Yash Birla Refutes Misconceptions/Myths About Working Out

FITNESS MYTHS DEBUNKED by Fitness enthusiast Yash Birla

There’s a quick fix out there somewhere: When you find it, please let me know. This is just pure wishful thinking. But before you decide to hit the gym and pump iron with full gusto, you need to be aware of some truths and disregard common myths doing the rounds.


Weight training makes you big; aerobic exercise cuts you up
Weight training enables one to stress existing muscles. This forces the muscle fibres to adapt by getting bigger and stronger in time. Aerobic exercise is generally meant to improve cardiovascular efficiency and improves the body’s ability to uptake oxygen but does not help in building muscles in the way strength training does and hence does not raise basal metabolic rate or get rid or the ‘after burn effect’. In the long run, weight training is more efficient than aerobics for burning up calories.

High repetitions make your muscles harder and more cut-up
If you can perform more than 15 repetitions in general, it simply means the load is not sufficient to force the muscles to adapt. Higher repetitions will only help in giving a pump but for strength gains ideally 3-7 reps are best and for muscle gains 8-12 reps are ideal. The only way that high repetitions would make a muscle more cut-up is if, by doing a higher number of reps, your body as a whole was in negative energy balance, and you were burning more calories than you were ingesting. The truth is, heavy weights, lifted for 5-12 reps per set, can build rock-hard muscles. You just have to get the fat off them to see how hard they are.

Training with weights causes your muscles to get tight and hinders flexibility and consequently athletic performance
Weight training when done properly will in fact increase flexibility. People who have consistently followed a weight training programme have not only built a strong physique but also enhanced their flexibility and performance like Martina Navratilova (tennis), Evander Holyfield (boxing), Madonna, Melvin Anthony (bodybuilding) to name a few.

If you stop working out, your muscle will turn into fat
Muscle is made up of individual cells — living, breathing cells that undergo all kinds of complex metabolic processes. Fat cells are simply storage sites of lipids. If you stop working out and stop applying resistance to your muscles on a consistent basis, they will simply adapt to the new condition. In other words, they’ll shrink.

Women will become huge if they weight train
Firstly, women do not produce high amounts of testosterone that is necessary to develop that degree of muscle mass, and secondly, most women do not possess the amount of strength to lift enough weights and furthermore eat enough to assimilate that much muscle mass.

Taking steroids will make you huge
Not true. Strength training and correct nutrition will grow muscle. Taking steroids without training will not make you muscular. Most steroids allow faster muscle growth through greater recovery, but this is possible only if the muscle is stimulated in the first place and given the right nutrients in the right proportions. Without food to build the muscle or training to stimulate it, nothing will happen. Most of the weight gain seen with the use of some steroids is due to water retention and is not actual muscle.

One needs exercises to work on lower abs to reduce a pot belly
First, there is no such thing as lower abs. The sixpack you’re going for is actually one long muscle, called the rectus abdominis, that extends from below your chest to your pelvis. To work your abs, you should do exercises to target all four muscles — the rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques and the transverse abdominis. Secondly, doing crunches will not help you get a sixpack if you have a layer of fat over your abdominal area. In order to the see the muscles; you must reduce your body fat.

Stretching before exercise reduces injury
Before exercising vigorously, your muscles and joints should be warm and limber. However, light exercise does this more efficiently than deep stretching and is less likely to result in injury. Stretching before exercise may actually increase the risk of injury. In fact, it is better to stretch during and after completing your workout.
- Yash Birla
Source: TOI

Chitrangda Singh Recommends Cardiobased Exercises For Women For a Toned Physique

BOLD AND BOOTY-FULL

Chitrangda Singh is not a size zero but has one of the most desirable bodies. She owes it to doing things in equal measure

Of the many enviable beauties in Bollywood, very few match up to the sultry allure of Chitrangda Singh. This 35-year-old mother of one has a slender, well-toned frame. Her mantra for a fit mind and body isn’t out of the ordinary. She sticks to a typical diet and exercise routine, and steers clear of new-age crash diets. She isn’t a fitness junkie and won’t be found sweating it out in a gym three hours a day.

