Feeling awful about the way you look Clothes are becoming a problem That nice pair of trousers you bought last year refuses to go up your butt Well time to take your measurements… Wondering whether you really should head for this fitness regime or not If your answer is ‘yes’, here’s what to look for!

Believe me, regular exercise can do wonders to your body, mind and overall well-being, It can re-boost your mental and physical energy, help you lose weight, and dispel stress. The right exercise will add great fun and enjoyment to your life and provide the foundation for a lifetime of fitness and good health.

THIS MIGHT COME HANDY FOR YOU

Make time for exercise

Keep it regular
Eat less,
move more

Make your workout part of your life SET SOME REAL (BUT REALISTIC)

GOALS Specify the physical dimensions and benefits that you desire and jot them down in a book. You can write down your goals, measurements, daily experience, and insights gleaned during your chosen activity. Find a sturdy book, with an attractive cover that catches your interest to record in. Choose the headings that you wish to include, and prepare to record your experience after each exercise session. Now, measure each body part, listed above, and record the measurements beside the ideal measurements. Once a week, on the same day each week, take your measurements again, to keep a running log.

FALL IN LOVE WITH EXERCISE When you think of exercise what kind of thoughts come to your mind – anticipation, joy, and enthusiasm or resistance, dread, and boredom Knowing that exercise will benefit you in the long run is not the best motivation. To be successful one has to focus on positive internal experiences in the here and now rather than distant external outcomes. The core concept behind intrinsic exercise is to exercise for its own sake. Ask yourself the answers to the following questions: What are the rewards of exercising.
Why are you working out.

What do you hope to get from it ? Strengthens your heart and lungs. Lowers the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. Increases the good cholesterol in your blood.

Burns fat and helps you maintain a healthy weight.
Strengthens bones, reducing osteoporosis.

Increases strength and flexibility.

Boosts your vitality, making you more alert with better concentration.

Helps you relax and sleep better.
Is a great way to deal with stress.
Improves resistance to colds and flu.

Contributes to a more positive self-image and greater self-confidence. Improved Sleep Patterns
Better Digestion
Better Circulation
Strong Muscle Tone
Suppleness Increased Libido
Improved Frame of Mind

Emotional Control
Feelings of Personal Power
Enhanced Sensory Sensitivity
Balance and Elegance
Aligned Posture Sense of Mastery

Resistance to Disease Preservation of Youthfulness Learn from your mistakes! Learn to monitor improvements in your own performance-a self assessment. There are many resources-you can belong to a health club, ask a professional trainer for help, purchase a video or get an equipment at home. Make sure you use the proper technique and form. Learn from your mistakes. It takes 3500 calories to burn 0.4 kg of fat. It is possible to burn 0.4 kg of fat in couple of days but be careful not to go below your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), which is the basic nutritional need of your body. If you eat too little the body stores every bite you eat as fat and causes it to deplete your muscles to get carbohydrates, an important source of fuel. Therefore, one should not target to lose more than.9 kg a week. How many calories can you burn in an average day In other words, your Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR! Here’s a simple formula Adult Males: Weight in Pounds x12 Adult Females: Weight in Pounds x11 For every 10 years older than 20, you should lower the result by 2%.Example 175-lb man, 175×12= 2100 calories per day at age 20-30 110-lb woman, 110×11= 1210 calories per day at age 20-30.Men have more muscle tissue, which gives them the added advantage of burning more calories even at rest. Women are designed to store more fat than men. DIET DYNAMICS Eat your meals at appropriate times Don’t do “diets”. Diets are artificial ways of eating Don’t snack in-between meals Eat just enough to satisfy your hunger Never eat old or stale foods Avoid, or try to minimize the intake of, oily and spicy foods, packaged and preserved foods, tea or coffee, sweets and non-vegetarian food. Maximize your nutrient intake. Take maximum of fresh fruits, vegetables, sprouts, coconut water and sugarcane juice.

Eat dinner at least three hours before you go to sleep – so you can digest your meal properly. Take at least 8 glasses of water in a day. REDEFINING EXERCISE Exercise can be FUN Opt for an activity which you would love to do Check out some of the top calorie burning moves: Find out which exercise sparks your Fire Dance, Walking, Climbing, Hiking, Isometric exercises, Stair Climbing, Bicycling, Team Sports, Stretching, Yoga, Tai Chi, Ballet Gymnastics, Swimming, Jumping Rope, Team Sports, Skating, Rollerblading, Frisbee ZIPPY.
WORKOUT arm up for 5-10 minutes – It reduces the risk of injury and increases the efficiency of the workout. For example: if you are jogging or running, walk prior to your aerobic workout, or if you are biking, bike slowly. Aerobic exercise for 20-60 minutes – Experts recommend a minimum of 20 to 30 minutes of exercise, 3 to 5 times a week to improve blood circulation and improve your muscle strength and endurance. Performing two 30 minute workouts rather than one 60 minute workout in a day is more effective as it fastens the metabolic rate and burns more calories. Cool down for 5-10 minutes – by decreasing the intensity of the activity you are doing. Exercise is an important component of a healthy lifestyle. Aerobic exercises teamed up with callisthenic exercises make a complete fitness program.

