Surya Namaskar - Full body workout in just 10 minutes

Tweet

We all are pressed with the paucity of time and so much for time, we aren’t very good with the enthusiasm factor either. No wonder exercise is only an excuse away and fitness is always a milestone, we want to walk towards a mile a minute without being on a double espresso shot. But is there an antidote for the curse of time & laziness in today’s world? Do we dwell as bean bags & machine dependent fitness freaks or is there something we all have under our nose but are missing to point it out? Let’s pull a leaf from the ancient scripture; all the way to an exotic land we commonly call as INDIA. So as rightly guessed Yoga has our answer but then don’t be under the slow & painfully twister form of the exercise, as it has a unique alternative too called SURYA NAMASKAR. If you haven’t heard of this word yet probably you must have come across it as power yoga as its variations.

Surya Namaskar origins & form – It is a common sequence of Hatha yoga asanas (Hand Yoga Poses). Its origins lie in a worship of Surya (Sun), the Hindu solar deity which literally translates to Sun Salutations. This sequence of movements and poses can be practiced on varying levels of awareness, ranging from that of physical exercise in various styles, to a complete exercise which incorporates asana (positions), pranayam (breathing pattern), mantra (chants) and chakra meditation. The physical base of the practice links together twelve positions in a dynamically performed series. These asanas / positions are ordered so that they alternately stretch the spine backwards and forwards. When performed in the usual way, each asana is moved into with alternate inhalation and exhalation (except for the sixth asana where the breath is held in external suspension). A full round of Surya Namaskar  is considered to be two sets of the twelve poses with a change in the second set to moving the opposite leg first through the series. Some proponents of the use of Surya Namaskar as part of the modern yoga tradition prefer to perform it at sunrise, which the orthodox consider to be the most 'spiritually favorable' time of the day. There are numerous references of praising the Sun for the purpose of good health and prosperity, in Vedas. Some of these Vedic hymns were incorporated into Nitya Vidhi (Daily mandatory routine for a Hindu) for the well being of an individual, through salutations to the Sun. These daily procedures were termed as Surya Namaskar. Physical prostration to Sun, showing complete surrender of oneself to God, is the main aspect of these procedures. In a traditional Hindu context, Surya Namaskara is always performed facing in the direction of the rising (east) or setting (west) sun.

Full Body Workout in 10 min – So how does this form of Vedic exercise help us 21^st centurions to get our fitness in just 10 minutes, when a regular workout takes around 30 – 40 minutes a session? Like mentioned before Surya Namaskar comprises of 2 sets of 12 poses and they all have to be performed in one single repetition. You may think of it as a single choreographed movement with 12 positions back to back. Let’s go through every pose with its breathing pattern and mantra to understand its synchrony better.

Asana 1 - Pranamasana (Prayer pose) is performed as shown in the video below and the breathing pattern involved is exhaling. The mantra to be recited during the prayer pose is “om mitrāya namaḥ “and the chakra is anahata i.e. the heart.

Asana 2 - Hasta Uttanasana (Raised Arms pose) is performed by raising both arms upwards and bending them backwards with your back arched while inhaling deeply. This helps stretching both the arms & upper back. The mantra to be recited during the raised arms pose is “om ravaye namaḥ” and the chakra is vishuddhi i.e. throat.

Asana 3 - Hastapaadasana (Standing Forward Bend pose) is performed by bringing the raised arms down to the feet and bending forward while exhaling & stretching the hamstrings (back of thigh), lower back and simultaneously flexing the lower abdominals. The mantra to be recited during this pose is “om sūryāya namaḥ” and the chakra is swadisthana i.e. bottom of the abdomen.

Asana 4 - Aekpaadprasarnaasana (Equestrian pose) is to be performed by inhaling and simultaneously stretching right leg behind with the palms touching the ground and the other leg bent and eyes facing upwards. This asana flexes the triceps, shoulders, and stretches the hamstrings. The mantra to be recited during this pose is “om bhānave namaḥ” and the chakra is ajna i.e. forehead.

Asana 5 - Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose) is to be performed by exhaling and stretching the left leg behind with the already stretched right leg from the previous asana. This doubles the effect on the muscles from the previous asana and gives a good resistance to the upper body as well as the lower body while also working on the abs. The mantra to be recited during this pose is “om khagāya namaḥ “and the chakra is visuddhi i.e. throat.

Asana 6 - Ashtanga Namaskara (Salute with the Eight Limbs pose) is to be performed by suspension of the breath and diving nose down to touch your legs, abs and chest to the ground. This relaxes all the muscles worked out in the previous pose. The mantra to be recited in this pose is “om puṣhṇe namaḥ “and the chakra is manipura i.e. solar plexus.

Asana 7 - Bhujangasana (Cobra pose) is to inhale & bring the chest upto the upper abs upwards from the ground forming an arch of the back while the legs and lower abs touch the ground. This stretches the lower back as well as the upper abs and flexes the biceps and triceps, shoulders and upper back. The mantra to be recited in this pose is “om hiraṇya garbhāya namaḥ” and the chakra is swadisthana i.e. bottom of the abdomen.

Asana 8 - Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog) is to exhale and bring the hips backwards &; facing upwards while the palms and feet touch the ground. The pose stretches the thighs, calf, arms. The mantra to be recited is “om marīchaye namaḥ” and the chakra is visuddhi i.e. throat.

Asana 9 - Ashwa Sanchalanasana (Equestrian pose) is the same as asana 4 but run backwards. The breathing pattern is inhaling and the muscle group is in action as in asana 4. The mantra to be recited during this pose is “om ādityāya namaḥ “and the chakra is ajna i.e. forehead.

