The BeingFit

28/12/2016

"There is more to life than training, but training is what puts more in your life"
_Brook Kubic

28/12/2016

WATER, WATER, WATER !!!

Well, you just might. It sounds so simple. H20 - two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. This substance also known as WATER, is one of the most essential elements to health and is so important that your body actually has a specific drought management system in place to prevent dehydration and ensure your survival.
It’s a macronutrient giving no energy no calories ; Man can live without food but not without water for more than 10 days, however we take this easily available nutrient for granted. The best quality of food will not make the body work without WATER.
Water is a critical element of the body; it makes up 65 to 70% of the body weight.
Optimum hydration is a must to allow the body to function.

DEHYDRATION :
Dehydration is a state of inadequate water or an imbalance of water and salts in the body; It threatens muscle performance, cardiovascular function, the entire body’s metabolism, body temperature regulation and even life itself. Excess dehydration may not only impair physical performance but also health.

What if body does not have adequate water intake i.e. it is dehydrated?
In that case body will have following ill effects.
(There are many more, but we limit to two, the most important of them)

1. Hampers blood flow and body temperature : - Water loss from body is mainly from the blood and leads to decrease in blood volume; this affects blood circulation, which subsequently drops cardiovascular functions as a result of less blood pumped by heart in one heartbeat.
2. Water and electrolyte imbalance in the muscle cell may result in muscle cramps with risk of further injury.
Dehydration doesn’t occur only if a person gets heat stroke or gets hospitalized! If you are thirsty, it means YOU ARE ALREADY DEHYDRATED.

THIRST IS A LATE INDICATOR OF DEHYDRATION.

Remember a dehydrated body cannot grow muscle & burn fat !
At any time of the day if body is dehydrated, muscle repair drops & muscle breakdown increases. As a result, BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate i.e Calorie burning rate at rest) also drops & fat burning reduces. Hence, even best of the diets & best of protein intakes would be ineffective without optimum water intake.
Hence, Dehydration equals to
Faster ageing due to faster breakdown of all tissues due to lack of adequate water to repair the tissues.
Drop in immunity & energy levels high risk of muscle crams during exercise.
EXTREME DEHYDRATION CAN LEAD TO DEATH..!!

What Causes and Accelerates WATER LOSS????
1. Urine. :- 1 to 2 liters per day.
2. F***s. :- 100 to 200 ml per day.
3. Sweat. :- May vary from 500 – 700 ml to 1.5-2 liters per day
4. Water v***r exhaled from lungs – 250 to 350 ml per day
(Note:-Above mentioned values are approximate.)

Water loss can also be accelerated due to following reasons, which eventually leads to dehydration;
Increased Physical activity.
Hot and humid climate.
Increased sweating and/or urine output.
In cases of vomiting and diarrhea.
In cases of fever, bleeding and burns.
Intake of alcohol and caffeinated beverages.


Functions of Water

1. Very Crucial to remove toxins from the human body.:
The body has four major ways of removing toxins which are:
a) Bowels
b) Urination
c) Perspiration
d) Processing of toxins by the liver

The first three of these four methods directly excrete water from the body. When dehydrated, the body will try to save water by minimizing the use of the first three functions and will force the liver to assume as much of the workload as possible. This extra work will place a heavy burden on the liver which still has other functions in addition to detoxification. Even then, the liver by itself will not be able to do all that work very efficiently and toxins will build up rapidly.

2. Water is also important to fitness and fat loss for several reasons including the following:
a) Water fills us up without adding any calories.
b) Dehydration will degrade a person’s ability to exercise and burn calories.
c) Dehydration will reduce protein synthesis which is needed to build or repair muscles

It is normally recommended to drink about 2 to 3 quarts of water per day. However, this will vary with the size and activity level of the person as well as with the climate conditions. Either case, if your urine is bright yellow, then you need to drink more water. Also, anyone who exercises nonstop for more than 1 hour should consider replacing electrolytes along with the water. This is to avoid hyponatremia (depleted sodium) or other forms of severe electrolyte depletion which can be dangerous.
Water is important to human health for many reasons including but not limited to the following:
Reduces daytime fatigue.
Improves memory.
Nourishes skin.
Essential for digestion, nutrient absorption & chemical reactions.
Helps remove toxins from your body.
Aids circulation.
Regulates your body's cooling system.
May prevent kidney stones & urinary tract infections.
Improves muscle tone.
Helps lubricate joints.

Importance of Optimum Hydration:
Optimum hydration means; Abundant water in body(As per requirement) and correct balance of water and electrolytes.
It is crucial for
A. Anti-ageing:
Helps ‘detoxify’ by flushing out toxins; maintain immunity and body defenses and supports increase in growth of tissues.

