Fitho Calling All Delhi Marathon Runners!

So far you have been preparing for the Airtel  Delhi Half Marathon to fulfill your passion to run. What if we helped you add a good cause to your passion where you give back to the society while doing what you love, i.e running! Fitho in partnership with Wishberry.in helps you “run to support a good cause” that will benefit someone that is less privileged than you. This contribution can add value to someones life in ways that they will remember and be grateful forever.

To “run for a cause” is simple and easy as we do everything for you by creating a FREE online fundraising page and all you have to do is share your page with your friends and family and help them be a part of your cause.

4 easy steps to get your FREE online fundraising page and support a good cause:
Step 1: Choose your NGO by filling the fundraiser form on www.wishberry.in/fundraising/
Step 2: Wishberry.in will email you your FREE online fundraising page within 24 hrs
Here is an example for your reference :http://www.wishberry.in/Vaidehi-Running-for-Akanksha–12108
Step 3: You share your page ONLINE with friends & family on Email, Facebook, Twitter
Step 4: Donors contribute ANY amount online using their debit / credit cards or net banking or offline through cheque or cash! Read more

Weight Loss for Overweight People

People struggling with excess weight or simply being over weight find it the most difficult to lose weight even though they know that all they need to do is eat healthy and exercise to lose weight. But despite that why are overweight people considered lazy? Maybe they are not as active as thin people but there is a definitive reason behind it.

As one starts putting on weight is gained it gets difficult to move the body with ease and the easiness that a fit man would experience. The weight is exercising pressure on all the joints in the body impairing agile movements. Carrying excess weight overtime can result in hormonal imbalance causing disorders like hypothyroid, diabetes, PCOS etc. Overweight people also find it maintain body balance . This might prevent them from participating in activities like jogging, running etc. For most over weight people exercise is very stressful for the body. Besides they suffer from high blood pressure, their joints are under pressure and they tend to get tired very easily.

Here are some easy ways to get you started on a weight loss plan with ease:

Managing Nutrition: The ideal way forward is by revising your daily nutrition intake. The idea is not to suddenly cut your calorie intake by half but to slowly start reducing the non-nutritional foods from the daily diet. The main point to be  calorie intake has to be reduced over a period of time yet as all these problems surface before a overweight person while losing weight, there are ways that you can start losing weight. Read more

Best Exercises for Abdominal Fat or Love Handles

After belly, thighs and arms and butt the other common weight gain area is your waist. Over a period of time weight starts to collect on the side of your stomach which is also known as “love handles” or “tyres”. All these terms are nothing but common slang for abdominal obesity.

Eating unhealthy food and no exercise is the most common cause of love handles. These tyres were mostly seen on women in the past but now more and more men seem to develop it in their late twenties & early thirties. Indians are genetically inclined to accumulate fat around their waist which is also linked to Type 2 diabetes and heart health.

The simplest way to check for abdominal fat is to measure your waist. Run a tape measure around your waist at about the level of your navel. Breathe minimally, and make sure not to pull the tape measure so tight that it depresses the skin. The average BMI  (Body mass Index) of an Indian woman ranges from 18-24.9 , a waist circumference greater than 34-35 inches is considered high risk to lifestyle diseases.

Another way to measure abdominal fat is by calculating the waist to hip ratio. This is done through simple calculation of taking the ratio of the waist and hip. The healthy range in women is less than .7 and men is less than 1.

The best way to lose weight is to exercise and watch what you eat. Ensure that your body is getting adqeuate nutrition to improve the metabolism. Do not resort to fad diets as they might show you weight loss in the short term but in the long term you put the weight back on besides depriving your body of important nutrition resulting in multiple deficiencies in future. For healthy weight loss consult a good professional weight loss expert to help you lose weight and get fit.