Asana 10 - Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend pose) is similar to asana 3 run backwards while exhaling. The mantra to be recited is “om savitre namaḥ” and the chakra is swadisthana i.e. bottom of the abdomen.

Asana 11 - Hasta Uttanasana (Raised Arms pose) is similar to pose 2 run backwards while inhaling. The mantra to be recited is “om arkāya namaḥ” and the chakra is visuddhi i.e. throat.

Asana 12 - Pranamasana (Prayer pose) is coming back to where the Namaskar began while exhaling. The mantra to be recited is “om bhāskarāya namaḥ” and the chakra is anahata i.e. the heart.

Cool Down – The Surya Namaskar sessions once completed has to be ended with a cool down by lying down on the mat as a dead body breathing in and out slowly.

Those were the 12 positions that need to be done in one single practice and every practice needs to be repeated back to back with the other without stopping. If you are doing it for the firs time its better to start with just 2 – 3 minutes gradually working upto 5 minutes by a week. Try to accommodate 2 namaskars in one minute span of time and later 3 namaskars in a minute. Get to a 10 minute session within 2 weeks and gradually proceeds to 15 minutes by a month. Even if you stick to a 10 minutes session with 3 namaskars per minute it will do your body a lot more than not working out at all. As you will notice once you get into the practice that it isn’t as easy to actually do the namskars as it appears to be. Even to continue for 10 minutes requires immense endurance and strength which builds up over a period of regular practice every week. Every muscle in your body is not only going through resistance training but is developing cardiovascular endurance too simultaneously and strengthening the lung capacity with the breathing patterns. What better can there be when you are so time tied and need that extra push of endurance and endorphin everyday. 

Share

Kick Boxing for great Abs

Tweet

Abdominal muscles usually take up most of the attention of a aspirant body builder or gym enthusiast or weight watcher or celebrity and its versions. Tight Abs or 6 pack abs are the core reason to workout on the core strength of the body. But of course like everything delicious in life, it takes hard work & patience but then who said hard work has to be boring? Alternative to the regular crunches and oblique benders etc there are variations that can give you a high. Kickboxing is one such great abs workout not many have yet discovered its role in core strength.

A Kick, A Jab & Abs - How can an exercise of kick & jabbing in the air or target work on the abdominal muscles that aren’t visually used for the same? Contrary to what is seen kickboxing is all about breathing in and out using your abdominal muscles while punching or throwing a kick. If you breathe only from the chest area it won’t have the same effect and you might end up back to square one. The inhaling and exhaling should come from within the belly and you must feel the abdominal muscle worked while jabbing or kicking. Don’t exhaust the muscles as that again is not the idea of the whole exercise.

Fun, Fitness & Frustration – The best exercise for your energy and mind balance too could easily be kickboxing. Corporate engulfment of your vital energy and patience reserves can have pent up emotional and physical frustration that can be vented out on a punching bag that isn’t a living form of life. Many have taken to kickboxing to channelize their emotional energy from the negative to positive. Yes how does that help your abs again? Well for starters the energy thrust does give an edge to the breathing and hence the abs. The more you concentrate in letting the kick or punch out with good flow of pent up anger or frustration or even joy the better the effect.

Key is the Stance – Kickboxing is as much about the stance as it is about breathing right. Stance can change the game completely and lead either to safety or injury. One need not get injured for his/her enthusiasm cause that would be opposite of the intention. While taking a stance to kick make sure to stand on both feet at shoulder distance apart from each other and knees slightly bent to keep the joint soft. Have one foot in the forward direction to the other and kick with the leg behind. The arms should also be with elbows in a soft angel and fists forward near the chest. Elbows to be kept as close to the body for better movement as well as better thrust while punching or jabbing. The importance of keeping your knee & elbows joint soft is so as to avoid injury and straining the joint. The feet apart gives the center of gravity and body weight to level out & provides better balance to avoid falling off or spraining a ligament while punching or kicking. Shoulders should be straight and not forward similarly the torso should remain in the same position and not bent forward or stooping. The hip joint should be in motion only while kicking and not twisting it while doing a cross jab. This ensures your breathing to be effective and gives enough resistance to the upper and lower abs to strengthen it.
Abs are a very small yet important muscle group in the body. It isn't only for beauty & presentation that we need to work on them but to provide stability to the whole body and give it support. Many forget the abs & back as stability provider to the body which is far more important than the sculpted figure. Flexibility is also a significant aspect people don't pay heed to but it serves far more crucial in times of need where the body could do well. Kick-boxing is a good exercise form to ensure better stability and flexibility to the core muscles of the body and is a better alternative to the mundane cardiovascular workout with machines. Plus it needs only a balanced firm terrain and can be done anywhere outside four walls amidst fresh air. 

Share

Why is functional training essential for your career?

Functional training is a very vague concept in everybody's minds and yet has given the health & fitness industry a whiff of fresh air and a tremendous boost. Today I bring you a more functional explanation of this jargon of the fitness world so as to help you make your individual informed decisions about exercise routine.

What is it exactly? As the name suggests functional training is making your fitness regime as similar to your daily routine movements or activities. Now if I have to train a person whose job is being glued to his laptop or tablet for 9 hours working on the internet or a desk work I will aim at making his core muscles (abs & lower back) strong, stable and flexible also give him/her movements of the arms & shoulders as these tend to get stiff during the course of everyday work. So in other words with this form of regime functional training is just a type of exercise that trains our body to better adapt & be ready for activities of daily life without having any injuries. It originated as a rehabilitation program for people who suffered injuries, ailments of joints & bones or nerves, sportsman etc. From injuries to daily routine training functional training has come a long way piercing successfully into our average man's life.