She exercises four times a week, with gaps for weeks while she’s travelling or shooting. Chitrangada explains, “I’m not an exercise junkie but definitely an enthusiast. I like to try out different combinations of aerobics and cardio exercises for a wellrounded workout. I’m not fanatical about a regimen or schedule. I try to be regular and dedicated and when I have a project, I like to get into shape for it, but it happens over a course of a few months, on and off.”

SPORTY KIDS

“Thanks to my Army background, my father made sure we were involved in some sort of sports. He would wake us up in the wee hours and we’d head out for tennis or a jog, but my favourite was always swimming. My dream body is not a skeletal size zero but a beautifully toned swimmer’s or diver’s body.” Always a bit of a plump child, Singh didn’t really consider her weight an issue until modelling came her way. “I wasn’t fat but I was plump,” she says. “Once I started working, it was required of me to maintain a fit body. When I started work on Hazaron Khwaishen…, I realised my body needed a slight do-over. It didn’t bother me but I knew I had to get into shape.” There hasn’t been a substantial difference in weight since then, she has come down to 55 kg from 57-58 kg. “The drop in dress sizes has been more drastic, I used to be a UK 8 or 10 and am now UK 6,” she says. For Desi Boyz, she had to wear a lot of fitted dresses. “This didn’t require me to lose weight, but sculpting was important. Arms became a high priority,” she says. Her stamina has increased substantially. “Earlier, I used to take many breaks on the treadmill, but now I can go on for 30 minutes continously,” she says.

GETTING STARTED

After wrapping up Desi Boyz, Singh’s trainer Promod Dadlani, designed a workout to target problem areas. The regimen lasts an hour and fifteen minutes. Dadlani gives cardiobased exercises that last 40 minutes and include running, cycling or working on the cross trainer. “She gets bored easily, so I have come up with a range of exercises,” he explains. To avoid excessive muscle development, Singh trains with minimum weights but keeps a high repetition cycle — about 30 to 40 reps per exercise.

They focus on upper thighs and calf muscles. “These are my problem areas. I like to have shapely legs,” she says. “The impact of low weight-high repetition is higher for my body type and it’s got the result I was expecting. Women don’t have a high musculature so to maintain a toned physique, cardiobased exercises work well.”

WARM UP

Chitrangda chalks in a workout first thing in the morning, so it’s essential to get her pressure up and running before strenuous exercises. A jog for 10-15 minutes or cycling, or substituting either for a cross trainer does the job. She also does basic stretching exercises with one or two sets of light weights on her legs to warm up.

PROBLEM AREAS

The average duration of cardio is 40 to 50 minutes. “We also work on individual areas such as the upper body, triceps, biceps, back, hips and legs. Squats, lunges, step-ups, legpress, leg-extensions, and legcurls are great for the lower body. She does these with weights and 30 to 40 repetitions,” says Dadlani.
» Squats and lunges with 30 kg.
» Step-ups with 10 kg.
» Leg press, extensions and curls for toning hamstrings with about 75 kg.
» For upper body and arms, 3 kg dumbbells suffice.
» Cool down is a few stretches to make sure the body isn’t sore later.

Dadlani insists on correct posture while performing squats. Do not bend your back forward as you squat. Also, hip and leg should be at a 90 degree angle from each other at all times.

EATING RIGHT

Never a foodie, now more than ever, Singh keeps a tab on what she eats. High on protein and low on fat, her diet consists of fish, lean meat, fruits and nuts. “For breakfast,” she says. “I usually have an egg white sandwich, oats or nuts. I love fish so I have it grilled with vegetables and with bajra roti, brown rice or bread for lunch and dinner. After workouts, I snack on fruits, Oreo shakes or Twix bars. I indulge in my favourite fried eggs and bacon once a week.”

Omega 3 fatty acids oils are healthy, so she has a steady consumption of nuts and olive oil. Singh has five meals a day — three big meals and two snacks — at three-hour intervals.

Dino Morea Shares His Workout Fundas-No Complicated Fitness Regimes or Diets

WHILE he's had a six-pack since as long as we can remember, actor- entrepreneur Dino Morea has never been one for complicated fitness regimes or diets. And his definition of keeping it simple is roughing it out on the soccer field. The actor, who was a judge on a fitness show organised by a gym recently, shares his love for fitness:


Workout fundas

I play basketball and football twice a week for a couple of hours. So, sports comprises a major part of my workout. The rest of the days I visit the gym, where I do a lot of strength training. I also do balancing exercises on a regular basis. In fact, I have tied a rope to a tree in my garden. Everyday, I try to climb the rope, which is also a form of workout. When I was a kid, my father used to make me participate in all kinds of sports. I played tennis professionally till the age of 13, and then switched to basketball. I was also into athletics, football and hockey. So, fitness has been a part of my life since childhood.

Being a sport

Fitness is important for each one of us. It keeps your mind and body healthy. And it gives us urbanites a sense of discipline, because it’s always a challenge to incorporate fitness in our busy schedules. It also helps us unwind. When I play a game of football, my mind is totally on the game. It just drives away all the mental stress and pressure. For those who find going to the gym and exercising a drudgery, sports is the perfect option.

No diet dilemma

The concept of dieting didn't exist in the time when I was growing up. My parents told us to eat everything. I am a firm believer in moderation. I indulge in chocolates once in a while without any guilt because I know that I am going to burn off those extra calories once I hit the football field. The notion of ' size zero' is utter crap. You will die if you have a size zero body. I believe that an athletic body is what you should aim for since it facilitates faster movement. When I read about some of the modern diets, I just can't stop laughing.

Massage mantra

I meditate at times, and also love getting massages. A full body massage is a great way to relax your muscles. It helps me rejuvenate after a tiring day on the sports field. A good massage calms me down, not to mention that it makes me feel pampered (smiles).

Bipasha Basu's Diet and Workout For a Bikini Fit Body

Despite being a fitness freak Bipasha did not want to leave any stone unturned to look her best in a bikini in Players. She improved her diet and workouts 3 months in advance as she wanted to look really toned in her bikini scene. Bipasha has already worn a Bikini in Dhoom 2 and now wears a two-piece for a film five years after.


“I did not follow a different diet or workout regime to look perfect in the bikini, as I stay fit all year round. I only went on a strict, high-protein diet for some time and increased the intensity of my cardio workouts.”

Bipasha is said to have plans to launch another workout routine on how to get a good beach body. Find details of Bipasha's first fitness dvd 'Love Yourself' here

Bipasha’s bikini diet

Egg whites in all forms

Mushrooms and broccoli

Steamed fish with less salt

Snacking on nuts, apples and drinking several cups of green tea

And last but not the least, six weeks of rigorous discipline

Bipasha Basu wears a two-piece for Players five years after she did Dhoom: 2

The last time Bipasha Basu flaunted her bikini bod was in 2006, for Dhoom: 2. Five years later, she is donning one again for Players. The actor says, “I’m a beach bum and I love hanging out in the swimming pool, so I’m very comfortable wearing a bikini. My only concern was that the scene should be shot well, and the cinematographer Ravi K Chandran took care of that.”

The scene was shot in Wellington (New Zealand) in freezing cold water. Bips adds, “After the scene was done, the chief assistant director, Tinu, gave me a plate of muffins and Sikandar Kher and Omi Vaidya took me out for pizza, so it was worth it! We were supposed to shoot this scene on the morning of Abhishek Bachchan’s birthday, so I missed out on the fun the night before. I went out with them for a little while and came back sulking, as I had to be up early. The rest of them continued to party, though.”

The Bengali bombshell says she tried on several bikinis for the scene, but ultimately chose one from her personal wardrobe. She adds, “I did not follow a different diet or workout regime to look perfect in the bikini, as I stay fit all year round. I only went on a strict, high-protein diet for some time and increased the intensity of my cardio workouts.”

Recalling her Dhoom: 2 days, Bips says, “At that time, I was just thin. Today I am fitter and curvier. I programmed my workout to attain the perfect beach body. I was trained by Paul Britto, who has been my trainer for years.”

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