Exer-who?

“Fitness - if it came in a bottle, everybody would have a great body.”

- Cher

And don’t I know it!

If you love food the way I do, you will understand that you NEED to be on a diet once in a while and you NEED to exercise as well. I have spent many years saying ‘nah I don't need to exercise as long as I eat right’. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

I’m really very lazy. If the gym isn’t ten minutes away from home I just wont go. Sometimes, and its happened often enough, even if it is a ten minute walk I still wont go. I have come up with so many excuses, reasoned with myself, bargained with my subconscious and ignored that my jeans were getting tighter and tighter. 

This could be me

I get frustrated on jogging tracks going round and round in a circle. Its like we’re tiny hamsters unknowingly generating electricity. I discovered something a few years ago – if I'm running from point a to point b – say from work to home – I enjoy it. I walk, skip, jog and run all the way home and enjoy the view while I'm at it. This view was marine drive for a while when I worked at Nariman Point. I highly recommend it - IF you can manage the logistics of what to do with your lunch bag, laptop and handbag.

I’ve broken ankles, and torn cartilages in my knees and had to sit in bed for months on end – which of course I did happily. Nothing like being told that I'm not ALLOWED to exercise to make me even lazier than I normally am.

So I came to a point 6 months ago where I didn't fit into anything and all I did the whole day was sit at home and lounge around. I was being too lazy and completely irresponsible and I needed to start exercising and stop eating. I got up, went to a nutritionist (who is amazing by the way) and started running every day. I was already dancing twice a week (I teach Salsa, yes lucky me) and I made sure I didn't miss a day. 30 minutes running up and down in my building was all I needed. I timed myself, put in different music on my iPod every day so I wouldn't get bored and just ran.

Luckily I was working from home so I didn't need to stress about what time to work out, when to workout etc. I’d wake up, have some breakfast, wait for a suitable amount of time (six hours to sleep?) and then go downstairs. Another amazing thing was that it was winter (what passes for winter in Mumbai anyway) and my building is conveniently positioned so that the driveway is almost always shaded. Which meant that I could run downstairs at 3pm if I chose to, and I frequently did.

Lo and behold! It worked! 30 minutes of running a day + a few sets of crunches and stretches and I was feeling fitter, looking better and loving it.

woohoo check me out

Over the last few months, I have also started kickboxing, which is the most awesome way to exercise. I’ve grown up playing Mortal Kombat and Tekken and for three or four hours a week I get to pretend I’m Hwoarang. So much so that when my instructor asks me to spar, I attempt to do his specialty moves which results in my instructor lying paralyzed on the floor laughing. This is a classic example of ‘What I feel like’ and ‘What I actually look like’.

MY TOP TIPS FOR EXERCISE:

1. Suck it up

Yes exercising is annoying and irritating and why must we bother? We bother so we can eat, drink and be merry and still fit into the expensive clothes we bought. If you have to exercise, you just have to do it.

2. Find something that works for you

I dislike going to the gym. I much prefer running around outdoors and I'm super happy having someone come to the house so I don't have to leave my bedroom to exercise. Find something that you enjoy doing and you won’t quickly get bored with.

My fantastic Marine Drive view

- I run on Marine Drive so I can move from one place to another, some days I go to the Race Course where I run in one direction and then reverse it after a round to break the monotony. 

- I teach/ dance salsa a few times a week – there’s nothing like getting your heart rate up like being on a dance floor for 3 hours a night. Join a class, learn to dance!

- I kick box at home because I'm too lazy to go to a class, and this way it works on my timings rather than my adjusting to someone else’s (I’m so lazy).

- If I’ve done nothing, I will try (the operative word here is try) to wake up 20 minutes early, and do 20 surya namaskars.

3. What’s a rest day?

If you’re very serious about needing to lose weight, PLEASE don’t say ‘oh it's the weekend I don't need to do anything’. Your body doesn't care that it’s Saturday or Sunday (though it does appreciate the extra sleep) and you need to keep your metabolism up by exercising at least once during the weekend. In my over excited, unemployed and dedicated phase I ran six days a week. My entire building thought I was insane, but it really worked for me, and I was enjoying it.

4. But the top I bought 6 years ago still doesn't fit

Its important to remember that you wont see many results in week 1, you will suddenly feel fitter weeks 2 and 3 and then you’ll plateau. You have to ride out the plateau; most exercises only work after a month of being conscientious. Don't go attempting to buy new clothes within the first few weeks, wait for a while before you can see an actual result.

What happens when you go clothes shopping is that you either get over confident because you fit into a size lower than you normally do, or you get depressed because that super skimpy dress you saw in zara still doesn't fit. That's ok, maybe you should try it on in another size?

Keep in mind that when you put on weight, you don't always put it on or lose it in the same places. Chances are the top you bought 6 years ago may never fit again because the shape of your body is constantly changing. And really, if you bought something 6 years ago maybe you should think about buying something new?

5. Stick to the plan

If you’ve set yourself targets, and they can really be as simple as ‘I will go for a walk twice a week’ or ‘I will walk up the stairs instead of taking the lift twice a day’, try and stick to them.

6. Don't be someone you’re not

I’m not a morning person, I never have been and I don't think I will ever manage to be. So I don't try waking up at 6am to go for a run, because it just ain’t gonna happen. I've made plans to go for walks at 6am, and then turned my phone off, I joined spinning classes at 7am and fainted on the bike because I was tired and my body can't handle the adrenaline rush in the mornings… the list is endless. 

Stick to the schedule your body is comfortable and don't listen to people that say ‘oh if you don't workout at 7am its not really effective.’

Hmm; I can keep preaching, but the bottom line is you're going to have to WANT to exercise.

For now, I’m content pretending I'm part of Tekken every morning. Anyone want to join me? HAIIIIYAAA!

Haiiyaaa!