What is the significance to your life? Well to say the least our average lives are equally stressful as any athlete or hi profile personality we just don't pay heed to our needs and thats what differentiates us from them. Be it a desk job, a chef, sales & marketing professional, computer engineer, web designer, hedge fund investor, project mangers, angel broker, housekeeper, wedding planner, fashion designer, hair stylists, housewife, nurses, doctor, lab attendants, teachers or a CEO each one of us has our own functional training requirements and like it or not we never pay attention to ourselves for the jobs we offer to others. To cut to the chase and hit the nail on its head your job and progress in the career depends not only on your talent to get the job done right but the ability to do the job in the first place. What is the difference between the two? Well lets just say I am a terrific chef, I have all the ingredients of creativity, budgeting skills, man power management, innovation, cultural diversity in culinary art and good communication skills but one thing I lack is doing my basic job cause of my inability to work physically or mentally due to some redundant ache, pain, flexibility issues or minor illness here and there occasionally. Occasional health problems aggregate to become a huge problem especially when you reach that critical point in your career when you're in line for the big pay day or promotion you've worked so many years for. Functional incapability is a core problem in most organizations as well as individual small businesses due to lack of awareness and forth right attitude towards the most important thing in our life that keeps us going - our life. Imagine being a little bit more functionally apt for the job, for the promotion, for your kids, for your family on vacations, for your group of friends over that weekend, for that corporate competition in a sport or a run. It takes 30 minutes every other day of the week to make that bridge between us and our success professionally as much personally. An inadequate fitness does no good to our work nor love life or family life. Thrusting that endorphin through your blood lines everyday keeps you going for at least 18 hours a day until.

Equipments & Exercise - The equipment used in the training is very easy to use, portable to carry wherever in a small bag and can be used at home, office and even outdoors. The equipment is mostly cable pulley, physio ball, resistant tubes, terra bands, dumbbells, medicine ball, balance discs. However you can do all the workouts focused on your daily functions with 2-3 things from the above mentioned. The most important aspect is the functional training exercises and they need to adhere to the individual's daily life. If the individual is a sales person on the field the exercises need to keep focus on the lower body stability, strength, power and flexibility not to mention the core stability. A computer engineer needs focus on the entire spine area apart from shoulders and upper body the same would go for banking tellers and BPO employees. In the hospitality industry including airlines and spas the focus in more on joints, spine and major muscle groups surrounding it including core muscles and endurance. The exercises need to be stabilizing at first, strengthening and progressive in the second stage and then giving it power with endurance depending on the tasks of real life. Exercises should literally mimic the daily chores or actions or responsibilities. This has two benefits firstly it trains the body exactly in the actions that take over in day to day pattern which gives the muscle tone more habitual actions and secondly the person can practice the exercises even at work as per suitability if it is mimics the work actions.

Difference between fixed equipment & functional training - In a research conducted by Spennewyn in 2009 that was later published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research which showed 58% better conditioning and strength of subjects that were functional training as against those who were doing the conventional fixed equipment weight training.

In order to get individual diet & fitness regime that adapts you to function & improve your daily activities visit our wellness programs for further information or sign up for free wellness consultation. For organization/ institutional wellness programs please write to contact@wellnessandi.com

Share

Lose the flab on Abs without crunches

Lets face it for once, you can hide it, deny it but you can never escape the fact from yourself that like everyone you'd also like to be a proud possessor of those fab abs without folding them in any exercise form. Is it true that you can have a lean physique without doing a single crunch? If you have seen any of my pictures or sneak preview of my fitness videos on Wellness & I you'd know that I am lean and my workout does not include any crunches session. I do advice it as a part of exercise routine for core strength, but if you are one of those who hate crunches exercise in order to cut into great looking abs you are in luck. Today we'll explore what is our core strength all about and how can we bypass crunches and get into alternative form of workout to get fab abs if not 6 pack.

The Abdominals - This is that portion of the body which covers the most delicate of organs that are not protected by the human skeleton. These organs are therefore protected by the abdominal wall and muscles which help in the lateral and forward flexion of the spine as well as its rotation. Abdominal muscles are also the reason our back is supported and has a correct posture. Transversus abdominis, obliques, rectus abdominis, pyramidalis are muscles of the abdomen. For those who refer to abs as the famous 6 pack the muscle is rectus abdominis and is the most superficial muscle in the abdomen. The transversus abdominis is the deepest muscle and it lies between the inner obliques therefore cannot be felt by hand on the outside and so are the inner obliques. The transversus abdominis and internal obliques help the spine in its rotation and lateral flexion and affect the posture to a great extent. The external obliques are superficial but have equal role same as the internal obliques. The back muscles and their pain and injury is dependent on these muscles and their strength. Also the spine and its movement and overall body flexibility.

Fat Burning - If your core strength area which literally is the fulcrum of the fact if you'd be able to stand and sit upright is laden with fat what do you think will be the outcome? Firstly the cells of muscles and other tissue would be deprived of complete nutrition and energy due to excessive deposition of fat on it. Any cell that has excess fat deposition suffers period! The muscle group is small and therefore cannot be too worked out to burn fat and thus it will take a longer time to lose fat on the abdominals. The fat on the abdomen is also taken up as an energy source to breakdown by the nearest large muscle group i.e. the femoral and gluteal aka thigh and buttocks. In order to burn fat on the abdomen one needs to workout the lower body muscle group as much. Most people do not tend to work them out as needed and concentrate only in the abs area which leads to stiffness and spasm or even back injury. The more the fat on the abdominal area the more longer it will take to burn and equal amount of leg workout needed.