Here are a list of exercises that are very effective to lose abdominal fat or love handles:

Running: Love handles are fat accumulated on your sides. So it is more about burning the fat in the body. You can lose maximum fat by running or doing any cardio exercise. Running allows you to burn maximum fat in a workout other than boosting metabolism. So do running in variations and or push your self more for quicker results. Include sprinting, bounding,
German drills, etc in your plan. Burning maximum calories starts burning fat gradually from the body. Manage your diet and eat adequately according to your daily requirement to allow fat to burn faster.

Crunches: Love Handles are part of your core and require core to be worked to exercise the area and build some muscles underneath. Crunches are highly beneficical is strengthening your core for better balance in the body and provides strength for intense workouts. Do crunches on medicine ball and see the muscle gain.

Side Crunch: Working the obliques help in reducing the love handles on the side and side crunch is very effective for oblique muscles. Lie down on right side of your body with right arm over your chest. Crunch your left armpit towards the left hip and raise your legs while crunching. Repeat and do both sides.

Elbow to Knee Crunch: You could do elbow to knee crunch either standing or while lying down.Lie down on the floor with knees bent and arms over your chest. You have to touch your right elbow with the left knee and alternatively. While doing the exercise move your torso for the exercise. This works the rectus abdominis and obliques while the standing one works the entire mid section and hip flexors.

Side Bends: Stand straight with dumbbells in your hands by your side. Alternatively bend your side and stretch the other side holding for a few seconds and then do the other side. This execise stretches the love handles and improves blood flow in the area.

Burpees: It is a aerobic exercise which is a combination of a few exercises mixed together for greater fitness. To perform the exercise stand straight in the first step. Then get down to squat position. Third put your hands on the floor and throw both your legs back stretching your back and looking up in the air. In the fourth step bring back your legs to the sqaut position and lastlt jump up to starting position. Repeat. This exercise not only stretches the core and works the entire body but the faster version of it burns many calories too.

Russian Twist: Sit on the floor with your knees bent and hold your  arms straight in front of you and lean your back a little while your torso is at 45-degree. Brace your core and rotate to the side and as far as you want. Repeat for both sides and mind the posture. This exercise also helps build the muscles on the side and works the core. To make this exercise more intense hold a weight between your hands or lift your feet in the air and perform the exercise.

Wood chop: It is again one of the finest twist exercise which can be done with a object, cabel, dumbbell, bat, base ball bat etc. As you pull the weight across your body, you rotate your hips and bend forward slightly so the weight ends up slightly below your hip. Keep your torso, chest and head in line with your hips. Do it for both sides.

Ideal Weight Loss

If you were given a choice to lose weight how much would you want to lose and what should be your ideal weight loss.It would make life comfortable if you know that how much weight you could lose within a month and after x months you would reach a desired weight. Suppose you lose 4 kgs a month and by the end of 6 months you would be able to lose 24 kgs. You could actually calculate the expected weight loss and set the time limits according to your own choice. Read this article on ideal weight to set target for your weight loss.

There are some important points that you should keep in mind while planning your ideal weight loss.

Body Composition Analysis: This is the first step towards Ideal weight loss. Body composition analysis gives you a report which tells you about how much fat and muscle percentage is there in your body at different parts. BCA also tells you what your daily caloric requirement is and how many calories you require to maintain the same weight. It also tells how much visceral fat is present in the body. BCA also includes on the basis of your height and weight to be more precise and effective weight loss.

Once you have your BCA report it is time to start taking action. We understand that we have to eat a limited amount of calories per day as the body requires it whether we are at rest or work. It is advisable to not starve yourself as it makes weight loss difficult. Suppose if your daily caloric requirement is of 2000 calories then spread your meals through out the
day on the basis of this. You could break 500 calories for each meal which would be 1500 calories and the rest 500 calories you could distribute for your snacks, biscuits, mid meals etc.

