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August 10, 2015 By Ashwinkumar Rahate Leave a Comment

Anaerobic Or Aerobic which is better for fat loss

Most people when they indulge any kind of outdoor or exercising activities they primarily are focused only on fat loss. To achieve maximum fat loss many just indulge in cardio training such as running, brisk walking or jogging. In my career as a trainer I have also come across many of the bodybuilders who want to achieve fat loss only through weight training and neglect cardio as well as flexibility training.

I would like to elaborate the type of the training and its benefits for fat loss.

Weight Training or anaerobic activity

Weight lifting or weight training normally comes under anaerobic type of the activity where in oxygen is not present and this type of training helps to achieve an after burn effect. This is also known as the EPOC effect. (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption). The acronym EPOC itself elaborates the after burn concept. Oxygen in reality is consumed more after the exercise. In short it means that burning more calories after workout and also helps to burn maximum fats in minimum duration.

Cardiovascular Training or Aerobic Activity

Any activity performed for more than 2 minutes with low, moderate or high intensity is known as cardiovascular training. This training includes running, Jogging, Swimming, aerobics etc. Cardio training is supported by oxygen therefore also known as aerobic activity. Cardio exercises helps in strengthening the heart, lowering stress and recovering the muscle tissues

Major fat loss is achieved when we follow interval training. The simple example of interval training is 1 minute of fast run and 2 minutes of slow run. It’s all about the high and low intensity.

We can also go for HIIT (High Intensity of Interval Training) for example 20 to 30 seconds of Sprinting and 10 to 20 seconds of slow running. This type of training also helps the EPOC effect. To burn maximum fats we need to apply both anaerobic and aerobic method.

I can say both types of training go hand in hand and support each other. If we are targeting only anaerobic activity like body conditioning or weights it will definitely improve the muscular fitness but will not help in strengthening the heart. And neglecting cardio workout will result in poor heart, less recovery of the muscles, and increase the stress levels.

If we target only the cardiovascular exercises then we will lose the muscular fitness. We will lose most of the weight in muscles and not fats. By neglecting Muscular fitness we will also invite many issues like knee pain or others.

My advice as a full time trainer and coach is that both type of exercises are important for fat loss and to maintain or improve the muscle mass. Apart from fat loss these exercises help to improve our heart condition and are applicable in all weather. These exercises can be performed by any normal person, athletes or body builders. Degree of both the modes may be different but required by all.

Thus focus on both type of training to achieve maximum fat loss.

July 27, 2015 By ASHWINI PRAKASH CHAUDHARI 5 Comments

5 Easy Ways to Cut Down on the Fat

During my college days, I was on the healthier side as compared to all my friends. And, I always felt I had to lose weight just to be like them. The first thing that crossed my mind was I should be skipping my meals. I did precisely that, started to skip my meals and lost weight. But, when is started back on my normal meals I realized I used to gain back the weight. After losing the weight, I also started feeling weak. Since I was into sports I needed to be fit too. I wondered why I am feeling weak. I have lost the extra weight but, yet not feeling energetic?

Slowly and gradually as time passed on, I started my dietetics studies and that’s when I realized the actual meaning of what is weight loss.

When we talk about losing weight, what does it actually mean? Does it mean losing weight or losing muscle weight??

I realized that, there is no shortcut or a magical pill for fat loss. There are several reasons and factors that are responsible for it. When I first lost weight, I started feeling weak because I lost muscle weight and not fat weight.

The key to real fat loss is combining the right foods together and eating right. When the right foods are combined there is a synergy affect resulting in double fat loss in almost half the time.

The way to successfully losing the fat weight is long-term healthy lifestyle change. I think this is a very clever way of informing people to stop trying to find a quick and easy way to lose fat. It just reaffirms that we need to mould ourselves in self created healthy environment and become a healthier individual naturally. Here, are some easy ways to cut down the fat weight rather than of yourself! So lets get started..

1)Healthy Eating Habits- When we talk about healthy eating habits what are the things that come to your mind?

Your major meals of the day which are breakfast, lunch and dinner. These meals are very important and we should not skip these meals. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Your body needs to know that it can start burning calories and breakfast is exactly that flag. One should have a king size breakfast. If you do not then you will end up eating unhealthy stuff. Lunch should be lighter than breakfast and well balanced with carbs and proteins. Same with dinner, it should be the lightest of the all meals, with more proteins and less carbohydrates.

Our meals should be load up on protein and fiber. To get rid of that stubborn fat, we need proteins. As proteins helps to repair and build muscles, intake should be up to the requirement. At the same time we should not forget fiber. Fiber helps to digest and lose weight by helping you feel full. So add beans, whole grains, brown rice, nuts, and berries on to the list which are awesome foods to get going.