Core Strength Exercise - Now comes the part where core strength exercise needed to lose the flab on your abs does not involve a single crunch. Crunches are exercise where in the upper, mid or lower abdominal region is flexed. To get the same or more effective result we can do many other exercises that excludes crunches and involves more legs, medicine ball, resistance tubes. The plank, bridge, reverse crunch, floor cycling on your back, leg extension, free squats, oblique resistance are just some of the exercises one can incorporate in your regime to lose flabby abs. Core strength is your ultimate motive for gaining fab abs because no good loking abs will help you if they are weak. Core strength also must be done with back strengthening exercises which enables the entire core area to gain flexibility, strength and hence support to the body. Back injuries due to weak abdominals and back muscles are solely responsible debilitated life after or inability to due any form of exercise and thus become obese. Exercises like swimming, volley ball, cycling, hiking, rock climbing are also beneficial to get great looking abs without crunches. Also people with slip discs who are forbidden from bending their posture forward can incorporate safer forms of exercises for their abdominals.

If you wish to learn step by step each form of exercise in your routine while maintaining your diet the fitness training videos at Wellness & I programs will show you how along with regular personalized diet and lifestyle counseling. If you wish to start take a free trial consultation.

Wish you wellness.

Share|

Post Exercise Diet – 45 minutes or less

Exercise is such an integral part of our lifestyle and mostly people take it as some burden rather than any other daily activity to have fun. But what becomes criminal for those who do exercise regularly is that they forget to eat the right kinds of nutrients after their workout. Your post workout diet is like a key factor if your body fat would burn and muscles would be energized or your body fat wouldn’t burn fast enough and your muscles wouldn’t be energized. I intend to make this fact crystal clear in your system once and for all.

Mechanism of your workout – When you begin any form of exercise it takes your body 10 – 15 min to warm up and by doing so its circulation speeds up, metabolic rate increases, heart rate increases, depth of breathing increases, vasodilatation occurs to accommodate the increased blood flow. Blood glucose is taken up in the cells much quicker than usual. At the peak of any exercise the body uses the muscle glycogen if the glucose in the blood is exhausted due to poor nutrition pre workout. Glycogen is a chain of glucose molecules which is stored in the body for precisely such situations of energy source depletion or starvation. Nevertheless the body fat although begins to burn only towards the end of the exercise and mostly post workout as the body would always prefer to spare protein and glycogen, but since fat takes a longer time to burn completely it needs to initiate the glycogen breakdown sooner until the stored fat breakdown begins. By the time your workout is through the body muscles have also had depletion of energy and breakdown of some protein while continuous exercise. At this point the body also faces immediate rehydration, fuelling to replenish the worn out muscles by shunting the blood circulation in the areas where the body has had rigorous training.

Why 45 minutes? – Within the first 45 minutes of ending your exercise whatever you eat or drink is directed towards your worked up muscles for repair and rejuvenation. This helps the muscle groups energize and get back to storing their depleted glycogen stores not to mention they also trigger fat catabolism after being energized which helps you shed down stored fat faster post workout. Now if this does not happen for some reason like you miss out on eating or rehydrating within 45 minutes or forget about it completely then the repercussions are well not exactly what you desire. If you eat an hour after ending your exercise you have just let all that energy in your post workout meal diverted all over the body including the parts of the body that weren’t worked up. Your muscles are not given first priority to be energized and thereby even the fat breakdown post workout takes slower time to burn.

What is the ideal post exercise meal? – Your post workout meal will depend on your body’s custom needs and exercise intensity. One needs to know however that meal needs to high in protein (20 – 25 %), high in carbohydrate, both simple (25%) and complex (30 %) and minimum in fat (15 - 20%). The meal needs to be complemented with 500 – 600 ml isotonic solution comprising of slightly cold water, glucose, sodium, potassium and magnesium apart from plain water.

Remember this mantra while you workout and you’ll be sure to never go wrong while staying fit through life. It’s a matter of just 45 minutes and either you’ll make gold out of your exercise efforts or throw it down the drain. Of course now you know better and if you need more in depth empowerment for your aspired lifestyle be it fitness training or diet or positive thinking be sure to discover Wellness & I for personalized wellness.

Wish you wellness. 

Share|

Diet to Regulate Insulin Secretion for Fat Busting

Insulin secretion and its regulation has a significant influence on how our metabolism is carried forward. Metabolic processes like carbohydrate breakdown to generate energy, fat metabolism and protein metabolism are all linked to each other via insulin. Insulin as we know through previous post is our passport / visa to let glucose molecules enter our cells so as to produce energy by their breakdown, if there is a surge of sugar or carbohydrates in the intestine the insulin would gush in the blood stream in high concentration leading to a sudden drop in the blood glucose level. The sudden rise and fall of blood glucose leads to the body responding to the effect of hunger or in some extreme cases similar to starvation. In order to combat this hunger pang the body immediately gorges on to the first sight of food. Another surge another ping pong effect of glucose and so on and so forth. This ping pong effect of glucose and insulin secretion in the blood stream results in an imbalanced carbohydrate metabolism which then gets converted into fat by entering the fat metabolism. When excess of glucose gets converted into fat it means the body is storing the fat as adipose tissue and of course making you gain excess baggage. We do know now about Insulin resistance due to fat deposition on the organs.