 

The effectiveness of a workout depends on the energy, enthusiasm and Intensity you bring to it. Motivate yourself by keeping in mind role model. Cut out images of athletes who are about the same body build as you are, and make a collage of images for you to look at before or during your work-out. Keep your posture loose and natural. Lift your chest up and let your shoulders fall back naturally. Let your neck be free, supporting your head in a relaxed way. Let your leg movements come from your center, not forcing your hips or knee joints. Let your back muscles relax and expand sideways. Exercise helps in stimulating sexual interest and desire.

It increases the circulation of hormones, oxygen and nutrients which in turn, helps keep the sexual tissues moist and elastic. Increase testosterone levels, the hormone associated with sexual desire. Strengthen musculature, introduce flexibility to your joints and increase your aerobic stamina – for a better sexual experience. Pelvic floor exercises, stomach crunches, and hip and thigh exercises are especially helpful. S-T-R-E-T-C-H to enhance joint mobility and reduce muscle soreness. Don’t leap out of bed. Stretch out with the following exercises: Lie on Your back, with your arms by your sides, and your toes pointing upwards.

 

Push your heels away from your body and feel your body gently stretch. When stretching, bear these tips in mind: Do it slowly, no sudden movements, breathe slowly and deeply as you do it. Do not over exert yourself and it should not be painful. Strength training can be done with or without weights. You can do abdominal work, such as crunches; push ups; pull ups; tricep dips; lifting your child; and so on, without picking up a weight or using a weight machine. If you’d like to use some type of equipment, try hand weights, rubber bands, tubing, dynabands, or health club machines.

 

They can help you avoid flabby arms, to strengthen your posture, expand your rib cage, and build up your chest muscles. Do your aerobic exercise on days when you are not doing weights. When you do weights, you put on muscle. Muscle burns fat. A gram of muscle is smaller than a gram of fat. If you are putting on muscle, you may not lose weight right away, but you will lose size! To effectively build your endurance, plan to keep your heart rate within the correct target heart rate zone for you. To calculate this target heart rate: Subtract your age from 220, subtract 75, then multiply by 0.7, then add 75.For example, if you are 40 years old: [ (220 – 40 – 75) x 0.7] + 75) = (180 – 75) = 105 x 0.7 = 73.5 + 75= 148.5 beats per minute. Count your heart rate by finding your pulse by placing two fingers on the opposite wrist, just below the base of the thumb on your radial artery. Count your pulse for 10 seconds, then multiply the number of beats by six to determine your pulse rate.

 

The exercise heart rate should be 60-90% of the target heart rate. Physical fitness is important for menopausal women. As the ovaries shut down, estrogen levels drop down making a woman prone to bone loss. A recent survey showed that both pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women reported increased levels of estrogen after participating in an aerobic training programme. Exercise increases the production and use of estrogen and other sex hormones. It helps maintain the equilibrium of the hormones produced. It strengthens your joints, bones and back. There is no other way by which you can burn fat except ‘Exercise accompanied with diet control’. The pills, the air-machines or the other supplements are all myths. What is required is just plain hard work.

1. Arnis: A Philippines martial art. May have been derived from an Indonesian method of combat called TIAKALETE. Here the techniques used are open hand and stick or blade.

2. Bando or Thaing: Native to Burma. An assimilation of karate and judo with weapon techniques. Withdrawal then attack outside opponents reach.

3. Bersilat: A Malaysan art. Two forms: Silat pulot and Silat buah. The first is a dance like series of movements. The latter is the combat form using the legs. Students are forbidden to divulge its secrets. Uses karate, judo and jujutsu type holds. Other forms: Lintan, Medan, Silat buah and Terelak.

4. Bojutsu: Japanese. Use of a bo or staff five to six feet long. Bujutsu (schools), Jodo (way of the stave), Bokken or kenjutsu (art of the sword: wood and steel). Sai (short sword), Tonfa (handle), kama (sickle) and Nunchaku.

