Taking fitness forward

Diet watch

Ever wondered why the high-protein and minimal carbohydrate-diet which did wonders for your friend, doesn’t seem to work the same magic for you?
Fitness formulae are different for different people and it work in different ways for everyone, say city’s fitness enthusiasts.

It’s about six months since Sanjeevani K started a nut-based diet along with a workout schedule which includes core exercises, cardio-based pushups and jogging, all encompassed into two hours of burning calories. “A colleague had seen instant changes in this schedule. Though in the first few days I felt excited and energised, the results were very slow for me. I also found out that I was more tired after the schedule than feeling lighter,” she says.

She decided to visit a doctor and discovered that she had hurt her muscles which were draining her out. “That’s when I decided to visit a fitness instructor and calculate the right amount of time and exercise which works for me.” With a combination of squats and a balanced diet, Sanjeevani is on her way to a leaner and stronger self now.

Fitness regimen and diets work in different ways for different people, says Ravee Iyer, an entrepreneur. “Fitness is a very individualistic thing. I am into high-intensity training but not everyone will need the same. I have a coconut oil rich-diet and avoid wheat, rice and packaged food, due to other health issues which might not do well for someone else,” he says.  Ravee says that this might not be a good diet pattern or fitness routine that everyone can follow. “Fitness is directly connected to one’s nutrition which varies accordingly to age, region and many other factors,” he adds.

Fitness formulae can give varied results for oneself too after a period of time, vouches Vishnu Kumar, a fitness enthusiast. “One learns how to work around it slowly. Initially for someone who has not been working out and starts exercising, there will be results accordingly. A routine that helped and show results might slowly slow down too. Thus, you need to keep changing the routine,” he says
Initially, Vishnu used to workout for two hours, which would include weight training and cardio-based exercises.

“After that I started following a diet which includes 40 percent protein, 30 percent carbohydrates and 30 percent fat. One has to understand that the body gets used to routines and thus one always has to jazz up their routine in intervals. Also things work in a different way for people because each one’s metabolism is different,” he says.

Fitness instructor Sankar SB, says that diet influences the fitness levels. “Exercises are the same for everyone. For instance, when one is doing a squat it can be for everybody. The technique doesn’t change but the stretch, intensity and repetitions vary. It varies according to one’s weight and differs depending on the sex of the person. When I’m training someone who is overweight, I cannot load them with high-intensive exercises. Thus, the intensity is reduced but the tempo is played around with,” he details. Sankar adds, “We do a ‘talk test’ with the treadmill, where we understand the breathing and intensity required for an individual for cardio exercises,” he says. The training for a marathon runner and for an athletic person varies, he adds.

Fitness can be defined by three important factors — identifying one’s goal, getting the diet right and giving it all, points out Karan Puthran, who works with a fitness startup.

“Different routines give different results for different people. Exercises like core and cardio based workouts vary from a bodybuilder to a normal average human being. It is important to know one’s focus area,” he says.

Karan adds that indulging on a pizza after intense exercises doesn’t help. “Thus watching what one eats is important. Also dedicating one’s time entirely to exercising is important,” he says.