In order to curb the imbalance in insulin secretion and metabolism the food that you eat and the duration that you maintain between two meals is the deciding point. The first meal of the day is the most important one and hence it is called breaking a fast from the previous day. The time period between your previous dinner and breakfast is easily nothing less than 9 - 10 hours and thats a longtime to be without any source of energy to the body. If now you eat a meal loaded with sugar or carbs, fat or a combination of both be certain you have just tilted the balance haywire. Remember on an empty stomach never give into a sugar surge but balance it with equal or just a little bit more portion of lean protein food. Protein molecules help control the sudden surge of insulin into te blood stream due to meal loaded with carbs. Choosing food in equal or double portion like chicken, egg white, soy, cottage cheese (skim), skim fruit/ plain yoghurt (non sweetened), beans, sprouts, and a handful of greens to go with it helps you balance the sugar - insulin levels that come along with the breads/ pasta, lactose, coffee/ tea added sugar, fruits, and root veggies like mash/ sweet potatoes. This was about breakfast but there is another time and most important time of the day when your body needs a handsome portion of protein before it needs those carbs, its the exercise time. 

Usually people eat judicious amount of carbs and simple sugar drinks an hour before workout but it usually translates into sudden spurt of insulin during exercise. Now of course you need to have adequate amount of glucose in the blood while exercising but if you're loaded the insulin secretion will cause one more of its side effects that you do not wish to occur. When insulin is secreted in heavy concentration it does not permit fat breakdown to take place but the opposite. The logic to this is that when you have ample of energy source as glucose in the blood the insulin's priority becomes glucose to enter the cells as energy source and it can do this successfully and completely if it haults fat catabolism for a while. Why do we workout ? So that we burn the excess fat and build up on muscular strength, and this won't happen if you let insulin surge just before the workout. My ideal pre workout snack is 250 ml of fruit shake with added 5 gm of whey protein and 1 tsp of honey or I just bite a whole wheat or soy bread 2 egg whites sandwich with 500 ml of water a hour before exercise. Keep drinking sufficiently balanced mineral and glucose drink upto 250 ml till the end of the workout. This will ensure hydration and a balance of the nutrient and energy flow to your muscles. If your workout is before breakfast you are lucky but even if it isn't stick to the plan. 

Make sure each of your meal breakfast, lunch and dinner aren't over burdened with fat and carb but are equally balanced with lean proteins. Do not out balance any one nutrient of the three (carb, fat, protein) in your meals and you should be fine. Like the Cinderella story I'd like to inform you that you can have any lean protein but before you down that piece of chicken, turkey, lean meat, fish, egg white or cottage cheese and beans there is one thing you cannot do with it.....you can't load it with fat, fry it or else the magic will disappear.

Wish you wellness.

Share|

Exercise for Osteoporosis

I mentioned about the the physical therapy for osteoporosis includes weight bearing exercises in my previous post. Now you obviously want to know which exercise is weight bearing and which isn't, this post will speak all about it.

Weight bearing exercise literally means the activity that puts your bones to bear your body weight. Although our bones always bear it the activity induces positive stress which helps the bone mineralisation and lowers bone loss. I will also enlist the kind of exercise you should stay far away from if you have low bone density.

Weight Bearing Exercises for Osteoporsis prevention and cure:
1. Strength Training - If you have read this blog from the begining you must have noticed my emphasis on strength training exercise. I am pro strength training not because it gives you a chiseled look but because metabolically you couldn't have asked for a better gift. Strength training exercises that bear weight are low - medium intensity squats (with or without add on weights), same goes for lunges however please make sure you are accompanied by a trainer inorder to correct your form during the exercise as squats and lunges if done in incorrect posture can do you harm than good. Leg extension and hamstring curl are another form of strength training exercise that allow weight bearing also good for building strength in the muscles around your knee and why is that so good for osteoporosis? Well matter of factly the knees bear the weight partially of the lower body next to the lower spine, so if your knees are strong they can afford to bear weight better. Hyperextension of the back can also be good for the spinal bones strengthing the back muscles too, wrist flexion is also a good strength training exercise. The focus of these exercises I just mentioned is to firstly impact your hip, femur, tibia, wrist bones and spinal bones where osteoporosis is majorly seen. Strength training can also be done without any add on weights and that is what I personally practise too. You can do all the above exercises with the help of your own body weight with a little more intensity added to it. The use of terra bands, tubes, physio ball, water workouts for these exercises has turned out extremely beneficial. My mother started out with weights and then slowly moved towards resistance tube and it has shown remarkable impact on her osteopenia.

Cardio exercises - Walking is the best of all the options and it is absolutely possible wherever in the world you are with a good pair of shoes of course. Walking puts adequate weight on the bones to impact on the reduction of bone loss. Similarly medium intensity elliptical trainer is also good as is climbing the stairwell to your apartment instead of the elevator. Infact climbing stairwell has proved to be a very good alternative in times when you cannot go out for a walk but need to continue exercising just keep your posture erect. Like wise swimming and water aerobics have benefits however these are more helpfull during immediate rehabilitation after a fracture secondary to osteoporosis.

Yoga - The good old yoga proves to be a good weight bearing alternative but there are some asanas where you bend forward your turn your spine which would go against the idea of preventing osteoporosis, so don't attempt those positions.

