How much exercise is too much?

 Apart from maintaining a disciplined fitness regime, experts recommend a proper dietary plan too

Basic guidelines Most national and international guidelines recommend getting at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every week.
This can translate into 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise five times per week. And research has borne out the health benefits of a daily 30-minute walk: in the Nurses’ Health Study, for instance, those who walked briskly or otherwise achieved moderate-intensity exercise for at least 30 minutes every day had a low risk of sudden cardiac death during 26 years of follow up.

Maintaining weight loss Note that the guidelines above are for a minimum of what everyone who is physically able should be doing on a regular basis, regardless of weight or body mass index (BMI). However, to maintain weight loss, not only is daily physical activity a must, but most experts recommend at least 45 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise every day just to keep the pounds from creeping back on.
Furthermore, studies have shown that greater amounts of daily exercise (of 45 minutes or longer) increase the magnitude of weight loss and weight maintenance.
Keep in mind, though, that exercise alone will not be sufficient for maintaining weight loss if healthy dietary changes are also not made and kept. In an editorial in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in April 2015, researchers argued that exercise alone— no matter how good it is for preventing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and even dementia — is not enough to treat or prevent obesity, or to overcome the damage done by a bad diet.

Take-home message The take-home message here is clear: exercise and diet go hand in hand. All-around good health cannot be maintained if one is present without the other. To keep off the weight, stick to the good dietary changes that got you there, and keep up your exercise every single day for at least 45 minutes, if not longer.                                                                http://www.asianage.com/science-health/how-much-exercise-too-much-038

Winner of the Ironman triathlon, Milind Soman talks about his fitness regimes, cheat days and how for him, it’s body over mind

Years ago, when he had emerged out of a box that read ‘Made in India’ in Alisha Chinoy’s hit music video, Milind Soman was a young man with the body of chiseled Greek God. Not much has changed almost two decades down the line. The model-turned-actor and fitness enthusiast still sports an enviable physique that recently won him one of the world’s toughest triathlons, Ironman hosted in Switzerland this year. Excerpts from an interview:

Making 50th birthday special  Milind says, “In a few months, I turn 50 and wanted to achieve something to make it a special year. The person who offered to train me for it sent me a plan that involved 35 hours of training a week — that was not possible for me. I devised my own program and once I started training, I stuck to 13 hours a week, which was quite feasible. I wasn’t sure if it would work when somebody had recommended 35 hours, but thankfully it did. You need to have time, patience, endurance and strength of mind to sustain such a discipline.”

Age boosts confidence The concept of fitness changes as you grow older, believes Milind. He says, “When you are young, it is all about physicality and the physical strength. It is all about how high you can jump, how much weight can you lift, how much or how fast you can run. As you grow older, you know it is more about how you live life and deal with situations. With passing years, one becomes mentally and emotionally stable and spiritually awakened and gets a better grip on relationships. For me, age is actually an advantage and something that boosts my morale.”

Mind-body synchronisation Coming together of positive energies and mind-body synchronisation is what defines fitness for Milind. He says, “It is in fact, the most important aspect of fitness. It is physical, mental, emotional and spiritual energies coming together. For me, the phrase mind over body doesn’t apply because I personally feel body is superior to the mind in terms of discipline, focus and concentration. Mind is full of doubts and confusion…mind is weak and undisciplined but body is not. Whatever you’ll demand of body, it will do. If you master your mind, the body can’t be far away from achieving its goal. Exercise is actually for the mind and not the body.”

Sugar is poison On being quizzed if there is any strict diet that he adheres to, he says, “I have never followed a diet. The only thing, which I do not eat, is refined sugar (white sugar). It is poison and you can’t cheat with poison. I love sweets made with honey, jaggery and ghee etc. My mom makes apple pie with jaggery, which is one of my cheat foods. I make my own peanut butter at home and rest I eat everything else.”

Bollywood projects Milind will be seen playing a small role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus Bajirao Mastani. “I prefer doing only one/two movies a year. I love acting but can’t be a full-time actor; otherwise I will go mad because it’s not real and something that disorients me. Also, walking down the ramp is not something that excites me enough. I feel there is not enough creativity out there to be associated with,” he shares.

Practitioner of barefoot running Barefoot running is actually the most natural way of running. Milind puts forth, “Four years ago, I decided to explore what it meant and see how it felt, and it felt fantastic. When your feet are in contact with the earth, one can’t even imagine the kind of signals that are triggered and the kind of communication that the body undergoes. It is too quick and there are trillions of responses per second sent to your brain. Barefoot running affects your co-ordination, balance and body posture. When there is insulation between the ground and your feet, that connection is lost. In the Ironman, they don’t allow you to go barefoot but I made a special request to wear flip-flops instead of shoes.”

Going clean and healthy was difficult The life of an actor involves a lot of waiting around on the sets. Milind shares, “While waiting endlessly for the shoots, I started drinking as many as 30 cups of tea and over 30 cigarettes a day, as everyone else around you is doing that. Influences and temptations are always there but you need to be aware of what you want from your body. Giving up on tea was easy but smoking was difficult and took me three years to finally quit.”

Real change begins at home Behind Milind’s success, he counts his mother’s role as a crucial factor. He shares, “I was able to pursue sports and swimming because my mother was quite supportive of my choices. Today, I realise the advantage or the impact of the training that I had in my life. Before I started training for Ironman, I had not swam for 25 years but I had been running for 14 years. Being active is a part of my psyche. I love to be outdoor and running is liberating for me. After I got addicted to it, I realised that kids in our country do not have this kind of encouragement because everybody thinks that sports are not meant for Indians. Today, every city in India has its running event, which did not exist 10-15 years ago, but the participation of women is unfortunately less than 10 per cent due to cultural reasons. So, I thought if our outlook has to change then women need to understand the value of sports for themselves and by their example make their families follow them and hence came the idea for Pinkathon — a running event only for women and the response has been phenomenal.”

Robert Downey Jr v/s Desi Ironman When quizzed as to who makes for a better Ironman — himself or Robert Downey Jr, Milind quips, “Well, I don’t think he has done the event. As a character onscreen, definitely he is better. In real life, I guess, I am better, as I have just completed the triathlon.”