5. Capoeira: Brazilian. Developed by African slaves. Techniques are back flips, cartwheels, sweeping movements and spectacular kicks, it is devoid of blocking techniques. Instead they use evading techiques. First belived to be a religious dance that was transformed by slaves into a self defense system.

6. Hapkido: Korean. Techniques: passivity when opposing force, countering and attacking with circular movements, and absolute penetration of opponents defenses. Combination of the power of Karate, smooth leverage of Judo and the flowing power or ki (spirit) of Aikido. Founded by Yong Shul Choi.

7. Jojutsu: Japanese art with a jo (long stick). Becomes known as Jodo later. Formed by Gunnosuke who defeated the famed Miyamoto Musashi. Twelve basic blows and blocks. Techniques include striking, poking, blocking, parrying, deflecting, intercepting and sweeping. Type used in Perfect Weapon.

8. Jo Bajutsu: The Japanese art of horsemanship, also called Bajutsu. A part of history now.

9. Judo: is a popular wrestling form developed from jujitsu in 1882 by Jigoro Kano, a Japanese educator. Like jujitsu, it attempts to turn an attacker’s force to one’s own advantage. Judo was first included in the Olympic Games in 1964.

10. Jujitsu or jiujitsu: (from Japanese Ju, for “gentle”), uses holds, chokes, throws, trips, joint locks, kicks, and atemi (strikes to vital body areas). The techniques are gentle only in the sense that they are directed toward deflecting or controlling an attack; however, they can maim or kill. Several forms of jujitsu exist today.

11. Jukendo: The Japanese use of a bayonet. Known as juken-jutsu (bayonet art).

12. Kalari-payat: From south India. Meaning gymnasium exercises. The art does implement the use of wooden staves of various shapes and lengths, 2-foot staff, S-shaped staff, sword and shield and a deadly coiled spring that is worn around the waist.

13. Kali: is actually another form of Arnis that uses a variety of techniques including hand and foot.

14. Karate: evolved in ancient China and was introduced into Japan in the 17th century. Only in the 20th century, however, did it gain wide popularity. Karate involves jabbing, hitting, and kicking at the most vulnerable parts of the opponent’s body. One of the most destructive of the martial arts, karate is usually practiced on tiles, boards, and other hard objects rather than on human opponents.

15. Kendo: The Japanese fencing, is a sport derived from ancient sword fighting, now using bamboo swords. The two opponents hit or jab at each other while wearing protective bamboo armor, leg padding, and thick gloves. In a match, a point is given to the fencer who makes a clean hit on the throat, head, body or hand of his opponent. The first to make two points is declared the winner.

16. Kenjutsu: Art of Samurai Swordsmanship. Techniques include cutting and thrusting and parries. Four points on the body that were considered correct: top of the head, the wrist, the side and the leg below the knees. Several forms exist. The four positions of Kendo: fear, doubt, surprise and confusion.

17. Kiaijustu kiai and aiki: A shout or yell. Seems to have been very important.

18. Kobu-jutsu or Ryukyukobu-jutsu: an Ookinawan karate. Makes use of the bo, short sword, flail, tonfa and sickle.

19. Kung fu: Is the other name of Chinese boxing is, with karate, the most popularly known of all the martial arts. It employs kicks, strikes, throws, body turns, dodges, holds, crouches and starts, leaps and falls, handsprings and somersaults. These movements include more techniques involving the open hand, such as claws and rips, than those used in karate.

20. Kyudo: The Japanese archery, was used in early Japan for fishing and hunting. Later it became a military art. In medieval times, samurai displayed their skill as bowmen in exhibitions. After the introduction of firearms in the 16th century, however, kyundo declined as an effective technique of combat and became a sport. Kyudo archers use a seven-foot bow made of wood glued to bamboo. Arrows consist of a bamboo shaft, three feathers, and an arrowhead. Each contestant in a match usually shoots 10 to 20 arrows. The contestant hitting the target with the greatest number of arrows is the winner.

21. Lua: Hawaiian martial art. Incorporated elements of jujutsu, judo, karate and aikido. And relies on knowledge of muscle and nerve centers.

22. Naginata-jutsu: Japanese style of martial art. Uses the naginata, a spear like weapon, for cutting, parrying, blocking, thrusting and evasion. Only a sport. Art form is Naginata-do naginata.

23. Ninjutsu: Japanese form of martial art. Art form of Bushido. Espionage, commando warfare, occult powers and numerous martial art practices. Used knowledge of the land, air (weather) and water to accomplish goal.

