ख़ता

न जाने किस ने कहा है कि -

लम्हों ने ख़ता की थी
सदियों ने सज़ा पाई।

मुक्क़मल कौन?

मुक्क़मल कौन इस जहाँ में, ए काफिर,
यहां के तो ख़ुदा भी कातिल हैं।

Talk...

Talking to the right people will
- clarify doubts
- give solutions
- open up possibilities, new and old
- ease life

The Triple Filter

In ancient India, One day a person met Chanakya, and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?"

"Hold on," Chanakya said. "Before telling me anything I'd like you to pass a little test called the Triple Filter Test."

"Triple filter?"

"That's right," Chanakya continued."Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it the triple filter test.

The first filter is Truth.
Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"
"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."
"All right," said Chankya."So you don't know if it's true or not.

Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness.
Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"
"No, on the contrary..."
"So," Chankaya continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true.

You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left, the filter of Usefulness.
Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?"
"No, not really."
"Well," concluded Chankya, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor useful, why tell it to me at all?"
____________________________
Disclosure - I received the message on Whatsapp, am saving it on blog as I clear my phone . The Triple filter has rightly or wrongly been attributed to Chankya. That does not retract is validity. Please Use this triple filter each time you hear gossip...

Lifestyle corrections

Walk ~10k steps is a fair aim
Early to bed 10 PM 🕙
Early to rise 5 AM 🕔
Take a nap 2 PM 🕑
Avoid Channel surfing 🏄 - limit TV 📺 to ~5 hours per week.
Train /workout -
Walk
Mobility exercises
Squat, Lift, Press, Swing-
Crawl, Roll
Foam Roll 🍥
Eat healthy ~2600 calories
Proteins > 200g
Fats ~ 100g
Carbs < 225g
Drink Water 💦 - 2 litre (urine should be near clear not yellow)
No Cannabis (remember the week after Holi)
No tobacco
Avoid promiscuity
Stay calm, Count to 10 of angry, especially when interacting with kids & folks
Be alert (mindful) -
aware of surroundings
Aware of area
Aware of animals
Aware of vehicles
Aware of blind spots /ambush points
Aware of potential predators
Do it now - avoid procrastination
Pause - Mull before retorting

Life simple!

Wake up
Drink water 💦
Freshen up
Walk
Bath
Eat
Move
Work
Eat, wait
Lift / Play
Stretch /Roll 🍥
Eat
Contemplate
Sleep

How heavy is 32kg? (and I am a sissy... )

Few years ago I wrote How heavy is 20 kg, last few months I have been trying to tackle a 32kg kettlebell and I can tell you this one is damn lot heavier.
There are many benefits of a heavy bell -
1. It teaches humility, hubris disappears faster than... Ice
❄ on equator
2. Auto corrects tendency to use shoulders while swinging.
3. Teaches Mindfulness, Makes you cautious
4. Goblet squats are far more challenging.
That apart, though I can clean & Jerk them, I still have to muster courage for Snatches & Get ups.

Currently I am following a Strongfirst routine called Lazy Endurance. 

It basically is -
5 Swings on top of the minute for times varying from 10 minutes to 50 minutes. 5 swings take about 10 seconds, balance 50 seconds are supposed to be active rest - I basically walk and shake the muscle groups which are tired.
Yesterday was 50 minutes /250 swings workout.
Did that comfortably - primarily because my technique & grip have improved a bit. Did use lifting chalk too.

Realised- am a sissy (am a show-off too but that is something I always knew)
Tore calluses of my palm and am handling things gingerly, also contemplating giving today's training a skip...

Conflict is good

Completion of a task peacefully is Utopian, while it may give transient comfort - in the long run a bit of effort, struggle & conflict go a long way in giving lasting results & peace. It is as applicable to individuals as to communities and nations. Example in contrast - Americans threw out British, conquered the west, fought a bloody civil war and ended up as a Superpower. India bid adieu to the British in the most peaceful and friendly fashion, we are a struggling nation...

Papa again

This Feb, on 5 th Feb,

Resolutions 2014

Probably, For the first time I have decided to pen down blog my New Year resolutions. I intend to adhere to them this time so what better way than to make them public and face ridicule if I failed ignored these.

1. Learn Rope Skipping.
   
   No, I do not know this basic kindergarten fun-activity - it is supposed to be great for coordination and cardiovascular fitness, and being a klutz I hope the benefits will carry over to other activities as well.
2. Learn to Punch.
   
   Practiced Goju Ryu for some time, but didn't quite learn to punch correctly, At best my punches were heavy push punches. This year I will learn to punch correctly - in the correct explosive fashion.
3. Learn Olympic Lifts - Clean & Jerk and Snatch.
   
4. I have been above average in push strength but when it comes to power - rapid strength deployment (a recurring theme), I have been sub- par so I hope to change this too.
5. Get my Resting Heart Rate (RHR) to below 70 60 . I always wanted to be fit , while there are several ways of measuring fitness, I feel RHR is the unequivocal measure, I initially set met RHR goal at 70 but I realised that I was already in that range (67-68) so if I  made some improvements it would have to be in sub-60 range .
6. Get my Body Fat Percentage (BFP) to below 20 %. If I succeed in number 4, this will be an automatic but I have not seen this BFP for years now so am eagerly looking fwd to it.
7. Learn Suryanamaskar (sun salutation).
   

