect example of “joyful workout”. While, we’re having fun grooving to music and meeting new people, we’re getting all the health benefits of a good workout.

Dance by large is an aerobic workout that speeds up your heart rate and keeps it up for an extended period of time. It also involves some movements which are typically anaerobic in nature. We nearly use every muscle in our body to perform certain moves, holds, lifts, squats, spins, jumps or leaps. In fact, we build and tone our muscles while dancing, making them stronger with each session.

A good warm up for about 10 minutes is very essential before starting the dance to get into the groove. Once you get into regular dancing, it ensures increase in flexibility and agility as it involves stretching, bending and twisting.

Dance has innumerable benefits. No doubt it’s the best way to lose weight (provided the diet is correct) but it’s also been shown to be beneficial for heart health, blood pressure management, reduction of total blood cholesterol, especially LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and increase in levels of HDL (good cholesterol).

I have been looking at dance not only as a way to get better in terms of physical health but mental health as well. It’s one of the best ways to release stress and get your endorphin levels (feel good factor) up! Dance also helps you release all kinds of emotions. May it be happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, boredom…it all gets expressed while you dance. It’s a creative outlet as well wherein you can create your own new moves and choose a variety of music.

So let’s get active!! Put on your dancing shoes, turn the music on and dance. You may not have the best turns or neatest moves, but as long as you feel the rhythm, you’re a good dancer. And I assure you that you’ll never get bored with this workout as there is so much to explore in dance and try out new forms or steps. Of course, it’s way better than jogging on the same old treadmill every day.

Dance on, burn the calories and say good bye to a gloomy/lazy day!

July 16, 2014 By Satish Kurapaty Leave a Comment

Rest and Recovery is important

My friends often tell me how unfit they are. After I heard them out, I gave them a little pep talk on the positive aspects of fitness and undoubtedly they got all enthusiastic and decided they will also join me for a run from the next day. Couple of them said they would join me from next week and their discussion continued. Finally, they came to an agreement that everyone will join from the very next day.

The next day, I reached the decided point and I was surprised, my friends were all there on time. We began with some stretching then walked and jogged simultaneously as they were not used to it. We walked/jogged for an hour then ended the day’s session again with some stretching. Everyone felt energetic after the workout. Couple of my friends decided they would start gyming.

Next day we followed the same process and everyone was there. However, on the third day none of them turned up for jogging and neither had they gone to office? The reason being they had not rested enough and recovered well to be able to go about their daily routine after a workout.

It is very important to understand and bear in mind that ‘Rest and Recovery’ are two important aspects of any fitness regime. All the muscles and tissues utilised during a workout needs rest to recover.

We really need rest and what happens during rest?

Most people give importance to work out and diet but do not pay attention to rest and recovery. I am sure many out there reading this would have experienced something similar. Do you know that to get a good body rest is important as much as workout and diet? Growth occurs in the sleep phase as maximum hormones are released from the glands at rest.

The mail growth hormone testosterone and female growth hormone estrogen is released while in sleep mode. Throughout the day, the body undergoes lot of breakdown at a cellular and muscular level which gives rise to free radicals in the body. Free radical affects the immune system in the body. So sleep is very important for recovery.

Adult must get at least 6-8 hours of REM (Rapid eye Movement) sleep. But, the quality of sleep is equally important. One must feel fresh after a good sleep. Good sleep also helps to reduce stress which is main cause of all psychosomatic disorders.

July 1, 2014 By Luke Coutinho Leave a Comment

Inflammation –What you should know

When you think pain, think inflammation.   Inflammation is a good thing. It’s your body’s way of rising up to fight out germs/bacteria/infections, heal bruises when you fall, heal torn ligaments/tissues/tendons etc. Once it does its job of fighting out these invaders or foreign organisms, the inflammation should reduce back down to normal. The problem arises when that does not happen.

Have a torn ligament or muscle pulls that your struggling to heal? Seen the best doctors, therapists etc and still not fixed? Struggling with arthritis and joint pain? Check your CRP (C-Reactive protein) levels and focus on reducing inflammation. The cure is in reducing inflammation.

Many of us live with chronic inflammation and that’s dangerous. It’s also one of the reason people –struggle to lose weight, experience excruciating joint pains, age faster than normal feel tired through the day, higher chances of cancer and heart disease, Fibromalgia / Headaches/Migraines, higher chances of Alzheimer’s/dementia, struggle with diabetes, feel depressed and low.

Silent inflammation like the ones described above can destroy your nerves and cellular health, suppressing and weakening your immune system, leading to deadly diseases like cancer, etc.  

What’s scary is the fact that you can be extremely healthy and fit, but silent inflammation could be eating into you from inside, which is one of the many explainable reasons why cancer or heart attacks can strike down a healthy and young human being. Checking cholesterol levels, Vitamin D3, B12, SGOT, SGTP is imperative, but what most people miss out on is checking their CRP levels. (C-Reactive protein). This is an important protein level to check and a simple blood test will cover that for you. This level will tell you volumes about the amount of inflammation you have in your body.

In my years of experience what stands out in a cancer report of a person is an increase in CRP levels and white blood cells and the immediate action is to reduce inflammation thru food and lifestyle change. Diseases breathe in inflamed environments, in environments that are acidic and in environments where there is less oxygen supply to the cells.

Over training causes inflammation. Vigorous exercise, inconsistent exercise and high intensity training which is not planned for your body type will make your CRP levels soar and kill your immunity, which is why many trainers ask their clients to take a Vitamin C and E post workouts.

Running marathons without proper nutrition causes massive inflammation. Stress causes inflammation (chronic stress). Improper nutrition (high fat foods, sugar, artificial sweeteners, doughnuts, white sugar, aerated drinks, salty foods, packaged foods), and Smoking causes inflammation. (I’ve seen CRP levels fall in a smokers’ blood report within 10 days of kicking the butt)  

How to keep your inflammation in check:

Smart and moderate exercise such as meditation and controlling your stress and BP levels, nuts and seeds, green leafy veggies and fruits, good fats ( like nuts, olive oil, coconut oil) helps in keeping your inflammation under check. Finally, I should not be saying this but it has been proven that a small amount of alcohol can actually lower CRP levels. Vitamin D3 , Curcumin (turmeric extract) is one of the best spice based inflammation fighters.