I believe true champions are day dreamers. They dream more and succeed further. Importantly, they never give up.

If I am correct, this is a 10,000 meter running race. Steve Jones, who is featured in the video, is a Welsh athlete and a former world marathon record holder. The video narrates the story behind the man.

As I had stated earlier, many of my gym clients and I are contesting the 10 kilometer running race held on May 27th. Practicing for the 10 kilometer race is proving to be extremely tiring. We all need high doses of motivation to endure the pain and finish the race strong.

Hence, the context beckoned me to put up this motivating video. Also, this reminded me of one of the quote that hangs on my gym wall. Zig Ziglar says, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing-that’s why we recommend it daily.” The above statement, ironically, is true.

I believe I am bringing this video to you at an appropriate time. Many of us in the gym are gearing up to run the 10 kilometer marathon running race. We have been practicing running from three weeks, and I believe this video will energize you to perform better at the race. This reminds me of a famous quote I read when I joined a gym. I don’t know who coined this phrase. It says, “No pain no gain.”

Competing and completing a 10 kilometer marathon race is indeed painful. However, it is true that if there is no pain there is no gain.

Omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids are highly important for making hormone-like eicosanoids and prostaglandins in your body. Eicosanoids and prostaglandins regulate many activities in your body—not the least of which is inflammation. They also play an important role in controlling your blood pressure, digestive system and body temperature. In addition, they are necessary in regulating the healthy function of the heart and kidneys.

In the present times, omega-6 fatty acids are far more abundantly found in diets. The consumption of omega-6 fatty acids is highly increased–for example, they are prevalent in corn and safflower oil. However, it should be known that these are highly processed polyunsaturated fatty acids. Use of these oils correlates with cancer and heart diseases. Also a high omega-6/omega-3 ratios promotes many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. On the contrary, increased levels of omega-3 and a low omega-6/omega-3 ratios have numerous benefits.

The benefits from consuming omega-3 fatty acids:

1) Blood fat (triglycerides): According to a number of studies, omega 3 fatty acids can cut elevated levels of triglycerides.

2) Cardiovascular health: omega 3 fatty acids appear to lower the overall risk of deaths from heart disease and stroke.

3) Rheumatoid arthritis: A number of studies have found that fish oil supplements (rich in omega-3 fatty acids) significantly reduce stiffness and joint pain.

4) Prenatal health: Studies show that fish oil supplementation during pregnancy boosts the health of pregnant women and the development of their children.

5) Alzheimer’s disease and dementia: The evidence is preliminary, but research does suggest that omega-3 fatty acids may help protect against Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

6) Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Some studies show that fish oil can reduce the symptoms of ADHD in some children and improve their cognitive function.

7) Chronic inflammation: it is now known that chronic inflammation is the major cause for many diseases. Chronic inflammation can slowly spread and lead to serious metabolic breakdown causing damage to your long term health. It is now connected to diseases like obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis (hardening in the arteries), high blood pressure, Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis, Parkinson’s diease, cancer, and even depression. Omega-3 fatty acids contain a natural anti-inflammatory substance that can help relieve the inflammation.

Good sources of omega-3 fatty acids in foods are canola oil, walnut oil, flaxseed oil. Fish, especially cold water fish such as, salmon, bluefish, herring, tuna, cod, sardine, mackerel, and shrimp are also good sources. However, people who consume either fish oil or flaxseed oil supplements for convenience and have derived equal benefit from it.

However, it should be known that both these essential fatty acids are destroyed by light, heat, and air, making them toxic. But the omega-3 fatty acids are five times more sensitive than the omega-6 fatty acids. So handle them with care.

In addition to oils containing essential fatty acids, traditional oils possess beneficial minor ingredients that have great health value. Minor ingredients have many benefits. The best known of these include cholesterol-controlling phytosterols, protective antioxidants like carotene and vitamin E, and many minerals—magnesium, calcium, zinc, selenium, and potassium. Minerals are known to have several benefits and individual functions. For example, calcium builds bones and teeth, and helps in muscle contraction. Hundreds of other minor ingredients also exist. An example of these traditional oils is extra virgin green olive oil. However, among oils extra virgin olive oil is the poorest source of essential fats. Eighty eight percent of it is monounsaturated and saturated nonessential fats that your body can make from sugar and starch. Olive oil contains 10 percent omega-6 fatty acids and less than 1 percent omega-3 fatty acids. But it is good for health. Extra virgin olive oil is the only main stream edible oil that has not been subjected to processes which remove minor ingredients. The minor ingredients in olive oil benefit the liver, gall balder, digestive, and cardiovascular functions and protect breast health. Be aware that a 100 percent extra light olive oil has lost the minor ingredients from processing. So stick to the more expensive extra virgin type.