B. Faster Results:
Supporting anabolism, i.e. faster muscle repair and growth and also by continued increase in BMR and fat burning.

C. Improves Performance during exercise.
It does that by maintaining good blood circulation to working muscles, skin and brain and also by maintaining body temperature in the core and the working muscle.


To conclude with: - Almost every individual knows the importance of water but still they are lazy enough to not to fulfill daily requirement of water to avoid dehydration and achieve the benefits of optimum hydration for their own body.
Muscle growth (Anabolism) or fat loss (Increase in BMR) cannot take place without optimum hydration 24*7.
So drink water throughout the day to prevent dehydration & remember water intake should be in comfort zone.

Wish you A Happy Summer Holidays or should I Say Happy Hydrated summer Holidays!!! :-)




- Sagar Shelwante
( FITNESS & NUTRITION Expert)

28/12/2016

INTRODUCTION TO FITNESS 2 !!
As I promised in my previous article, “INTRODUCTION TO FITNESS” That my next article will help you to acquaint with technical aspect of the fitness.
So, here I am with the article; which shall definitely help you to achieve Holistic, Comprehensive & your Dream Fitness.


“Health is Wealth”
Many people often say this but question is how many people really know the importance of this proverb…????

A marathon runner, A bodybuilder, A yogi has different attributes of fitness such as stamina, strength & flexibility respectively, but every one of them claims that they are only FIT….
But their claims of fitness leave us in confusion of conclusion of deciding who is really fit?? To answer this confusion, let’s understand what is FITNESS?

Fitness: It is the ability of a human body to function efficiently and with minimum discomfort in day to day & sports activity…it is also called as Functionality.
Fitness has 5 different components:-
Cardiovascular Endurance: This is about the stamina & health of our heart.
It is defined as; “The ability of the cardiovascular & respiratory systems to transport oxygenated blood to the working skeletal muscles for an extended length of time without fatigue”.
This can be improved by doing cardio exercise as running, swimming, cycling etc.

Muscular Endurance: It is all about the stamina of our muscles.
It is defined as; “Ability of a skeletal muscle or a group of skeletal muscles to continuously contract at sub maximal levels for an extended length of time without fatigue.”
This can be improved by doing jogging, swimming, spinning bikes, upright bikes, cross trainer etc.
Musculoskeletal Strength: It is about the power & strength of our muscles. It is a combined strength of muscles, bones, tendons & ligaments.
It includes development of a muscular power which is defined as the “Ability of a skeletal muscle or a group of skeletal muscles to perform against load/resistance in a given time frame.”
This can be improved by doing weight bearing exercises like weight training.
Flexibility: This tells how flexible our body is…
It is the ability of the body to sustain full & complete range of motion around joints. It is a measure of elasticity & extensibility of our muscles.
This can be improved by doing passive stretching (hold to maximum for minimum 20 sec) & dynamic stretching (no holding).
IBC (Ideal Body Composition): It is the ability of an individual to maintain the ideal ratio of Fat (Adipose tissue) to Muscle (lean body mass).
A male is said to have ideal body composition if no more than 15% of his overall bodyweight comprises of FAT & for female no more than 20%.
“There is no exercise regime in this world that can improve Ideal Body Composition without a diet based on the guidelines of Sports Nutrition.”

Thus if a person has stamina & no strength he can’t be considered as completely FIT & if a person has strength & no stamina then also he is not completely FIT.
So, unless one works on all the components he/she can’t be Healthy (FIT)……ultimately WEALTHY!!!

Many experts say that yoga is the only science that can reduce your biological age; But now we learned above, in components of fitness that yoga will help you with only one of the component & that is flexibility, because in yoga we hold each posture from min10-20 sec to 1 min (approx…); as a result it helps you only to improve flexibility of muscle; not strength & endurance & also it does not help you directly to achieve body composition.

To reduce your biological age & improve functionality you must work on all the components of fitness not just one…So, only a person(He/She) who works on all the components of fitness is totally FIT.

Do remember that exercise scheduling is also very important. It should be in such a way that, it minimizes the risk & maximizes the benefits.
As an icing on the cake; if you work on the five components of fitness it adds an edge to your personality by adding ASTHETIC VALUE to it thereby making you even more presentable.

My pursuit has always been to spread awareness of a scientific approach to fitness as I deeply feel that no individual deserves to leave this beautiful world because of diseases like hypertension, diabetes more specifically type-2, etc.. This arises out of lifestyle disorder.
This can be cured by lifestyle modification. This is nothing but improving on all the components of fitness which I have already explained above...

India dreams of becoming a SUPERPOWER by 2020, and this dream won’t come true with unfit people…so let’s start working out to ensure that responsibility of superpower country lies on the fit shoulders……because Healthy mind resides in a healthy body.
If you find this article useful/helpful then do share it on your & your friends wall & help others… because with your help, we can spread the message about the incredible benefits of physical activity across the India & across the Globe!
I did my job….Now ball is in your court !!!