Stretching - Sometime back I had given 9 stretching exercises to attain flexibility well it also is beneficial for osteoporosis. What you need to lower bone loss is have good weight impact on your spine and lower body bones with an erect posture. Joints where osteoporosis is frequent are hip, wrist, spine and if these are not flexible enough or lets just say are stiff your core muscles (abdominal and lower back) will pull you forward giving a hunch back look and thats no good news for your spine bones which are already under stress of low bone mineral density and compression fractures. Stretching will free the joints and help attain a good posture and balance to the body keeping the add on stress on these bones at bay.

DO NOT ATTEMPT THESE EXERCISES FOR OSTEOPOROSIS :
These are red alerts as far as osteoporosis is concerned, running, jogging, skipping, bowling, playing sport that bends your spine diagonally or impacts directly on knees and lower back. Why and How are your immdiate questions so lets answer them one at a time.

Why? - Visualise the running or jogging activity in slow motion and concentrate on the leg movements. Do you see when the foot hits the ground the weight shifts first on the knee and then on the lower back with high impact? Well that is not what we want to achieve the high impact.
How ? - We do not want these impacts because they cause compression of the spine bones, knee joint and hip joint. Compression of the bones is what will speed the fractures rather than avoid them. So do not attempt these.

Wish you wellness,
Neha
R.D
Related articles - http://wellnessandi.blogspot.com/2009/09/osteoporosis-benefits-of-physical.html
http://wellnessandi.blogspot.com/2009/08/osteoporosis-metabolic-cause-and.html

Osteoporosis: Benefits of Physical Therapy

After we have seen all the pathophysiological evidence as to how osteoporosis begins and develops we arrive at a point to discover what are the options we have, to reverse it. Well honestly reversal or not depends how bad the situation is. If the bone is depleted completely its difficult physically for the person to do except therapy and of course nutrition and hormonal therapy. How does physical therapy help?
Medical researches all over the world across genetic pools, age, gender have given significant evidence of weight bearing exercises reducing bone resorption or bone remodelling. The major problem we face in osteoporosis is as we now know the continuous battle between bone mineral deposition and its removal to balance the calcium in the blood. Exercise that bear our weight or any tolerant weight with correct posture and body form helps tremendously in reversing the bone resorption effects. Its no wonder that when NASA sends astronauts to zero gravity they face a challenge to maintain bone mineral density if exposed to weightlessness for a long period of time continuously. No amount of good nutrition, hormonal balance is good enough if the proper exercise or physical stimulus to the bone isn't available to develop it.
I know you want to know how does gravity or bearing your own weight help osteoporosis when obesity can also threaten it? Well, remember that a child in his/ her growing years shoots up like an unkept lawn grass before you even realise it, just like grandma always says to grow up you must go out and play. The primary reason bones develop on a stimulus of the growth hormone in childhood is because it is complemented by physical stimulus to the bone cells to deposit more calcium to develop it inorder to sustain the physical demand on it. Unless there is a demand in the body there will never be a supply and that's a GIVEN. So the body or lets say the bone cells respond to the stimulus (hormonal and physical) of exercise that puts a demand over bearing weight. The stimulus is a message to our body for strength demand so the bones quickly respond in slowing the resorption or remodelling of the bones and work towards bone mineral deposition or modelling. If you ask a simple question as how on earth would the bones know if they need to grow or not ? the answer would be as simple as the baby that cries gets his milk. Our body would cry for strength and therby our bones would fulfill it. Now this fulfillment of bone modelling on a stimulus upon exercise can be met if the nutrition is fine otherwise the body ends up in a viscious cycle of malnourishment.
What are the actual benefits of weight bearing exercises on osteoporosis other than a mere stimulus you may ask? well it builds good strength in the musculation which enhances the overall strength of our body and also our agility and body posture and that is what we need ultimately to avoid a trip and fall fracture.
In my next post I will write on the various exercise you can do that will send your bones the stimulus to slow your bone remodelling.

Wish you wellness,
Neha
R.D
Related articles -
http://wellnessandi.blogspot.com/2009/08/osteoporosis-from-where-does-this.html
http://wellnessandi.blogspot.com/2009/08/osteoporosis-metabolic-cause-and.html

How to 'stretch' your stress out?

They say to every complicated problem the solution is propotionately simple yet we entangle ourselves in reaching out to resolve the problem. Such is the case with our stress related physical worries. I don't have to explain how the pressures of our self imposed lifestyle takes toll on the body especially the muscles, joints, eyes, head and the bigger picture of course our general wellness that the peace of mind which has now become as extinct as dinosaurs. If stress is inevitable then there should be a regular regime to destress as well. A few things to destress can take you a long way. Here I will focus on the muscular stress and how to destress by just stretching our body every 3- 4 hours a daily. Stretching has always been undermined but its benefits go beyond enhancing flexibility, it relieves our body's stiffness caused due to muscular pain, injury, or strain, it also helps circulation and allows regulation of inhalation and exhalation.
A few basic stretches you could practise even at your work place could be:

1. Arm stretch (Biceps) - With an erect posture elevate one arm perpendicular to the body (like when you ask for candy with your arm out ) with your palm facing the sky. With the other hand hold your palm by your fingers and give it a stretch outwards and count upto 10. You will feel a stretch in your biceps. Repeat the same for the other arm.

2. Arm Stretch (Triceps) - With an erect posture raise one arm upwards with your palm open and pointing to the sky. Bring your fore arm down behind your head near the opposite shoulder and with your other hand hold the fingers pulling them down. The stretch would be felt in your triceps count upto 10. Repeat with the other arm.