Not only proteins and fibers but, also the fats are important to include in the daily diet. Not any sort of a no-fat or low-fat diet. Well, a low-fat diet is good but, only if you do it right. You need to stick to the good fats. The good kind (unsaturated; your omega-3s and 6s) can actually lead to fat burn, rising your metabolism.

To reduce calories, to get rid of body fat, you need not to cut out healthy fats completely. Include avocados, fatty fish, olives, nuts and seeds, and oils such as olive, flaxseed and canola in your diet.

2) Eat often- Getting rid of body fat is all about the metabolism, and to keep up the metabolism, you got to be eating constantly.

As we are talking about the major meals same time small frequent meals are important too. When you eat small meals all the time, your metabolic rate increases and the increase in metabolism helps to lose fat. If you eat six meals a day versus just the three regular meals (breakfast , lunch , dinner) with the same total calories, you can lose more fat because more meals burn more calories by increasing thermogenesis, the production of heat, in the body.

Let’s not forget portion control, while going through proper meals you need to have look on portion control as well.

Try to take a less portion when you are serving your plate. Mindful eating works well such as chewing the food thoroughly, eating slowly. Eating slowly helps because it is known that once you cross 20 minutes of eating, the satiety center in the brain gets stimulated which sends you a signal that you are full and you stop eating. This is how portion control helps.

3) Water-The body fuel! Water is the medium in which most cellular activities take place, including the transport and burning of fat. In addition, drinking plenty of calorie-free water makes you feel full. Drink at least 3 litres of water a day. This is going to help you in washing away the toxins from your body and also to lessen the load of liver and thereby helping the liver to focus on metabolizing fat and the metabolizing rate related with fat loss.

Set yourself to accomplish this goal and you are on. Drink loads of water. It’s practically the easiest detoxifying tactic there in.

Two glasses of cold water can actually spike up your metabolism for about half an hour.

4) Exercise with proper breathing- To be on a healthy path you need a proper exercise along with the diet! Try to be more active, Daily 30-45 mins of Interval walking/ Running can be beneficial. Your main focus when you exercise should be losing body fat, and you can’t lose body fat just by burning calories. When we exercise, our bodies start burning calories, but the calories that are burned are the calories from carbohydrates in our system. In order to burn calories from your stored fat, your body requires the presence of oxygen. There is a certain amount of oxygen that your body needs in order to start burning fat and the only way for you to measure the amount needed for your own body is to keep up with your target heart rate during exercise.

Fat burns in the presence of oxygen. There’s a phrase which says (When you eat more, breathe more). It means oxygen burns the extra calories we eat, which is not required by the body and also reduces the overall fat percentage in the body. Oxygen thins the blood a little which helps lower your blood pressure and speed up the flow of blood. This increases your metabolism and burns more calories. The more oxygen you have in your blood the faster your metabolism will be. Cool air causes an additional increase in your metabolic rate because you need to expend more energy to keep the body at a comfortable temperature.

5 ) Rest– as focusing on all activities to stay healthy, along with all that your body needs a crucial ingredient-“rest”!

The culprits are leptin and ghrelin. Leptin tells your body it’s full and ghrelin stimulates appetite. When you don’t sleep, leptin levels decrease and ghrelin levels increases. The result? You eat more unconsciously which can lead to fat gain. To avoid this scenario, make sure you rest. Try to take proper 7-8 hours of sleep. Also your body requires it to reduce stress levels and rejuvenate once again with fresh energy for the next day. You are like a powerhouse that just can’t be stopped, but your body needs to rest. Especially if you’re lifting weights like it’s your job; your muscles need time to repair themselves. And the muscle repairs and recovery happens when your body is at rest. So, take a day to take it easy. You don’t have to sit on the couch all day, but do allow your body to heal itself.
These are some fat burning food- Berries, grape fruit, Green tea, Eggs, Olive oil, Enova oils (Soy or canola) Almonds and other nuts, chilli peppers, whey protein, peanut butter, oat meal, spinach and other green vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes, lean meat, fatty fish (salmon, tuna, etc), dairy products (low or no fat) etc.

For fat burning exercise you can check the following blog links written by my co-colleagues

https://goqii.com/blog/interval-training-to-put-your-fat-on-flame/

https://goqii.com/blog/10-tips-for-fat-burn-exercise/

July 6, 2015 By Anushree Ashtekar Leave a Comment

10 Squat Variations You Need To Know

Squats are one of the most common exercises that one can do on a daily basis. In strength training, Squat is a compound, power movement, in which the full body gets exercised. Squat primarily trains the muscles of the thighs, buttocks and hips.

