This fortnightly feature was published on September 6

Exercising, apart from reducing weight, tones up muscles and helps build up the body’s immune system, says Anup Deb Nath
Myths about exercise

AWARENESS about the body is the "in" thing all over the country. More and more people are devoting time and attention at trying to keep their bodies in peak condition. Some aim at looking good, others at feeling good and still others at a combination of both.

While exercising and fitness have become common with gyms and health centres sprouting up all over towns and cities, many people are still in the dark about basics. We are discussing some problems as an attempt to dispel some common myths and exercising mistakes.

Exercising is only needed for overweight people: A commonly heard refrain is "You’re so thin why are you exercising"? Exercising, apart from reducing weight, tones up muscles, strengthens the cardiovascular system and helps build up the body’s immune system, to fight infection and disease. It is excellent as a stress reliever. It is needed just as much by a slim person as by an overweight one.

Hoping for immediate results: Many people take up exercising expecting dramatic results overnight. It is wrong to expect miraculous results from any form of exercise. You should give yourself a minimum of three months to see if there is any beneficial effect. If you have let your body slacken and have gained weight for the last five to six years, at least try to give it the same amount of time in months before you hope to see any results.

The faster you exercise, the better the results: This is incorrect. With a fast paced exercise all you might land up with are injuries. It is better to let your body slowly build up its stamina and energy till it is able to take a faster pace. While doing callisthenics many people tend to feel that faster movement will have more effect. This is incorrect.

In many forms of exercise such as weight training and callisthenics the slower and more controlled the movement, the better the results. Try to go slow, focus and concentrate on the muscles you are working on while breathing correctly. The movement should be slow particularly on the negative movement — that is while going back.

While lifting a dumb-bell or doing abdomen crunches, the downward movement should be slow and controlled as it has more effect on the muscles.

You can’t overdo exercise: Wrong. In an attempt to get results faster many people tend to overdo the exercising. An hour of aerobics, an hour at the gym, and a jog daily does not mean you’ll get fit faster, or become fitter than the rest. What it can mean is that you’ll burn out faster or get injuries which will then put any exercise out of question.

Exercise is for the young. This is not true because age is no bar. Many people tend to feel that they are too old to exercise. Older people often need more exercise than younger ones to keep stiff joints and poor circulation at bay. While an over strenuous work-out is certainly not what they need, any exercise that keeps the heart and lungs working at peak capacity should be perfect for any healthy person no matter how old.

Exercising makes you lose weight: True, though when they start any exercise programme, many people tend to weigh themselves every week or even every day. If they see any weight loss in the first few weeks they expect to see the same every subsequent week. They lose heart and stop exercising if they don’t. Please remember that your body will not lose weight at the same pace right through. If you have lost weight in the initial few weeks and don’t do so in the next week, your body might have hit a plateau. The rate at which your body will lose fat will not always be constant. Also, often the loss may be in terms of inches rather than in kgs. So, apart from weighing yourself, you should measure yourself as well.

You can stop exercising once you have achieved your target: Many people tend to stop exercising the moment they achieve the target they have set for themselves. Exercise should be constant and a part of our daily routine and not something we take up in fits and starts. If you stop exercising, your body can go back to where it was before you started in terms of weight, fitness as well as stamina.

"I want good biceps": Often while weight training the entire emphasis is on the upper body, basically the chest and biceps. This tends to make the body look out of proportion. It is better to do a total body work-out so that you have a proportionate body.

Watch out for those jerks: Jerky movements in any form of exercise can harm the body. Particularly during stretches, people tend to jerk their body which can put unnecessary strain on it. A slower movement, where you reach the ultimate point your body is able to, hold the movement and slowly come back is better.

Warm up before you start a routine: To warm-up and cool-down is often regarded as unnecessary by many who feel that the real benefit is in the faster aerobic movements. Avoiding warming-up and cooling-down is not helping your body as you can land up straining a muscle.

The warm-up prepares your body for the work-out that is to follow while building up your heart rate gradually. The cool-down slowly brings your heart rate back to it’s original resting stage. Pulled muscles and cramps are often the result of not following warm-up or cool-down routine.

Water, the health drink: Water is essential for the body. You must drink water both before and after your exercise. Of course don’t over fill your stomach with water as you won’t be able to work-out.

Don’t overexercise, under-eat: For those who are exercising to lose weight, food is often the target. Many people tend to overexercise and severely under-eat in an attempt to lose weight.

This is an absolutely wrong way to follow. Diet control should be maintained but well below the point of starvation. Eat a balanced and nutritive diet, low in fat and higher in protein and carbohydrate. It should be balanced out with a workout.