Podium Talk

Almost everyone involved in physical exercise has experienced muscle cramps at some point in time. It can be explained as a painful and involuntary muscle contraction that locks the joint in place. They occur mostly in longer muscles that span two or more joints. Once experienced, athletes may continue to cramp unless adequate rest is provided. There are many theories as to how muscle cramps occur and what can be the possible solutions to relieving them. They are sometimes inaccurately termed as heat cramps. Exercise-associated muscle cramps do not have a relation with body temperature and do not recover with an external cooling modality, like an ice pack. If the theories of muscle cramps do not interest you, skip to the last part where you can learn how to deal with muscle cramps. One of the oldest theories is based on dehydration and electrolyte imbalance that occurs during exercise. It states that sweating alters the chemical balance of the fluids present in the body, which affects...

Sugar has been around since centuries, and it looks like it’s here to stay. However since the ingestion of sugar was found to be responsible for fat deposition and has been linked with increased risk of lifestyle diseases, we have tried to find alternatives to it. Because, let’s face it. This is one addiction that has plagued the entire world in one swoop. Saccharin was the first artificial sweetener to be discovered, which was purely an accident. This is what led to the revolution to hunt the perfect sugar substitute. Artificial sweeteners were advertised as a very comfortable way to lose weight in the 19th century. It was used in sodas first, and later trickled down to other sweet foods and beverages. It promised to take away the calories from the sweetness making indulgence completely guilt free. This sounds too good to be true. After various research and medical organisations put forward their concerns regarding the safety of artificial sweeteners, the government imposed certain re...

There are people who believe that exercise alone can help you lose weight as long as you don’t ‘overeat’. This view is evident by the sheer number of people who purchase gym memberships specifically for weight loss. Whilst physical activity is beneficial, there are a myriad of risks involved when people follow the advice of gurus who aren’t educated about the anatomy and physiology of the human body. At the other end of the spectrum, there are believers in nutrition who could swear by its effectiveness in weight loss. It’s easy to blame a particular macro, be it fats or carbohydrates. It’s much harder to back that claim with evidence. Does that mean we leave everything to chance and do whatever we feel is right? Absolutely not. Looking at the basics of nutrition content, a low carbohydrate diet has been shown to help with maintaining a low energy uptake, which in turn will reduce your weight (As carbohydrates and sugars are well known to be empty calories). Although fat was given a bad...

We can all agree on the importance of water in our bodies. Having an adequate level of hydration ensures optimum operation of the various systems of the body. Water content is also important for physical and mental performance in sports. Excessive water loss through sweat is very common in athletes, especially in endurance sports. Hence, every athlete, professional and recreational should be aware of this aspect of sports physiology. A dehydration of even 2% has been shown to significantly compromise physical performance and work capacity. This applies not only for endurance events like the marathon, but also for activities requiring strength, power, and high-intensity endurance. Dehydration has also been linked with impairing mental functions like attention, working memory capacity, reaction time, coordination, decision-making, and mood. The effects are experienced differently based on ethnicity, level of fitness, gender, previous hydration levels, and individual adaptation to environ...

Are you losing weight for likes and comments on the transformation post that you would upload on your social media, only to regress a few weeks later? Do you want to just let it be; or quit the weight loss program? Of course not. Nobody will agree to either of these. Although reality paints a different picture about the adherence and dropout rates, despite fully knowing the risks and dangers of obesity. Adherence and compliance are crucial in successful obesity management. It refers to the behavior of an individual relative to the medical and professional advice including diet and lifestyle modifications, and physical activity participation. Many individuals don’t end up completing their journey. It’s not an easy process as it is, and a few additional factors make it worse. You might be wondering why are we talking about the negatives at all, but trust me. Knowing about the reasons will help you relate and understand that you’re not alone here. Mental stress, anxiety, body shape concer...

The world is tired of hearing doctors’ advice for weight management, even if it is true. Many know of its seriousness from within. Moments before stepping on the scale, the majority of us feel nervous, anxious, and even terrified to see the number it would display. We start recalling all the instances where we picked up an extra serving, didn’t plan our meals, and ordered takeout. Here is some tough love coming your way. It has been known for decades that being obese or overweight increases the risk of other diseases like diabetes, cancer, and coronary heart disease. It also alters biomechanics and increases the load on joints while even performing daily activities like walking and stair climbing, which in turn increases the chances of injuries like ligament sprains. It can even cause you to suffer from early osteoarthritis. Not surprising that patients with this degenerative joint disease are medically advised to manage their weight. It also takes a toll on respiration, by causing exe...

Many questions come into our minds before we can even take our first step toward fitness. Physical exercise might be the simplest yet one of the most efficient and consistent way to improve mental health, productivity, creativity and prevent illnesses. You might have been told several times about how good it is, and you’ve finally started out. Or you have been exercising for quite a while already. Wherever you are on your journey, I think it's always a great idea to cover the foundation, take a look back and reflect, if need be. The Why First and foremost, you must be aware of the why. Why is it that you are working out? Is there a goal? It can be very specific (eg. to have a body fat percentage below 15), or vague and abstract (eg. to become stronger). There is no golden formula, so pick what speaks personally to you. Having this covered would help you move forward consistently, and we can focus on more technical things from here on. Learning basic movement patterns and mastering ...