FITNESS FIRST.....

This is only my second post but very close to my heart and the title is not in any way an advertisement for a popular gym of the same name.

These days Gyms and health clubs are mushrooming in every nook 'n' corner of your city. But do you really need to join them because of peer pressure or for the sake of your health ? Let's decide. I am neither any of the bollywood khans nor a six packer like them but still fit enough to share my own hands-on experiences with you. This could be a startling revelation for those who are not very well acquainted with me and my school friends of the 1984 batch whom I had lost track of till recently. Fitness has become a religion for me. But I would have ignored the word like many others, five years ago when I walked this earth carrying more than 90 Kgs. (198 lbs.) of weight on a medium height of just about 5 feet 7 inches. This love affair with fitness started sometime in Sept'04 when my physician diagnosed me with high BP and cholesterol. He literally scared the living daylights out of me as my dad had just undergone his bypass. It was in my genes. Eat & Die OR Exercise, Eat & Live if you love your family, he strictly told me. He being a black belt was more into prescribing fitness than medicines.

If I loved my family then I had the onerous task of loosing more than 15 kgs.(33 lbs.) in three months as I loved food particularly the butter chicken & KFC variety. I did not join VLCC or some other slimming centre nor did I go on some fad diet. However, I initially decided to quit the BC's, KFC's, Mc Chickens, deep fried stuff and restrict my sweet temptations & the number of chapattis for my meals from four to two on each occasion. To make matters more tough I had to start my morning walks. And by Dec'04 I was 7 Kgs. (15 lbs.) light but thereafter was not getting the desired results. So in Jan'05 I decided to join a neighbourhood gym and by June'05 reached my target weight of 75 Kgs. (165 lbs.) after doing all kinds of cardio (particularly the treadmill) and weight training. And now I consistently weigh around 72 Kgs. (158 lbs.) with no signs of hypertension or cholesterol. I eat well and the junk variety too at times to indulge myself, otherwise there's no point in sweating :-). During my journey I changed a couple of gyms and till November, 2008 was going to the DLF City Club gym in Gurgaon after which it closed down for renovation. I was getting so irritated and cranky on missing my workouts that my wife told me that I was acting like a baby whose favourite toy had been taken away. Exercise had become a part and parcel of my life. I had learnt to respect my body more than anything else. It started taking a toll on me. So out of frustration, I again decided to join the ill-equipped neighbourhood gym where it all started. I had a particular fondness for running on the treadmill and also the bad habit of resting my hands on its side arms gasping for breath for a few minutes every now & then while running. To the purists of running this could be cheating. But I couldn't help it otherwise, having become so habitual.

One fine day on a cold January'09 morning, one of the gym assistants who came as a blessing in disguise in my life told me not to hold on to the treadmill arms while running as they would break. I just ignored his remark & continued the same routine for the next couple of days. On the third day, the moron (then....) saw me again leaning on the treadmill and kind of rebuked me. I felt so perplexed and embarrased in front of other gym members. There and then I decided to quit this gym and wait for my club gym to reopen. I used to call them every second day enquiring about its re-opening schedule. But they had other plans and the opening lingered on till 2nd April'09 with double the earlier rates. Fortunately by this time, I had taken to outdoor running out of sheer desperation to become a part of the running brigade and derided the idea of joining a gym altogether. Since Feb'09, God bless the gym assistant (....now), for I have been running outdoors five days a week for about 8 Kms. on most days and stretching myself to 10 kms. on some days covered over an avg. time span of 55 mins. to an hour & 10 mins. and enjoying it thoroughly. It was his rebuke that day which luckily taught me the virtues of outdoor running. Silly boy though......lost on his gym income :P. My knees are not hurting anymore which had started after running on the treadmill for four years. I never knew I was built for such mammoth distances till my daughter incidentally showed me the Chinese calender according to which I am a horse who loves to exercise :-). Now planning to buy some free weights to keep up with my weight training schedule at home only.

