Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Photo: K.R. Deepak

Muscle mania Sweat it out in a gym to get that mean look

The bold display of a sculpted body by ‘King Khan’ in the movie would have tickled the minds of many middle-aged executives with bulging waistlines. “If the 40-year old actor can get into enviable shape, why not me,” opines Rajesh a senior executive with a BPO outfit.

The Director of Vayuputra Health Club and former ‘Mr. Andhra’ K. Ganesh says that age is not a factor to get into shape. “The exercises are designed as per the age of a person. Anybody can join a gym. For the age group between 6 to 18 years, we normally design the workout session combining general fitness and stretch exercises with the use of lightweights. This is the age when bone grows, the bone should be allowed to have its natural growth. The right age to sculpt the body is between 18 to 35 years. We prescribe heavy weight training during this period in combination with general fitness exercises. From 35 to 50 years, the training again gets back to lightweights. For people beyond 50 years, there is no weight training. Their training routine combines general fitness, stretch and a little bit of aerobics. One can even include a bit of cycling and treadmill,” he says.

So, that makes the dream of ‘six packs’ come true for people with potbellies and big waistline. But it is not that easy, says the gym instructor. “It is easier for the younger people. The factor here is time. What a 20-year-old can achieve in three months, it takes a minimum of six months to one-year for a 40-year-old,” he says.

Moreover, the dream body will come true only when a dedicated workout schedule is combined with proper and planned diet. Fitness instructors say that if one intends to get into the ‘six packs’ shape, then he or she has to forego the intake of rice for at least five months.

Diet plays a crucial role in body sculpting.

The minimum intake for any grown up person is between 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day. It might reduce or decrease by another 100, depending on the physical strain that one endures during a day. Rice softens the tissues and adds fat content to the body. Both the main meals (lunch and dinner) should comprise of ‘rotis or chapatis’ (Indian bread).

The food intake should be spread over repeated times in small quantities rather than one or two big meals.

Leafy vegetables should dominate the red meat consumption in combination with fruits, juices, pulses, milk and egg white.

For beginners who are over 35, the exercise schedule is gradually seeped into the body. “It starts with a workout routine of 15 to 20 minutes of simple freehand and stretch exercises to loosen the muscles and to make the creaky joints more flexible. It is then gradually extended to an hour.The weight training starts only after a month. The main focus would be on the abs.

It is easier to develop the top and the middle pair of abs but it takes some time for the lower pack. There are different exercises for each set of abs. Only after a strict gym and diet schedule spread over a year, can one think of a John Abraham or Hrithik Roshan or a Shahrukh Khan physique,” points out Ganesh. So, stop dreaming and get ready to sweat it out.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail