More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
when it comes to running on the treadmill, learn to hold your body weight first, and learn to run without load-shedding on the treadmill, and your back will be safe. Not just safe but even stronger. Remember, technique matters more than number of calories.
1
Sweating melts the fat Wait! Say that again? My li’l baby, didn’t you go to school where they taught you that fat (or oil) and water don’t mix? So how exactly did this miracle happen in your body, where fat dissolved itself in water that comes out of your pores?
2
when you work out, the core body temperature does get raised and to keep the body temperature at its optimum, the body will sweat.
3
Very simply, the best exercise is the one that gets done on a regular basis.
4
The aerobic system, well, follows the aerobic pathway, and by that it means that muscles get to use oxygen. This pathway was developed to carry out tasks that go on for a long time, for example to equip you with the stamina to walk from one village to another or from your home to school
Aerobic
The ATP-CP and glycogen-lactic acid system follow the anaerobic pathway, which means that they function in the absence of oxygen. Absence of oxygen doesn’t mean there is no oxygen available, it only means that the task was completed so fast, oxygen couldn’t reach the working muscle group.
Anaerobic
Working without oxygen means that the muscles will be able to work for a very short duration of time because there is only so much you can sustain in the absence of oxygen.
Anaerobic1
Our body typically stores fat as triglycerides in both the fat cells (or the adipose tissue) and in the skeletal muscle cell.
Triglyceride
Technically, the body can use protein as a source of fuel too (aerobically). However, it is used as a fuel only in extreme conditions and mostly used for its main purpose — that of building and repairing body tissue.
Protein
So what you need to remember is that, for anaerobic pathway, pre-stored ATP and glycogen are the only sources of fuel. For the aerobic pathway, all three — carbs, fats and proteins — can be used as fuel. Although aerobically fat appears to be the most important source of fuel, the fact that carbs are more efficient (need fewer oxygen molecules for oxidation) makes them more important as the starting fuel, with fat taking over later.
Summary1
In short, just like wholesome meals, you need wholesome workouts too.
11
1. Different exercises or types of activities use different types of muscle fibres and fuel. 2. All types of muscle fibres must be put to use if you want to look and feel fit. 3. While aerobic exercises can use fat as fuel while exercising (in addition to carbs and proteins), anaerobic activities can burn fat for as long as 48 hours after exercise (called after-burn).
Summary2
Ideally, not more than 10% of energy should come from burning protein, but in the case of low-carb, low-fat and low-calorie diets, much more than 10% of energy contribution comes from the breaking down of protein.
40
strength only grows in leaps and bounds initially; later it’s a struggle to keep up with the strength gains; with age, sometimes not allowing strength to drop is itself an effort, a workout in itself.
13
In one gym session perform about 8 to 10 sets (excluding warm-up) that train major muscle groups. ix. Perform 8 to 15 reps per set, with good form and to a point of fatigue (fatigue is reached when you know you can’t do another repetition with the same weight without compromising on form). x. Use both multi- and single-joint exercises.
14
Post workout, you will need to follow the 4 R’s – Rehydrate, Replenish, Recover and Repair
Post workout
Whey protein is the most readily digested and natural form of protein that your body can utilize post exercise
Whey
I am sure you have noticed this: you begin running, let’s say, and the first 10 to 15 minutes really seem difficult and you hate yourself for being so fat / unfit / out of shape, etc. Suddenly, like something has changed, like a fresh lease of life, the doubts disappear, the breathing evens out, the legs seem to move in an automatic rhythm and the effort level drops. If you were able to go deep within your body, you would notice that the ATP is now coming out of fat versus carbs, and since fat is an unlimited source you will feel that you can now go on forever. Technically, there’s a term for
...more
18
The 14-week training plan for 21 km (half-marathon)
Marathon plan
Having essential fats as part of your regular diet is crucial for cardio to be an effective fat-burner. 2. Carbs are the primary fuel source for cardio activity, and inadequate carbs in your muscles reduces the body’s fat-burning abilities.
22
A wholesome meal the night before your training, specially when you train for high-endurance activities like long-distance running, cycling or are a beginner to exercise or if your prime motivation for cardio lies in fat burning, is crucial.
23
A meal that represents local grains, dals, pulses and vegetables along with traditionally used fats (as mentioned above) increases your chances of using fat as a fuel during exercise.
24
Pre-workout Pre-workout meals supply steady blood sugar and delay fatigue. A pre-workout meal must have what you have learnt to recognize as carbs—fruit if exercising in less than 30 minutes, and either poha, upma, idli or paratha, etc., if starting in more than two hours.
Preorkout meal
Make sure that you sip and not gulp water. So if you are on a treadmill walking at 6 or running at 8, then slow down to 4 or 6 respectively to sip some water. The reason is that when your breathing and heart rate is higher, it can get tougher for water to make its way to the stomach and then there is always the danger of water entering the windpipe accidently.
26
And if you run or cycle outdoors and for a long distance, then know that more water and more carb gels or energy drinks is not magically going to make you faster. Energy drinks can get very dense in glucose, and since limited glucose is emptied from the stomach in a short period of time, this (a high concentration of glucose) will retard gastric emptying, leading to less absorption of glucose in the blood, and therefore quicker fatigue. So go slow on energy drinks and stay well hydrated but practise drinking water at every training session, not just on the long runs or race day.
Cycle energy
Plain simple glucose or even sugar is enough to give you the ‘energy’, and so is good old nimbu pani with sugar and kalanamak.
Energy
The deal is to dilute the drink. Technically, it’s called a hypotonic solution, where you can barely taste the ‘flavour’. About 2g or less of glucose per 100ml is a good place to start. OR make nimbu pani and dilute it to 3 times, get it?
Energy drink
So rehydrate, replenish, repair and recover, and in that order.
Post workout
Don’t skip the water and banana and jump straight to protein. In the absence of glycogen, the body converts or breaks down protein to replenish glycogen instead of sparing it for protein purposes, which is repair, maintenance and growth. So don’t spend your expensive protein shake on a job that the humble banana can carry out with ease and efficiency.
31
Cardio facts • Exercise lowers the resting heart rate and improves heart health • Both aerobic and anaerobic exercises are needed to improve heart health • Heart and lung, the involuntary organs, are much stronger than the TBLJ and muscles • So to train / improve heart health, it’s imperative that the muscles need to be trained / used • So to make progress in your cardio exercise, you will need to weight train. This will have the following benefits: • Strengthen TBLJ and the muscles and allow them to bear more forces • Allow you to stimulate the anaerobic pathway, which influences and improves
...more
Cardio Summary
Principle 1: Stimulate – Do a little more every time Principle 2: Adapt – The body gets used to doing what you put it through Principle 3: Recover –You get fitter, stronger, leaner during recovery Principle 4: Regular – Stay regular with workout, else lose out
Workout principles
Every stimuli sets off a unique physiological, hormonal, neurological, chemical response and the body specifically adapts to it. That’s exactly why running will not make you better at swimming; only swimming will make you better at swimming.
43
Weight training – The anaerobic system is going to take time to recover, up to 48 hours, so no weight training back to back (even for different body parts). But you can easily put weight training and cardio on alternate days.
42