24. Pa Kua: Developed during the 1800s, Pa Gua (also written Ba Gua and Paqua), is the only martial art purely of Taoist origin. Developed from meditative practices where sect members chanted while walking a circle. It became the primer body-guard art during the waning days of the last Chinese dynasty.

25. Pentjak-silat: Indonesian archipelago. Methods include attacking weak points in the body, posture and footwork, etiquette prior to engagement, sparing, advance training points of attack and defense with use of weapons and spiritual training.

26. Pukulan: Indonesia and east Java. Also known as Pentjak in the west and Silat in the midlands. Karate like moves against nerve points. Anther form is Serak.

27. Sambo or Sombo and Cambo:. Russian jacket wrestling.

28. Savate: French foot and fist fighting.

29. Sumo: wrestling a popular Japanese combative sport, pits huge men against one another in an attempt to force a wrestler out of a ring of sand, or to bring his body, below the knees, to the mat. The rules of sumo wrestling prohibit kicking, gouging, hair pulling, and the like, but allow such actions as pushing, pulling, slapping, throwing, and grappling. The grand champion is called Yokozuna.

30. Tae kwon do: This type of fighting system originated in Korea and that employs kicking, punching, and various evasive techniques. Most famous for its kicks, tae kwon do incorporates jumping and kicking into characteristic maneuvers called “flying kicks.” This art incorporates the abrupt linear movements of karate and the flowing circular patterns of kung-fu with native kicking techniques.

31. Tai chi chuan: more popularly referred to as tai chi, is an ancient Chinese exercise and fighting system, still practiced in China and elsewhere in the world, mainly for its health benefits. It employs slow, graceful movements that are stylized renditions of original arm and foot blows.

32. Wu shu: The proper name for kung-fu. Forms of Ba Ji, Di Tang, Fan Si, Nan Ch’uan, Wing Chung, Tung Bi and Xing Yi.

33. Miscellaneous Arts: Greek Boxing, Pankration, Cornish wrestling, Dumog, Glimae (Iceland), Go-Ti, Gulat, Main Tindju, Tegumi and Thai kick-boxing (no set form: 30 major techniques, best conditioned martial artist in the world).

34. Eclectic Arts: Aikikendo, Cha-yon ryu, Keibo-soho, Kyuk-ki-do, Lima lama, Mu-Tau, Mippon kenpo, Shintaido, Taido, Taiho-jutsu, Tokushu keibo soho and Kuk sool won.

 

INDIAN MARTIAL ART TECHNIQUES KALARIPPAYATTU Martial and fighting arts are not new to this subcontinent. They have existed on this South Asian region since antiquity. ‘KALARIPPAYATTU'” refers to the system of martial practice belonging primarily to the Southern Indian state of Kerala, particularly the old Malabar region.

 

The common elements in this martial art system includes preliminary techniques of exercise, the MEIPPAYATTU, which, when combined with seasonal full-body massage and daily application of medicinal oil to the entire body, prepare the practitioner’s body & mind for advanced practice and fighting; combat with a variety of wooden practice or combat weapons. Techniques of empty-hand fighting are used to attack, defend, or for disarming an opponent. VARMA ATI – HITTING THE VITAL SPOTS The kalarippayattu practice and fighting techniques emphasize practical applications of empty-hand techniques from the first lesson. These empty-hand techniques must have been important when a practitioner lost or broke his weapon in combat, or when attacked while unarmed. As the students advance in studies they are given more difficult steps like attacks and defenses aimed at the body’s vital spots. Some masters teach fighting with long staffs, short sticks, and weapons including the unusual double deer horns. While teaching about the vital spots, a teacher has to maintain certain basic rules.

 

Some of the rules are :-

1. If the class has 10 students, the teacher has to take care of their hearts, he has to maintain care over their development, and he must sustain their devotion. But of these there may be only one who emerges as part of his soul, like a son. To him only he can give the knowledge.

2. Only that student thought of as having complete purity of heart, devotion, and complete faith and trust in the master is to be taught.

3. The teacher takes him to the kalari, closes the door, offers prayers and puja to the various deities, and prostrate themselves before the deities. Then perform special puja to all the deities. Only then do he can begin to teach him.

4. When knowledge of the vital spots is taught, it is carefully guarded, done in secret, may involve the repetition of hymns and other special rituals to protect the student from injury when learning, and seldom given completely to any one student even within a family. When it is taught, it is taught fragmentarily and gradually. Knowledge of the vital spots is not a “scientific” information practiced in exactly the same way or with exacting precision. In fact it is basically a cultural commonplace in South India which has found many forms of popular expression, been open to many interpretations, and which in some ways has fallen into misuse. Come let us revive this sacred past!