The following muscles are mainly engaged while doing a squat:-

Quadriceps (Vastus lateralis, Vastus medialis and vastus intermedius and rectus femoris)
Gluteus maximus (the largest muscle in the buttock region)
Hamstrings (semitendinosus, semimembranosus and biceps femoris). Hamstrings do not work mainly but, assist in the squat movement.

The secondary muscles, which stabilize the body while performing squats are:-

Erector spinae (it is the name of a muscle group in the back )
Transverse abdominus
The gluteal group muscles (gluteus medius and gluteus minimus); abductor muscles
The adductor group of muscles
Gastrocnemius
Soleus

Squat not only helps in developing musculoskeletal strength and size of the legs and buttocks but, also helps in developing core strength (strengthening the abdominal and paraspinal muscles). For power generation in the body, it is vital for the core muscles to be strong.

When performed with proper form and technique, squat not only trains the legs, buttocks and core muscles but, also muscles of the back, arms, trunk coastal and shoulder muscles.

In the strength sports of power-lifting, Squats is one of the three lifts which include dead-lift and bench press.

Proper form and technique of doing a squat:

First of all, a good warm up is essential before starting with any exercise for better blood circulation to the joints and muscles. This reduces the risk of injuries.

The stance: Feet slightly wider than the shoulder (heel slightly wider than the shoulder) with toes facing slightly outwards. The knee must be aligned with the toes to avoid any injury.

Range of motion: You must squat to a level where the femur (thigh) is parallel to the floor. You can also go a little below than this range provided, the tension on the muscle is maintained; i.e. you must not completely sit down.

Breathing technique: Before starting the downward movement, exhale from your mouth and breathe in through your nose. Fill your lungs and abdominal cavity with air. While squatting, withhold the air. This is called as the ‘Valsalva Manoeuvre’. This compressed air in the abdominal cavity will make the body tight and rigid and will give good stability to the spine. Keeping your body rigid during power movements is very crucial.

Squat variations:

Squat exercises are versatile. They can be done almost anywhere, with or without external weights. Squat exercises are movements that we perform in our daily life. The greatest benefit of doing squat exercises is that, they help in improving our functionality i.e. improves our performance in our day to day activities.

Squat exercises can be done using weights and equipments. Also, they can be done using your own body weight.

Listed below are certain squat variations that can be done anywhere, using your own body weight.

Regular Squat: This is the basic form of squat. Here, you stand with your feet slightly wider than the shoulders, with toes pointing slightly out. Hold your arms straight out, with palms facing downwards or put your hands straight up or you can cross your hands. Do not rest the hands on your thighs. Tighten your body, maintain a neutral spine (try to keep your back as straight as possible), jutt your buttocks out (as if trying to sit on a chair) and then squat. See to it that your knees must not cross your toes. However, this will depend upon many factors like flexibility and length of the limbs. The knees must be aligned to the direction of the toes. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGQ8_IMPQOY
Sumo Squat: The technique here is the same as back squats. Only here, you take the Sumo stance, i.e. the legs are wide apart with toes pointing slightly outward. Direction of the knees aligned with the toes. In Sumo Squat, the inner thigh muscles (adductor muscles) are also trained effectively. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZuXKqRbT9k
Pulse Squat: Here, the stance and technique is the same as back squat. The only difference is that, instead of the rhythmic up and down, you go down till your femur is parallel to the floor. Then, in this position, move up and down, maintaining the tension on the thigh muscles. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRq3nQc8XzI
Wall Squat: Here, you stand against a wall with legs extended outward. Stretch your arms out, palms facing down. The chest out, back straight and then you squat. Go down till your thighs are parallel to the floor. Keep holding this position and feel the burn. When it starts getting unbearable, get back to relax position. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XULOKw4E4P4
Chair Squat: Here, you keep your legs together, keep your arms outstretched or raised up and squat. Keep in mind to jutt your hip out from behind and keep your chest out. Maintain the rigidity of the body. This variation of squat, mimics the action of sitting on the chair. This type of squat can be given to beginners who are learning the form and technique to squat. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu8DUisv9U8
Single-leg Squat: This one is a little difficult to do but, it will help in correcting muscular imbalances, if you have one leg dominant over the other. You can raise one leg in front or at the back; whatever you feel easier to balance. Then perform the squat. Try not to touch the raised leg to the ground. You can also take the support of the wall or chair if needed. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu8DUisv9U8
Jump Squat: This is a plyometric movement. This technique of squat will not only train your muscles but will also add some cardio-vascular training. Here, the stance and technique is the same; only when you reach halfway down, then jump and land softly on your feet. Swing your arms for the momentum. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4s4mEQ5VqU
Squat Jacks: This is also a plyometric movement. A combination of squat and jumping jacks. Take the squat position. Then perform jumping jacks (jump spread your legs apart and bring them together) in this halfway squat position. Do not come out of the squat position till finish all the repetitions. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK3jSsdQ7M4
Squat Hold: This exercise isometrically contracts the muscles. You can do a Basic Squat hold and a Sumo Squat hold. Go halfway down and hold the position for some time. Feel the burn. When it gets unbearable, then relax. Static Squat helps in improving the flexibility of the hip flexor muscles. This helps us to improve in running and other activities. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5BFpmzzLbs
Burpee Squat: It is a combination of burpee and squat. Here, you start with sitting down with the knees tucked to your chest, between your arms. Then, you hop your legs out and go into a plank position and then again jump your legs in and get into a low squat position. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JUlZMV1KG4