Keep things in mind that don’t assume your daily calorie requirement and eat on an assumed basis. Choose healthy food options which are low in calories and not provide empty calories. Choose fruits, vegetables, whole grain cereals, legumes, dairy, lean meats, nuts and seeds etc. Follow the food pyramid for correct distribution of carbohydrates, protein, fats and
fiber. Read more

Exercises to Lose Fat on Arms

Eating extra calories gets stored in the body in the form of fat and at various places like arms, tummy, legs etc. Different women have different weight problem points. One of the most common weight problem point are the arms and thighs. We recently covered a story on the best exercises to lose weight on the thighs. Click here to read the complete story. In this article we will help you find out how to lose weight on the arms and tone them up.

Upper arm consists of triceps and biceps. Women have a higher tendency to accumulate fat on this area then men. Also losing weight and toning arms is also one of the most difficult thing to accomplish. Everyone wants a quick solution or spot reduction to fat arms. Unfortunately there is no such thing as spot reduction and exercising alone doesnt help you get results. Its always a combination of diet and exercises that get you faster and better
results. Often we have seen people using heavy weights in the gym to lose weight on the arms. The simplest trick to losing weight on arms is starting cardio that will help reduce fat and then adding resistance to your training in the form of weights to get the right results.

Here are some exercises for the arms to help you tone up

Running: Any kind of cardio exercise is recommended for fast fat loss in the body. You could do skipping, running, sprinting, jogging, cycling, swimming or play a sport. All the above options burn faster calories and help reduce maximum fat from the body.

Women Push ups: Pushup has multiple benefits including working out the arms. For more stress on the arms perform close grip push up. To perform get into a plank position with knee on the ground for women. Keeping the body straight, lower body to the ground by bending arms at the elbows. Raise body up off the ground by extending the arms. Repeat.Body weight should be lifted by the arms. Read more

Yoga for weight loss

Yoga helps in weight loss by improving muscle flexibility, strength, stamina and circulation of blood. The yoga asanas along with correct breathing technique and correct posture help in creating the perfect balance between the mind and body. Yoga compliments the other forms of more active exercises and can never substitute it.

Yoga is fit for beginners that want to start losing weight but are not motivated enough to start running or lifting weights. Yoga helps increase the flexibility in the body gradually motivating you to start more active form of physical activity.

Over the years some forms of yoga like power yoga, flow yoga  have become extremely popular for weight loss. There are many schools of yoga that have similar benefits as power yoga  and have infact helped people manage  heart diseases, asthama and other lifestyle diseases.. To know what style is most conducive to your lifestyle here are few schools listed out for your information.

Hot Yoga: Hot yoga is doing yoga poses in a heated room Read more

Health News – Running, Exercise & Motivation

It’s been known for a while that hormone levels drop in women treated for cancer. Now a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology is showing similar effects in older men. Read more to know if cancer effects testosterone level in men.

Sometimes there are just days when we just don’t feel like exercising. I’m sure that everyone has those days. When it all comes down to it, exercising is definitely a way to feel physically good about yourself, lose weight, or get ready to achieve a physical goal. To really see a difference in your physique, in addition to a healthy diet of course, you need to exercise. Read more for 5 ways to stay motivated.

Running is one of the best, most complete exercises for improving general fitness. It works legs the most, but also has an impact on your back, your core, chest, arms, and the cardiovascular system. Running is also one of the easiest ways to get exercise; and you don’t need a lot of special equipment. As easy and straight forward as it is, there are a few things that you should know if you are just getting started with running. Read more to know how to get started with running.

If you do just one thing to fight fat, exercise might be the way to go, judging by a new study. Read more to know how exercises fight “Hidden” body fat.

Stand for a few minutes on a platform that vibrates. Get off and try to do some weight lifting — squats, for example. Or try a short sprint. Or see how high you can jump. You are somehow supposed to be able to lift heavier weights, sprint faster, jump higher. Researchers report that they actually seem to slightly improve performance in the few minutes after a person gets off the machine. Read more if you like a shake with that workout.