-Sagar Shelwante.

28/12/2016

INTRODUCTION TO FITNESS:
I would like to introduce you to the world of fitness but through a story. Story is about a boy, who when at the age of 20 and a young boy then, was standing on one end of the road during peak hours, looking at other end, he sees his bus speeding to his destined stop, he quickly gets ready to catch the bus he quickly rushes to the middle of the road with a lightning speed, jumps over the divider, while doing so, his pen falls down, he quickly picks it up…rush to the other end catch supporting rod which is at the stairs of the bus and pull himself into the bus.

As years pass by, he grows up & gets a good job. One day he is standing on the same road coincidently he faces the same scenario to go to the other end to catch the bus, he now have to think twice before going to the other end, he waits for appropriate time to cross the road, when he reach at divider, he doesn’t jump over, instead he looks for the proper place to step over the divider, his pen falls down even now, but he doesn’t go back to pick it up now; apart from his well to do financial status, which doesn’t bother him losing a pen, his body’s functionality has dropped to such a level that neither he can quickly cross the road, jump over the divider, pick up the pen or get into the bus with the support of single hand….. What happened in these 25 years that same body was not able to do same function even at half of its efficiency which he had at the age of 20. Does it have to happen to everyone??

This mainly happens due to the process of Degeneration, it doesn’t necessary happens to everyone….

What is degeneration?
Degeneration in lay mans language means; wear and tear of lean mass(Muscle tissue, bones, ligaments, organs, blood) which results into aging process, which eventually is aggravated because of lack of exercise, proper nutrition & rest.

What causes Degeneration?
Sedentary personnel life style of an individual, resulting out of a demanding nature of corporate culture.(modern lifestyle)
Lack of Exercise, proper nutrition & rest; cumulating effect of all this leads to degeneration of body.
How can you overcome the problem of degeneration?
Make exercise a part of your life style.
Having a healthy Anabolic diet and;
Sufficient rest for optimal growth of tissues.
Is being HEALTHY means being FIT?
Ans: No. You might be healthy, but if your body makes you think and put you in question before doing anything, it means you are not FIT.
Let’s look at another situation from a different story:
There were two colleagues, approximately in there midlife both of them unfortunately suffer from slip disc. Doctor after initial physiotherapy treatment advises both of them a bed- rest. Man listens to the advice obediently and never even bothers to do exercise and give strength to the weak body part (muscles)...One day while getting up from his chair to answer a phone call, he sneezes and very next moment his slip-disc problem re-surfaces…But on the contrary to his experience, his colleague, a lady counterpart who also suffered the same injury almost at the same time as his, listened to the doctors but at the same time also focused on strengthening the weakened muscles by approaching a trained professional gym programmer & following his instructions, she not only regained her muscle strength but also improved her overall physical strength, stamina & flexibility so much so that she, within two years of slip-disc problem could play badminton, the game which in itself is very physically demanding; she could manage to attain such a high level of fitness, only because of her scientific fitness training from well trained fitness professional… so we all have lesson to learn from it; that if we follow exercise science you can come over physical ailments.

USE IT OR LOSE IT:
Our body follows a simple rule... use it or lose it, we all at some or the other time have seen people getting plaster around there fractured hand, but when they remove the POP wrapped around fractured hand, what we see is size of the hand is reduced as a result of non-functionality…why does it happen? It happens so because, Central Nervous System (CNS) of a body starts thinking that if there is no movement in a particular part of a body, why should I maintain lean mass in non-functional area/body part. So if you don’t want to lose efficiency of your body parts & want them to perform at their best then you have to keep your body parts functional, and to do this in best possible way; I take this responsibility on me to provide best knowledge in the fitness industry to all my trainees to help them lead a FIT (not only healthy :-) ) & Active Life.

CAUTION : There is boom in the market of slimming centers and fitness clubs don’t fall to the eye catching marketing gimmick which seek your attention with the lines like lose 5 to 10 kg in a month, it’s a HUMBUG!!!! Even if they manage to do it, they will help you reduce muscle weight and not fat, which in any case does no good to your body..SO;
Choose the Best Fitness Professional and not the Best Advertiser.
- Sagar Shelwante
(Fitness & Nutrition Expert)

28/12/2016

Training or Nutrition? Which is more important?

It's never a choice. Always both! Neither can carry you forward alone. Their role is complementary to each other. Neither can give results without the other.

Training is like a powerful trigger or stimulus that causes breakdown & jump-starts repair & growth. Correct nutrition carries out repair & changes the body.

1-2 hours of training needs 22-23 hours of nutritional support along with rest & recovery. Both are indispensable for shaping body composition!

