Author: Sakina Raj

Are you maintaining your health or taking care of your health when gyms are closed in Udaipur? Many people have lost track of keeping up with their health routine and are becoming lethargic day by day. Keeping up with a fitness routine without much-needed help from the gym is quite difficult for some people. Although it is not always ethical to doubt someone’s body positivity or self-confidence, it should be considered whether they are receiving accurate knowledge of where their bodies are and what risks they are exposing themselves to. This is not a question that will be answered too soon. People will continue to work for a healthy lifestyle if they are better informed about obesity and its consequences. People will continue to work for body positivity by reducing their risk of such illnesses if they are well informed about obesity and its risks. Embrace being healthy and hear it from the experts about keeping ourselves healthy by having a proper Indian diet.

Let’s hear it from our experts about including Indian food in your diet plan and fit with the right tips and exercises.

On 7^th April 2021, which is the World Health Day, we kickstarted our all-new series, UB Baatcheet. We hosted a talk with Dr Vyom Bolia, a renowned physiotherapist from Udaipur, and Mr Rishabh Jain, a legend in the fitness industry who also won the Ironman Race, the world’s toughest race! We talk to these personalities on various topics, including their views about the closing of gyms, body positivity, health & fitness, and how can one remain fit without going to gyms, which is necessary specially during lockdown period. Here’s a weekend recap, just in case you missed it! Watch out for the video to know the right way to stay fit and healthy in the long run.

Dr Vyom Bolia and Mr Rishabh Jain have answered a few questions concerning people’s health and well-being, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Below is a transcript from the interview. Do note the interview happened in the first week of April 2021, so the lockdown situations are different now than the restrictions then.

Mr Rishabh Jain, what hurdles did you face while completing the Ironman Race Challenge?

His answer was pretty on point! “I dedicated a whole year to training and forgot all about my life and family for the time being”, says Rishabh Jain, the Ironman Race Winner.

Since he took the challenge in 2018, he couldn’t find a coach in Udaipur, so he went to Mumbai to get trained by a professional who could prepare him for this ultimate race. India’s fitness enthusiast and model Milind Soman inspired Rishabh to participate and win the race!

Dr Vyom and Mr Rishabh, how long has it been since you are serving Udaipurites with health and fitness facilities?

“It has been over a decade since we started the first yoga studio in Udaipur with a trendsetting workout session in the city named as ‘6 Days, 6 Workouts’ where patrons got to experience 6 different types of workouts in 6 days”, says Dr Vyom. We then started Healthline Fitness Studio in 2016, and now we have more than 40 personal trainers, yoga teachers, Zumba trainers, etc., offering the best kind of gym facilities to Udaipurites.

What does fitness mean to you? Many people have this perception that fitness is all about being slim, reducing fat, losing weight, and having abs, and it has become a cliché. What are your thoughts about the same?

“Our clientele was mostly female when we initially started the gym business. There is a stereotype that weight lifting is not meant for women. But in my opinion, it is as important for women as it is for men since after the age of 35 women start losing muscle strength and weight training help keep their body tight”, says Rishabh.

He further adds that most women came with a strong need to become as thin as possible in less time, which is quite unreasonable, to be honest! “We mostly recommend doing the right type of workout every day. After a certain age, especially in females, the muscles lose their capacity to stay tight, and for the same, we suggest doing weight training since it is as important for women as it is for men.”

Due to the COVID-19 norms and guidelines, gyms will now remain closed. What are your thoughts on the same?

“We work for improving people’s immunity in gyms, and I, for one, haven’t heard anything about a cluster of COVID-19 patients identified from gyms”, says Dr Vyom. He further adds, “Gyms were closed for more than 6 months, and we were quite patient about it, but the guidelines given by Rajasthan Government recently is unjust and fairly unreasonable. There are a number of food joints in Udaipur where we can get a raving crowd of more than 100 people gathered at one place, then why should gyms stay closed when we are utterly vigilant about sanitization and hygiene at gyms!”

How do you suggest people can keep up their diet and exercise in tune, even without gyms?

Dr Vyom and Rishabh suggest that taking out some time out of your super busy schedule and dedicate it to exercise. Now with smartphones and constantly evolving technology, everyone can manage to find the right type of exercise that can add to a healthy lifestyle. “Leave your laptops or PCs for a while, do brisk walking in the office lobby or at your home, do stretching exercises from time to time, and keep your posture straight while working to have a fit body. This will further help reduce back pain, muscle soreness, joint pain, etc., and the biggest benefit is you don’t need any equipment for the same. We live in a beautiful city, and Udaipur is full of places that offer peaceful places to take a stroll or even have a short run. Fatehsagar, Rani Road, Gulab Bagh, etc., have ample amount of space for you to run or walk for an hour or two. Do yoga at home or register yourself for online training that will keep you going for a healthier lifestyle. Don’t just do exercise for the sake of losing or gaining weight, but make it a part of your routine for long-term benefits”, says Rishabh.

There are a lot of myths associated with Indian Food. As a society, we think that Traditional Indian food is unfit for people. So, from the perspective of diet and nutrition, do you think that this perception is right? What are your suggestions for adding healthy and affordable Indian food that people can add to their daily routine and cut out junk food?

“People have switched to western diet plans and food habits since they think Indian food is unhealthy. It is simple logic; if we date back to ancient times or even take an example of our grandparents, they are still fit compared to teenagers or people in this era. Our ancestors used to eat oily food, ghee, roti, and other essential or say real Indian food and were still very active and healthy”, says Dr Vyom. People blame Indian food, but in reality, the issue is that the amount of food consumed in a day is far more than the number of calories they can burn per day. This impacts excessive weight gain. Every country has a different climate and culture, and as far as I am concerned, Indian food is the best source of nutrition for us Indians. “More or less, our eating habits are changed! Earlier wheat was processed by chakki (hand flour mill) through which the fibre content remained intact. Today the same flour is processed in machines, due to which the wheat loses its fibre and nutritional value. Adulterated food is the biggest problem faced by our generation. That is why organic food products are so much in demand now compared to the early era when only organic food was available in the market. Eating at odd times, midnight munching, and likes are affecting the health of our generation. Nutrition and healthy food play 60% role in your lifestyle whereas exercise play a 40% role”, says Dr Vyom. “We eat as per our taste buds. Adding soya sauce, chilli sauce, or any other taste enhancers or preservatives impacts the nutritional value of the food. The least we can do is change our lifestyle and switch towards a routine where we give equal importance to nutritional food and exercise”, says Rishabh.

Finally, Dr Vyom asks us to take a pledge to spare at least 45 mins daily and follow any type of workout to make this Smart City a Fit City!

So, wrapping up this extremely fruitful conversation with Dr Vyom Bolia and Mr Rishabh Jain, we received some very interesting tips to maintain a healthy lifestyle even when gyms are closed. Watch UdaipurBlog’s Baatcheet session for more such insights! We’ll come up with lots of more content for you shortly. In the meanwhile, do subscribe to UdaipurBlog’s Youtube channel, if you haven’t yet. See you in the next episode!