3. Shoulder Stretch - Stand erect or sit uprite. Join your hands to pray. Now bring out your arms perpendicular to the body(elbows stretched) and open out your palms still joined to eachother by just fingers and give it a push as though your moving a cupboard. The stretch would be on your shoulders count upto 10 and repeat it 3 times.

4. Cat Stretch - Kneel down and at an arm's length face downwards with your palms on the ground. You should be on your four limbs like cats. Now breathe in slowly and take your spine upwards forming a small arch of your back count upto 10 and slowly bring your position back by exhaling. Repeat it 3 times.

5. Dog Stretch - Kneel down and at an arm's length face downwards with your palms on the ground. You should be on your four limbs like dogs. Now breathe in slowly and bring your butt to touch your heels by lowering your shoulders and forehead touching the ground, keeping the palms in their same position. When you touch your forehead to the ground count upto 10 while exhale slowly. Repeat it thrice.

6. Lower Back Stretch - Lay on your back. Fold both your legs by bringing your knees closer to your chest and hold it with your hands. Count upto 10 and release going back to the same lying down position. Breathe in while folding your legs and exhale while releasing them. Repeat it thrice.
7. Hamstring Stretch - Take a step forward and lower the opposite knee pressing both your palms on the stretched out thigh and count upto 10. Release and repeat for opposite leg.

8. Quadraceps Stretch - Stand erect and take support with one hand of a pillar, chair, table etc. Bend the opposite leg upwards with the heel touching the behind and hold the foot with your hand and count upto 10. Release and repeat it thrice. This stretch would be on your outer thigh.

9. Relaxing your eyes - Regularly every couple of hours take exactly 60 seconds to relax your eye muscles. Simply close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. This would soothe the eye muscles not stressing them through the day.

By following these simple stretches you can avoid many side effects of stress on your muscles regularly giving flexibility to your joints as well as relieving your major muscle groups of strainous pressure being built up.

Wish you wellness,
Neha Wasnik
R.D
Related Articles -
http://wellnessandi.blogspot.com/2009/06/endorphin-chocoholic-effect-of-exercise.html
http://wellnessandi.blogspot.com/2009/05/5-summer-workout-must-haves.html
http://wellnessandi.blogspot.com/2009/04/no-resistance-to-resistance.html
http://wellnessandi.blogspot.com/2009/03/fat-loss-or-weight-loss.html

ENDORPHIN – the chocoholic effect of exercise in your body

Lets start with the word ENDORPHIN and what does it translate into physicality?
ENDORPHIN – is a neurotransmitter acting like a hormone released from your brain which blocks the P substance that indicates sense of pain to the brain thus acting as natural pain killer. But more importantly what it stimulates in the body is a ‘feel good factor’ or happiness or mood regulation also seen as a relief in mental illness like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and types of depression. There is a red alert to this though too much of it is not healthy.
So how does this endorphin get triggered in the body to be released by our brain? And how long does its effect last?

Endorphin release can be stimulated by various factors such as adequate exercise, eating foods that release endorphin in restricted quantity like chocolate, walnuts, cocoa products, herbs. The safest way is to get your workout shoes on and get going for anywhere between 20 – 45 min daily for not more than 6 days a week. Remember your body is not a robot that’s on autopilot it needs rest for a good 24 hour break from exercise. The effect of endorphin released by exercise can last for at least 18 hours post workout if done regularly in a periodic manner. What our body and brain requires is the effect of exercise not to be confused with the daily routine exertion that we put ourselves through. I have been asked this question almost every time I recommend or prescribe a fitness regime ‘ I HAVE A VERY ACTIVE LIFE AS I MY WORK INCLUDES A LOT OF PHYSICAL RUNNING AROUND SO WHY DON’T I LOOSE EXTRA POUNDS OR FEEL ENERGISED AT THE END OF THE DAY?’. Let me put this as simply as possible, energy and endorphin release to effect our mood regulation and body functions around almost 18 hours a day need a trigger of 45 minute workout. Anything beyond that mark will be addressed by the body as exertion and not effective utilization of the built up energy. Exertion leaves our body in a state of fatigue and there’s no ‘feel good factor’ about that. I will be addressing the topic of fatigue later on.
Endorphin has also been seen to affect the sexual drive, memory, learning and body temperature. So now that we know we can last our manually triggered mood regulator for at least 18 hours what do we eat to trigger it?

A little piece of dark chocolate a day has also the effect on endorphin release, similarly resvetrol in red wine after consuming 60 ml or 2 fl oz a day can benefit in endorphin release, aromas in food with infused herbs like rosemary, oregano, sage, thyme etc and spices have also shown some effect in release of the neurotransmitter. I always go for something that’s natural and controllable and that for sure is exercise regime. That’s my endorphin boost for the day.

Wish you wellness.

Share

5 Summer Workout Must Have's

Every summer dons upon us with an escalating energy to get out, workout so that you look good to be envied for your beach body. That time of the year is on its anvil now and I can understand your rush of excitement to look good. But just for a moment let me warn you about spur of the moment enthusiasm in us, making many of us become oblivious to the harshness of the summer on our exercise schedule and thereby our coveted chiseled body. Here are 5 things you should keep at the back of your hand while working out in summer season.