What is the take-home message? Consume less of the omega-6 fatty acids. So, don’t go overboard on consuming the usual cooking oils—they are loaded with highly processed polyunsaturated fats. They may do more harm than good; instead, emphasis on consuming omega-3 fatty acids. Moreover, leading a healthy lifestyle which involves healthy eating that includes various micro-nutrients should be emphasized.

Sources:
Fats that kill and Fats That Heal– Udo Erasmus (Father of “organic, unrefined flax oil”).

Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers—Robert M. Sapolsky.

He states, “Obviously, back pain creates doubt in the body. Safety of movement is called into question and the body begins to wonder what will happen in movement. But bed rest does nothing to address the issue. If you lie still for a few days or weeks, the pain may diminish slightly, but the memory remains and the primary question goes unanswered. In the end, bed rest proves nothing to the body. When you finally stand up and try to get back to life, you will still have to face your physical doubts.”

Let us focus our attention on what he has to say about injuries in general. He makes a convincing point here also. He says, “The same principle seems to hold true across many forms of common injury. Activity heals, not so much by what it does to tissue, but by what it does to the mind. Once safety is assured, the body has less interest in whatever pain messages are coming from the tissue. The tissue itself may still be torn or inflamed, but the brain’s self-generated opiates moderate the sensation and our attention is free to turn elsewhere.”

In most cases, when my gym clients suffer from an injury, I prescribe them active rest. You have to move without hurting or aggravating the injury. The movement that may not be as vigorous as when you were injury free, but it will help heal the injured part. To rest without moving can be counterproductive. Also, it has more to do with the mind than with the injured tissue and convincing the body that it is safe to move should be the primary focus. Moreover, I can now endorse my views with authority—Forencich is on my side.

Speaking about stress, the author says that usually you would like to take an opinion of your doctor– rightly so. But Forencich says, “Surely doctors are an authority on this issue. Someone must have given him the directions back in med school and he’ll just tell us what to do. In fact, I would encourage you to do this, just for the field work if nothing else. Unfortunately, it’s probably not going to work.”

“In the first place, doctors are busy doing triage and they don’t really have time to teach us about how to live in this modern world. In general, doctors are postemptive medical providers. They’re trained to work on sick and injured people after the fact; preemption is simply not part of their world view. If you’re not currently sick or injured, they’re generally not interested.”

Isn’t this something to ponder about?

My God! Did I love the gym?! I whole-heartedly embraced the gym. I worshiped the place. It was were I belonged. I never missed a day’s training even during my college years. Later, while I was pursuing my Bachelors in Law, I continued to train. Many of my friends where interested in several other things—girls, partying, boozing, etc, but I, on the other hand had embraced the gym. I didn’t want to give up on that. It had given my health back. I didn’t want to squander this opportunity. I also remember that I skipped attending many college functions. Surely no one would do that, for college functions means fun and frolic. On the other hand, I didn’t want to miss a single session of training at the gym. I was romancing the barbell.

I further wanted to broaden my ambitions. I wanted to be a gigantic bodybuilder. Though I didn’t like eating more calories, I was forced to stuff myself to attain body mass. I succeeded. My bodyweight shot up from sixty kilograms to eighty two kilograms. I looked pretty huge. Many guys at the gym admired my physique. However a thought always lingered–the picture was not perfect—a sense of voidness…

Meanwhile a lot of things had happened in my life. I practiced law for a short period. From the very beginning I knew that I didn’t belong in that place. I quit practicing law much to the chagrin of my late father. I joined a gym as a trainer for a meager salary. My salary only helped me to buy whey protein supplement. There was no question of me supporting my wife. I was entirely leaning on my father. Fortunately, as always, he came to my rescue.

Thereafter, I opened my own fitness facility. I also received my certification by the International Sports Sciences Association(ISSA). That prompted me to think deeply of what I was doing. I came across many worthy men. Among them, my mentor, Todd Reinhard, stood tall. My Brother, Chaitra, chided me that I didn’t prove anything though I had been in this field for many years– he wanted me to compete in bodybuilding. I took the help of my mentor. He helped to chart out a plan with regard to my training and dieting. I also thought that it was a real good opportunity to fill the void, because though I achieved whatever I dreamed off, I had lacked fulfillment. I thought maybe that would answer my uncertainty.

