How do you not make workouts boring and monotonous?
The key to not making your workout boring and monotonous is to challenge yourself every single day. Even if you go ahead with the same workout, try adding a spin to it with more weights, practice overload, strive to new benchmarks in every single workout and it will be fun.
What is the one fitness myth you’d want to burst?
There are so many fitness myths out there that I think it’s absolutely untrue, to be honest. I feel most of the myths are related to nutrition and the biggest myth is that carbs will make you fat and to avoid any form of carbs. It’s absolutely ridiculous as I feel it is so important to give your body every single nutrient. Yes, everyone has different goals but there isn’t anyone nutrient one should completely deprive themselves of. Everything has its own benefit and definitely plays a vital role in your body.
Is having a heavy breakfast and a light dinner key to fitness?
Whether you are having a heavy breakfast and a light dinner, it doesn’t make that much of a difference because the calories are going to be the same at the end of the day. Yes, maybe having a heavier breakfast, with the right kind of food will give you more energy for the day but eventually, you are consuming the same amount of calories in the day. I guess people say this because eating light at dinner time helps in digestion and allows people to hit the bed sooner. Also since it’s important to have a good nights sleep, get that 8-9 hours of sleep for recovery, it plays an important role in weight loss. A lot of people might not know this but lack of sleep is one of the reasons for weight gain.
How many meals should you ideally have in a day to stay healthy?
Everyone’s goals are different, everyone’s body is different. I know some people who are having six meals a day because they want to be in a little bit of calorie surplus, they want to gain muscle mass as opposed to someone who is cutting and trying to shed more will be eating calorie deficit meals, purely depending on their goals. I, for instance, am always on a calorie deficit and I like to have 2 big meals in a day that allows me to achieve my goals
What’s that one thing every person should include in their meals every day?
If I had to choose one thing which I had to choose for every person to include in their meal every day it would be something with high fibre like certain fruits and vegetables that are very important for your insights and definitely good for your digestion.
What according to you is an ideal balanced diet?
I think an ideal balanced diet would definitely mean giving your body all the nutrients it requires. Give your body what it’s craving because when you have certain cravings, that’s your body telling you that you lack a certain nutrient. So it’s important to feed yourself what you require but with portion control and in intense cases of cravings, one should discipline that.
Do you need to work out every day to stay fit?
It is absolutely not important to stay fit every single day. I think people are so caught up in this whole thing that people forget a key aspect; the progress of being fit is allowing your body at least one day rest in a week to recuperate and recover. It is important to allow your muscles to recover in order to push harder the following week, more than you need that mental break sometimes.
Does following intense diets like intermittent fasting or keto etc help in staying fit?
These diets like keto, make you think of food and nothing else. Your mind is constantly just thinking about food 365 days and those aren’t healthy. For short term goals, yes they are definitely beneficial but it’s really difficult to have any kind of longevity for those. Not everyone can do these keto or crash diets or fat diets that are going around without going crazy or enjoying life. It is important to enjoy your food and lifestyle which has more longevity and better results.
What are the best foods to eat before and after a workout?
Again this depends on an individual’s goals. If you are going to have a heavy meal then it makes sense to eat 2 hours prior to your workout. I personally like to eat more carb-loaded meals before my workout because I think carbs give you that energy and feel like you push more through your workout. Post-workout I like to have a high protein meal because protein allows your muscle to recover much quicker. It’s very important to be mindful of what you are putting in your body to achieve your goals.
How true is 80% diet & 20% workout?
80 % diet and 20% workout is absolutely true. You could be slogging your ass and spending endless hours in the day in your gym but none of that matters if your nutrients don’t compliment that. I think so many people don’t realise that abs are made in the kitchen. It is so important to complement your training, the efforts you put in the gym with the food that you intake. Your body is what you need to live with so why not keep it as clean as possible? If your diet is not the point you aren’t going to see any progress or a change so I would say if I had focused on something for the rest of my life then definitely it would be to eat clean.