1. Rehydration – Although 66% of your body is water rehydration in a continuous manner is mandatory. The first factor to take you down is being dehydrated during summer. Well your immediate reaction to this being drinking lots of water is not completely wrong. A study done to see the effect of drinking plain water on hydration of the body during workout was concluded that it is like filling up a bucket with a hole at the bottom. The rate at which water rehydrates the body is the same as it causes diuretic effect on it. Sweating coupled with humidity only adds to the problem. While rehydrating the body remember to add in sodium of about 50 – 60 mmols or 100 ml of water will have 1 gm of salt and 5 to 10 gms. of simple sugar or glucose added. The sugar source needs to easily absorbed in the circulatory system so it should be glucose. Always remember to drink at least 3 times of the fluid that has quenched your thirst e.g. If 200 ml of fluid has quenched your thirst then 600 ml of the same fluid should be ideally consumed to rehydrate the entire body. Drink at least 2 -3 glasses of 250 ml each of the fluid at least an hour before the exercise and about 200 – 250 ml during the workout. Post workout rehydrate with the same fluid at least 3 – 4 such glasses.

2 . Carbohydrate Loading – Your muscles are the major functional tissue to be utilized while working out. Major muscle groups like that of arms and legs and liver store in them a carbohydrate or chained glucose called glycogen. Glycogen is the emergency supply of glucose if the blood glucose gets replete. This means that in order to be ready for supplying glucose to the muscles the glycogen store should be adequate. Insufficient glycogen in the muscles is one of the major reasons of post workout pain, soreness for longer period, cramps while working out. A simple way to ensure this problem is taken care of is by loading your muscles with enough carbs pre workout. Ensure to consume as per your recommended diet plan a 3 hourly complex – simple carbs cycle. Complex carbs – whole wheat products, rye, red rice, millets, etc, simple sugars stick to seasonal fruits chose from all possible colors, dry fruits. Glycogen loading goes over for 18 hours so be sure you have had enough before workout. Make sure you consume 100 gm of carbs within the first hour post exercise this helps in the immediate carb loading in the worked muscle group instead of being distributed throughout the body.

3. Protein rebuild – Protein becomes essential for tissue wear and tear while workout as well as the insulin influencer in the body. Pre workout (around an hour) protein controls the sudden jump in the insulin secretion after consuming the carbs and regulates fat metabolism or breakdown. Protein also rebuilds lost muscle fibres post workout and supplies enough amino acids for tissue loss other than muscular.
10 – 15 % of your carb intake should be of high biological value proteins like low fat milk, casein products, whey products, egg white, soy milk. These have to be zero fat.

4. Suppressants – Caffeine is usually consumed pre workout but it harms the body completely to benefit from the workout. It acts as a dehydrant leaving the body far from rehydrating even with the fluid intake, it suppresses muscular pain hence not allowing the body’s natural indication for fatigue or exercise threshold making you workout for longer duration and stripping the body of its resources including excessive tissue loss. Fat is another such suppressant. Its intake pre workout slows gastric emptying leaving absorption of carbs and protein at a slower rate in the body and even slower replenishing of the required nutrients. It also causes sluggish effect on the brain.

5. Vitamin – Energy and metabolism influencing vitamins like B1, B2, B3, B12, are an essential lot that needs to be replenished through natural sources like carb and protein source. Vitamin A and E playing pivotal roles as antioxidants in curbing the free radicals stimulated by intense workout.

Wish you wellness,
Neha Wasnik
R.D
Related article -
http://wellnessandi.blogspot.com/2009/04/no-resistance-to-resistance.html
http://wellnessandi.blogspot.com/2009/03/fat-loss-or-weight-loss.html

No Resistance to Resistance

Whenever people talk about losing extra weight or getting into shape or just choosing a healthy lifestyle the words ‘ weight training’ don’t even remotely feature into the conversation. If at all they do its only discussed in a cynical manner completely omitting its positive effects. Its been quite some time now since we have been getting educated through newspapers, magazines and the internet about health but these still persists a resistance to resistance training or more commonly known as weight training.

While people dwell in this common notion that if one takes to weight training then

(A) They’re going to develop bulging biceps.

(B) They’re going to injure themselves or if they are injured they absolutely cannot even look at weights

(C) Weights = Heavy weights and nothing from light to moderate a weight training is only meant for those body building competitions.

Its time to wake up and smell the coffee and also differentiate from tea. To begin with if you are a woman you’ll need to be reborn as a man to develop bulging biceps as a result of weight training, as females do not possess the hormone responsible for the bicep’s bulge and that is TESTOSTERONE. So those females who have been misled by their peers or by their own common sense that muscle development due to weight training equals to biceps bulge get it out of the system NOW!! Then there are a few men and women who shy from weight training out of fear of injuring themselves. Let me take this oppurtunity to enlighten all the readers, one could very well injure oneself without weight training as well and if not pursuing exercise scientifically injury is just around the corner anyways. Most of the people who do get injured while weight training is only the outcome of faulty handling of the weight and it could very well be your own body weight. One need not resort to heavy weight training to result into injury infact most of the injuries incurred are because of ill- handling of the lightest weight possible and secondly due to incorrect form or body posture while working out.

Now that two categories of resistance to resistance training have been nullified the third most prevalent one is the very picture of weights in the mind is being drawn very negatively. The moment someone consults for getting into shape the look on the face is worth a kodak moment when I dare to utter the two magical words, ‘ Weight Training’. When one says go for weight training how can the mind take these words and convert them into the picture of a heavily muscular man lifting pounds that is equal to the weigt of a human ? I could never know !!! For once let the picture be that of a healthy and fit young bloke or young teenage girl who run to college or a senior citizen who has prevented or cured his/ her bone disease because they took to weight training or a woman in her mid 30’s who continues to live a fit lifestyle.

Wish you wellness,

Share