Oh boy! Was I shredded?! In the year 2005 I competed for the first time. I was ripped to the core. Thanks to my mentor. I learned a lot of things regarding training, dieting, and leading a fitness lifestyle. I was introduced to many ideas from various sources—books, peers, etc, and, last but not the least, my mentor. But I still thought that something was missing. I analyzed the situation. To compete in bodybuilding, ironically, I had applied very little of bodybuilding training protocol. I got into athletic (functional) training.

To my surprise, I was heading in the right direction. It was the right calling for me. I further researched on functional training. I wanted to take a firm stand on what I taught. I seriously thought, and I still feel that we should all be training movements rather than muscles. That is we should be training muscles to move naturally. Instead of isolating the muscles. It answered many of my doubts that I had while I was performing bodybuilding routines. Moreover, I was getting injured less often. My mobility and athletic ability were improving. Training was fun. Any training protocol to last long has to be enjoyable. I now feel that the picture is complete. I will quote John Grimek, who was one of the world’s greatest natural bodybuilders. He rightly says, “I feel if a man is going to spend some time developing his body he should do it the right way so whatever gains he makes will last him a lifetime.” Indeed, a true statement by a champ.

PS: In the first two pictures, I had reached a maximum weight of 82 kilograms. Followed by my 2005 competition picture, where I was 65 kilograms, but I obtained a very low body fat percentage. In the next picture, you will again see me shredded in the 2006 competition. Lastly, in the 2009 photo I obtained a very low body fat percentage though I stopped competing.

Luckily, I was quick to find the answer. My uncles came to my rescue. They plainly said that physical training helps to transform the body. From then on, I was hooked on building my physique. Physical training became a part of my life. So, as a kid, whenever I had a chance, I would train. I vividly remember that I had joined an Akhara (an old-time gym) when I was 11 years old. I was asked to do many numbers of repetitions of the bodyweight squat. That left me sore for many days. Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep up with that program. It was too demanding for an eleven year old child.

I resumed training for a short period when I was fourteen years old. But I took it more seriously when I was sixteen. I trained almost for an entire year. Those days, the training involved many repetitions of pushups, pull-ups, and bicep curls. Unfortunately, I abandoned training the next year. It was my all-important and life defining second year at PUC. I was occupied with my studies and attending to tuitions. I could find no time to train. I did join a gym for a short period, but I couldn’t keep up.

During the pursuit of my bachelor’s degree, I didn’t want to train. I was suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). I was depressed. On the last day of my third and final year exam, I resumed training. I wanted my health back. I thought physical training would help me to get fit and healthy. It did. It has been almost fourteen years, for I have never stopped training–I continue to train.

Since rebuilding my health was my major concern, I didn’t consider using steroids. Yet, on some occasions steroids did allure me. I was fortunate not to use them. That would have defeated my whole purpose of staying healthy and fit. I happily continue to be drug free.

The next entry will conclude the story.

Suffering from IBS: I was 60 kilograms in this picture–underweight for my height. As you can see I had lost good amount of muscle mass.

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” Confucius.

PS: Thanks to Ross for posting this video at his blog.

Children nowadays are greatly pampered. Moreover, the situation is exacerbated by the child’s constant demand to his/her parents to consume alluring food products that are shrewdly marketed. The mere scene of an advertisement will have a mouth-watering effect on the child. With real gusto he demands his parents to purchase the product. In turn, the parent doesn’t want to disappoint the child. So, without a second thought the parent buys the child what they want. Never mind even if the food product is unhealthy. All that matters is that children enjoy themselves. But these food products contain a lot of fat and sugar. The manufacturers want only to please the taste buds of your child—not to improve his health. The irony is that many parents are only too happy for their child is getting chubbier. A Plump looking child is a treat to watch! But excess weight can be a gateway for Diabetes and high blood pressure.

Parents must take responsibility for their childrens eating habits and they themselves must set a good example by eating the right foods. So tell me, what example are you setting by pampering? Instead think about the long term. Teach your children to eat healthy. It will help your child for a lifetime. Stop feeding them food products. As I discussed in a previous blog entry,click here many chemicals are used in these products. A child’s body is not meant to digest them. Say a big “NO” to lays chips, bakery products, chocolates, and biscuits. I know that your child will demand them. Perhaps, you should treat them once in a while, but do not spoil them by feeding them every time they ask. They will thank you at later stage in their lives. For, generally, when they grow up they tend to remember the good things that their parents taught them.