My confidence has grown manifold since I became fit. I totally believe in the adage : "You are what you eat". But you become what you exercise. So do exercise, be it running, gymming or yoga if you love your family and dread the sight of a cardiac surgeon. I would say, just stop making excuses and saying I will start from Monday but instead start right away by putting on your running shoes (if you don't like the gym) and ipod to run for a fitter life. Or it would be even better to take up some regular sport from your nostalgic school days. Just like we tend to eat the food we enjoy more often, we should all try to take up that exercise which we enjoy the most and keep re-inventing in the process. You will build your stamina over days, months & years....but don't get disheartened. So Just Do It. Being slim doesn't necessarily imply your wellness or fitness levels unless you exercise. Why wait for the heavens to fall, like in my case :-). If Anil Ambani at 50, being one of the busiest and richest industrialists of our country can find the time to run & exercise, then so can you and me.

I hope by now this post inspires all the readers to make fitness a way of life and not just a passing fad by helping them decide what they really want to do with their bodies. My Then and Now pictures above showing me in 2004 (Left) & 2009 (Right) should prove a point.

RECESSIONNN......WHAT SAY???

This is my first attempt at blogging. So please excuse me for obvious mistakes. Will try to improve with each of my subsequent posts and would be glad to take note of the reader's criticisms and brickbats. But do share your comments & views.

Recession has become an oft-repeated word these days. As the title of this blog suggests, I would like to dwell on whether there is actually a severe recession in India like the other parts of the world, particularly the northern parts of India like the upcoming suburbs of Gurgaon and cities like Chandigarh (where Ed-Hardy is opening its second store after Delhi) and Ludhiana (where Mercedes, BMW's & Audis are still being sold like hot cakes). I am in doubt, going by the serpentine queues in the newly opened Blu-O bowling lounge and the Rockman's Beer Island in Ambience Mall, Gurgaon. I was a visitor there with my wife last Saturday and we had to wait for more than an hour for our turn at bowling. Same was the case with the Beer Island. It was pretty jam packed and surprisingly enough if you look at the exorbitantly priced menu there. I also saw people shopping for the top brands like crazy as if there was no tomorrow. How can you justify the DLF Emporio mall if things are so bad. Another case in point are my neighbours. Three of them just bought their Audis A6 ( I wonder if it is a fad ? ) which again left me flummoxed about all the talk centering around the word 'recession'. I am in the CA & financial consultancy profession and thought that if they were my clients and had I asked my fees from them, then in typical today's fashion they would have replied something like this as many others: "You will have to wait Mister. The company is in a liquidity crunch because of the recession. We will have to cut down on your fees too." And I would have typically said to myself : But what about their Audis & BMW's. Lies & excuses but nothing else. F*** my life!

Though people have been loosing jobs in India in some sectors but not at the same frantic pace as in US where pink slips are being handed over each week on a friday and times are like the 'Great Depression' of the world war era. In India, the Export, Real Estate & the IT sector could be the worst affected but in my opinion India is still better cushioned from global downturn than other countries. For this we should thank our huge populace (at last we should not sulk about are billions) and its equally huge domestic consumption, appetite and saving habits. And not to forget the parallel black economy which mainly exists in India. Our domestic industry should & will thrive on our billions. Our GDP growth is still being projected at 6%, very high as compared to the western world.

I thought and thought about the above queues, the opulent cars and the utterance of the word "recession " wherever you go (even my ten year old knows what the fuss is all about now :-) ) but ultimately concluded that people are going to eat anyway and entertain themselves too be it bowling, beer, movies, fashion, cars or cricket. Damn the recession.... What if I died tomorrow.... But alas! in the process and excess some get sick too. As they say the food, entertainment and healthcare business are recession proof & thrive the most during depressing times. Will anybody volunteer to take me as their partner for these business ideas ? Please count me in though not as an investor.... are you mad who has the money now ? So instead let's raise a toast to our fellow Indians and try to enjoy these times whatever they may be. Stop sulking and Cheers !!!