July 2, 2015 By Shimpli Patil Leave a Comment

Your Stair-case can be your gym!

Stair-case is the best saviour when it comes to missing workouts due to time constraints/busy schedule/no access to gym and all possible reasons for not working out (of course, pains and injuries are an exception).

Climbing up the stairs has many incredible advantages. It not only helps burn fat, but also strengthens the core and the lower body muscles along with improving stamina and endurance. Check out the detailed benefits in Master Coach Luke Coutinho’s blog- https://goqii.com/blog/stair-climbing-one-of-the-best-exercises/.

To make the stair workout adventurous and to prevent any possible chances of monotony, we can bring about certain variations and create a whole set of workouts on a staircase. All you need is just enough stairs on which you can run continuously for 10 to 15 seconds.

Check out these 10 staircase workouts to multiply the benefits of a regular stair-climbing workout:

1) Stair jog:

* Jog up the stairs but on descending walk to avoid falls

* To make it advanced, you can take 2 steps at a time

* Continue for minimum 5 minutes

2) Stair sprint:

* Sprint as fast as you can

* Make sure you take just one step at a time

* Breathe deeper while you sprint

3) Step ups:

* Step ups are simple, like you usually do on the stepper. But, doing it on a stair-case requires an extra effort.

* Make sure your knee doesn’t cross the toe. Apply maximum pressure on your heels to avoid any pressure on the knee.

* If you have no prominent knee pain, you can speed up a bit.

* Alternate the feet while you complete minimum 30 step ups.

4) Side step ups:

* This includes stepping up and stepping down sideways

* Complete minimum 30 step ups- 15 with right foot and the rest 15 with left foot

5) Stair lunges:

* Lunges are a great way to strengthen your quadriceps, gluteus, lower back and core

* You can either take one step or 2 steps for each lunge

* Do the stable lunges first and then try out the jump lunges alternating the left and the right foot. This is fun, I tell you!

6) Tricep dips:

* These help to strengthen the triceps and anterior deltoid (front part of the shoulder)

* All you have to do is, sit on the edge of the first or second step with your arms shoulder width apart. Keep your legs straight on the floor.Take your bottom up by pressing your palms against the step and then lower down your rear until your arms are at about a 90 degree angle. Continue with the up-down movement.

7) Double leg stair hops:

* Jump up on stairs with both the feet together.

* You can either keep your feet shoulder-width apart or keep both the feet together and hop. Maintain soft knees (slightly bent knees) and swing your arms backwards. Hop up the stairs and then come down walking.

8) Single leg hops:

* To add a twist to the hops, we can do it on one leg and make it more challenging

* This is going to engage your core big time as it works harder to stabilize the body

* Go one whole flight on your left foot, and then switch onto your right foot and perform the full flight

9) Incline push-ups:

* Incline push-ups help strengthen your chest, anterior deltoid and triceps too.

* Keep both the hands shoulder width apart on the step and extend your legs out. Maintain a straight back and feet close together and push push push!!

10) Skater steps:

* Keep your left foot on the left corner of the second step.Climb up with your right leg, bringing it to the right corner of the 4^th step. You skate through the stairs this way taking two steps at a time. Swing your arms and skate your way through this leg burner.

These 10 workouts form a whole set of workouts that train your upper and lower body both. Guess what? You have just turned a stair-case into a gym. You can perform a high intensity interval workout (HIIT) too using these stair exercises.

Pick any 4 or 5 exercises, perform each exercise for 20 seconds with a 10 seconds break in between and repeat the entire cycle once again. Believe me, you end up burning more calories in these few minutes than what you would have burnt in 1 hour of gyming.

Safety first! If you suffer from any knee/ankle pain, please avoid the exercises that involve these specific joints.

Anaerobic Or Aerobic which is better for fat loss

5 Easy Ways to Cut Down on the Fat

10 Squat Variations You Need To Know

Your Stair-case can be your gym!

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