Push Up your Fitness & Fat Burn

To be fit is to be healthy and able to do work efficiently. To do work you need muscles. To do more work you need to develop muscle strength through exercise and weight training. Muscles are all over the body useful in performing various movements like running , walking, lifting, pushing etc.

Have you been doing your push ups ? Whether you are male or female, performing push ups in your workout schedule will help you burn fat & tone your arms, shoulders, abdominal, mid section and Read more

Build Muscle With Your Mind

We want an ideal body to look muscular and be in shape but just cant do it. If you give up your resolution by the end of the day then you probably lack the imagination of seeing your self like how you want to be. Do you have the power to think, imagine and picture about what you want?  Well, if the answer is yes, then you could build muscles with your mind and enhance your training to next level. A recent study concluded that people who are able to imagine about the kind of body they desire are able to achieve their targets much sooner than those who can’t imagine. We look for miracles when it comes to staying fit, but it is in your mind. Picturization in your mind can help you achieve the body you crave for.

Think Positive: Building mind muscle will help you build real muscles. Spending so much time exercising everyone wants it to show physically. Think positive about the exercises that you do, irrespective if it is showing results. Feeling positive about your workouts will show better and effective results.

Priority: You have many thoughts running in your mind simultaneously. Clear your head of all the thoughts. Concentrate and start thinking about your workout. If you are looking to build muscle than visualize your target muscle gaining size or simply focus on the target area where you need to lose weight and imagine the fat melting away.

Acceptance or Denial: Our minds accept or denies, when our mind accepts we move forward with the thought and if it denies we quit. Imagining the workout pattern before helps the mind accept to the challenges it will face and thus becomes prepared to take it on. Imagining also tells the mind what to do and what not to do.

Eat Fuller Calories: Pre-imagining  of fruits, vegetables and other nutritious foods in your diet helps you to eat it more often than people who can imagine. Seeing yourself eating healthier options helps you consume more of it. Eat in smaller plates to psychologically feel that you are eating a lot. Same portion of food in a smaller plate gives you a sense of feeling fuller.

Thinking of the workout pattern before hand gives you the support and advantage to execute and reach the goals. Thinking prepares you for the challenge you will face. A quick tip to try next time you are working out: While running focus on your core muscles. At the end of the workout you will feel the difference!

Health News: De-stress, Pilates & V-Shaped Torso

“You are what you eat.” We’ve all heard it a thousand times before. So when my mom showed up at my house over the weekend with a bunch of bananas, I should have known there was a good reason. Read here for  7 Foods You Should be Eating Right Now to  instant de-stress.

One thing that often works is to enjoy more tropical fruits, such as mangoes, bananas, coconuts, or papayas Read more

Easy Ways to Get Fitter

Does the image of running indoors and pile of weights in the gym put you off ? If the monotony of gym workouts is coming in your way of kick-starting a fitness routine we have a few ideas that are fun and as effective as any gym workout routine. Plus there are added benefits of working out outdoors.

Swimming: Summers are creeping in with hot and humid afternoons. A swim in the evening will cool you down and will burn sufficient calories for a workout depending upon Read more

Jump Start Your Workout

From now on doing proper workouts will not be a problem once you learn a few basics for workout which you should know. Understand how you can start exercising with some suggestions.

How to start?

Divide up your time through out the day any way you want. 4-6 ten minute workouts can do the wonders Read more

Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 2009- Register & Training

Registrations for Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 2009 event have opened. The Delhi Half Marathon is going to be held on Nov 1, 2009, in New Delhi.

This year, you can register online as well. Registrations are open till October 4, 2009 or as soon as all the places are filled, whichever is earlier. You can register for 1 of the 4 events at the Delhi Half Marathon 2009 detailed below: Half Marathon, Great Delhi Run, Senior Citizen’s Event and Wheelchair Event.