A tug-of-war between training & nutrition is senseless. Training precedes nutrition but it needs nutrition to carry the baton across the finishing line.

Training jump-starts the process of changing the body but only the correct nutrition can actually change the body!

Nutrition shapes our body: "We are what we eat".

"A car needs fuel to run; similarly the body needs nutrients to function".

28/12/2016

Why should everyone STRETCH-:

1. Stretching helps prevent postural problems.

2. It results in far less muscle-pulling overextension injuries compared to not stretching.

3. Simple stretches increase range of motion.

4. It improves muscle appearance.

5. Stretching gives you more flexibility, which prevents soreness, allowing for faster recovery and better muscle growth.

6. Flexibilty exercises help prevent overuse injuries from occuring.

7. Stretching allows for a more active lifestyle later in life.

8. It invigorates the circulatory, respiratory and neuromuscular systems.

28/12/2016

BENEFITS OF WATER :

Lose weight: Drinking water helps you lose weight because it flushes down the by-products of fat breakdown. Helps in increase BMR. Plus, water has zero calories.

Natural Remedy for Headache: Helps to relieve headache and back pains due to dehydration. Although there are many other reasons contribute to headache, dehydration is the common one.

Look Younger with Healthier Skin: You’ll look younger when your skin is properly hydrated. Water helps to replenish skin tissues, moisturizes skin and increase skin elasticity.

Better Productivity at Work: Your brain is mostly made up of water, thus drinking water helps you think better, be more alert and more concentrate.

Better Exercise: Drinking water regulates your body temperature. You’ll feel more energetic when doing exercises and water helps to fuel your muscle

28/12/2016

Should we go for a walk after Lunch & Dinner ???

Many people & to my surprise even Doctors/Nutritionist advice to go for a walk after meals.
But this instead of improving your digestion; on contrary it disturbs your digestion process.

This is a MYTH.
In my opinion we as a patrons of science & well read & acquainted citizen must discard it upfront.

Science behind my argument is our body needs optimum blood supply to carry out any function effectively & efficiently.

So is true for digestive system, whenever we consume meals, our digestive system requires optimum blood supply to carry out its function of digestion optimaly.

And if at this time if we choose to walk, circulation of blood is diverted towards walking activity ; which in turn leaves less availability of blood for digestion process & this is how it hamper digestion.

So, next time you have meal, make sure you allow your digestion system to avail maximum possible quota of blood to perform it's function effectively by seating in a normal position. GM!

-- SAGAR.

28/12/2016

Fitness for Older adults :

It’s never too late to get in shape. As we grow older, leading an active lifestyle is more important than ever. Regular exercise helps seniors maintain health, boost energy, and improve confidence. As the Baby Boomer generation heads into retirement, the questions surrounding senior fitness are seemingly endless. Let’s take a few minutes to dispel some of the common myths surrounding exercise and older adults:

Myth 1: It’s too late. I’m already too old, to start exercising

Fact: It’s never too old to start an exercise program. Countless studies have shown that gains in muscle mass and strength can be attained well into your 80’s! If you have never exercised before, start slowly by adding more physical activity into your daily life. If you are uncomfortable with the thought of wandering around a gym floor, look into group exercise classes geared toward older adults. Most health clubs offer some type of senior fitness class.

Myth 2: There’s no point to exercising. I’m going to get old anyway.

Fact: Exercise, especially strength training, helps you look and feel younger and stay active longer. Regular physical activity lowers your risk for a variety of conditions, including Alzheimer’s and dementia, heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, depression and obesity. Yes, you will get older, but you won’t feel it!

Myth 3: Older adults shouldn’t exercise. They should rest and save their strength.

Fact: Research shows that a sedentary lifestyle is unhealthy for the elderly. Inactivity often causes seniors to lose the ability to do things on their own and can lead to more hospitalizations, doctor visits, and use of medicines for illnesses. Resting, believe it or not, often makes you more tired.

Myth 4: Exercise puts me at risk of getting hurt.

Fact: Exercise enhances mobility, flexibility, and balance in seniors. Exercise improves your strength, flexibility and posture, which in turn will help with balance, coordination, and reducing the risk of falls. Strength training also helps alleviate the symptoms of chronic conditions such as arthritis and will help prevent the loss of bone mass making your bones more resistant to breakage.

The benefits go far beyond these physical examples. Exercise improves your sleep by helping you fall asleep more quickly and sleep more deeply. A good night’s sleep always makes for a more productive and enjoyable day.

Lastly, exercise is a natural mood and self-confidence booster. Endorphins produced by exercise can actually help you feel better and reduce feelings of sadness or depression. Being active and feeling strong naturally helps you feel more self confident and sure of yourself.

28/12/2016

28/12/2016

Pune District Level Yoga Championship.