Half Marathon
Distance: 21.09 km; Age eligibility: born on or before 31.10.1991
Registration Fees: Rs 300 for Indian citizens (see this for foreign marathon registrants)
If you would like chip timing, that’s an extra Rs 200.
Route details do not seem updated. The current marathon route details map shows a date of 2008.

Great Delhi Run
Distance: 7 km; Age eligibility: born on or before 31.10.1997
Registration Fees: Rs 300 for Indian citizens.
Route details do not seem updated. The current Great Delhi Run route details map shows a date of 2008.

Senior Citizens Run
Distance: 4.3 km; Age eligibility: born on or before 31.10.1949
Registration Fees: Rs 200 for Indian citizens.
Route details do not seem updated. The current Senior Citizens Run route details map shows a date of 2008.

Wheelchair Event
Distance: 3.5 km; Age eligibility: born on or before 31.10.1997
Registration Fees: Rs 200 for Indian citizens.
Route details do not seem updated. The current Wheelchiar Event route details map shows a date of 2008.

For more information on registration,  click here.

Specials
- For early registrants (between Aug 28, 2009 and Sep 19, 2009), there is an early bird prize. Click here for details.
- Much like personalized car number plates, you can even bid for special numbers, here.

Marathon Updates
To stay updated on the 2009 Airtel Delhi Half Marathon, sign up with our Marathon Updates newsletter – updates, training, nutrition, routes, fees, etc! Sign up with our newsletter and we’ll keep you updated!

 

Running Tips for Summer Months

We’ve talked enough about how running is a great way to keep fit and lose weight. But running in the Indian summer is no joke. So, here are tips on how to keep running in the mean summer months!

1. Hydrate: This cannot be stressed more, but you need to ensure you are well hydrated. Drink 1/2 litre of water before you run. Do this 20 minutes before you actually run, so its not weighing you down.
After you finish your run, get a drink that replenishes you- get a salt and sweet fresh lime soda- gives you electrolytes, vitamins, water and some carbohydrates to help your muscles recover.

More tips below..

2. Sweat wicking clothes: These clothes help keep your skin dry, so its easier to run. Cotton clothing absorbs and holds moisture, so it weighs you down and sticks to your skin. Sweat wicking clothes available in stores- big brands as well as non-branded. Get yourself some!

3. Sunscreen: Wear it and protect yourself from the sun! For the Indian skin, SPF 15 sunscreen lotion should be good.

4. Sports Drinks: For advanced runners- if you’re going to run over 45 minutes, carry a sports drink with you- for replenishing carbs and provide hydration

5. No Brainer: But you should try to run in the evening or early morning. Early morning is a little better, since the ground is a little cooler than the evening.

Need a place to run in Delhi? Here’s a list- Siri Fort Sports Complex Running, Running Track- Jahanpanah City Forest, Running  at Lodhi Garden, Hauz Khas Deer Park Running routes. These are all in South Delhi and Central Delhi.

Exercises to strengthen lower back muscles

In our previous article, we talked about how improving your posture can help you get slimmer instantly. To help you improve your posture, try these exercise to strengthen your lower back. Here are some simple exercises that help:

- Run: Yes, among the many benefits of running, it helps to strengthen your lower back muscles, and improve your posture.

- Back Raises: Lie, face down on an exercise mat, with your arms and legs extended in opposite directions. Keeping your arms and legs straight, simultaneously raise your arms and legs till your body forms a flat U.  Refer to the photo for a visual. Hold this position for 1 second and lower down. Repeat this 10 times for each set. This will help to strengthen your back. As you build lower back strength, increase the repetitions and time you hold it up in the air.

- Watch TV: Or read a book, on a backless chair, and keep your back straight while doing it. This simple activity will help your back too.

Many exercises can help you back. Among them is the classic pushup also, which helps to build total upper body strength along with your back- check it out here. Building your lower back exercises will also help to build a six-pack. These exercises are for both men and women, so you should all do it!

Note: These exercises are not meant to reduce back pain, so please see a doctor for back pain.

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