Seems a simple movement but currently in my stasis I have been unable to learn it, Aim being to complete 18 cycles in good form without cursing the...
Nothing else comes to mind right now and these seem to be handful.

Oil pulling

Today I tried oil pulling for the first time,

It involves swirling a little coconut oil in the mouth for 20-30 min (and then spitting it out).

Felt anything? Maybe, Don’t know about impurities from the rest of the body but my mouth feels a bit cleaner.

Hoping it works, I have had to visit dental hygienist and the amount of tartar was no joke (he asked whether it was some kind of dental filling).

Though I am brushing a wee bit more sincerely, I can see it creeping back after just few months, hence the effort towards cleanliness.

Oil pulling is supposed to aid dental hygiene at the least and what not at the max. Worth Googling or looking up on Wikipedia and probably worth trying it too.

Lifestyle Corrections

Early to bed
Early to rise
No TV in bedroom
Sound sleep - 8 hrs
Walk - 10k steps (yeah it is a magic figure... Abracadabra)
Sunshine - 20 min bare exposure in the morning.
Drink water - u.... should be clear.
Eat real food, vegetables, eggs, lentils, meats, fruits, nuts, milk & milk products.
Consume sugar in extreme moderation, (ok binge on Jalebis once in a while )
Siesta - 40 min.
Wine in moderation
No drugs (that includes tobacco & cannabis)
Be aware - surroundings.
Do not hoard - junk, fat,
Trim your waist, lifestyle, home, workspace

Aim for the moon..... Really? 10000

Aim for the moon...
Good quote, universal rule - absolutely not

On I decided to do 5000 kettlebell Swing challenge in 20 days, a fair aim I thought.
Started logging, food intake first, but before I could start swinging I read about Dan John's 10000 swing Challenge.

Decided to accept the bigger (harder) challenge. But before I could start I came across an article about Bud Jeffrey doing 10000 swings in 10 days without any overtraining or recovery related issues.
Aim for the moon.... thodi aur pyaas badhao....
1000 swings a day...
F... I didn't even start, the task was so daunting; found excuses to shy away from the kettlebell, in fact from exercise itself. Right now as I blog I have time for a short workout but instead of swinging I am typing.

Lesson learnt.
Better idea - Aim for where you want to go... correction - need to go
Keep the goals realistic,
Don't bite more than you can chew. Take small bites
Downgraded my challenge to 3000 even as I type, let us see where I end up.

Bodyweight exercises Suck... or is it me...

Last year I took to lifting weights with a vengeance... Okay That was hyperbole, I lifted, adhering to 5x5 type plans and ended up in the intermediate level in my weight category as per Strength standards on exrx.com.

Felt nice, I was big at about 105 kg, my shirt sleeves were now too small for my arms, unfortunately so were my pants for my waist.

I read strength books, internet articles and decided this was the real deal.

Lifting weights - I loved the smug feeling when I first squated 110 kg for reps (after having failed and killed myself in the last attempt with a near face-plant). Each time I got under the bar I was scared and I felt alive. I loved it when I overcame the weights. (My 5 rep max was 117.5 kg, after which I cut back - yes, I love to gloat over my achievements however small they might be)
Time passed (had to take a break from lifting, bloated up to a weak 111kg, changed my dietary habits and came down to 95).
I started with a simple routine,

Front Squat - Romanian Deadlift superset - 3 x 10 reps @ 50 kg.
Push Press - Bent-Over row superset -  5 x 5 reps @ 50 kg.
Bench Press - Lats pulldown superset - 2 x 10 reps @ 50 kg.

In the morning I alternated with
Kettlebell Swing - 8 x 20 rep @ 20 kg
(yes these are the Only weights available here)

I thought I was doing great , when at a whim I joined a group of boxers doing a Bodyweight circuit - seemed easy-
Pushups,
Crabwalk,
Pumps
.....
These are the few I remember.....
Wow.... F... S.... Ouch... and that's just the warmup...

I activated muscles which I did not know I had, for a guy who could Bench 105 for reps failing to do 5 Pushups after calisthenics was humbling if not downright humiliating (it wasn't humiliating because I have d... thick skin or in simple words - I am pretty shameless).
........

Hey fellow wannabe strongmen, lesson learnt was -
Before you start struggling with iron weights you have to conquer your own. Done correctly even this would be a Herculean task...and one that would take your fitness to the next level.
I hear Purists, power lifters, and few internet warriors scoff - try it out, see not only the body turn to jelly and your heart leap out of your chest. It will change your perception of Fitness once and for all. Conditioning or Strength - Endurance is real....

Will I return to Iron - heck, I never gave it up, I am sticking to my alternating barbell - kettlebell routines 3 to 5 times a week (the weights are light) . But god-willing I will supplement iron with my own body and tie my shoe laces without choking......

Dietary Enemies : Food porn & Social pressure

In April 13 I finally introduced sanity into my dietary habit,
I cut down on sugar, alcohol, rice, flour and derivatives.
I started eating typical Indian salad and chicken two-three times a day; to satiate the sweet craving I started taking cold coffee and/or protein shake with sucralose with the meals.
Stuck to this diet till July lost about 15 kg down to 96kg from 111kg.
Then...plateau...cheating...plateau...more cheating...
Sure I am the culprit...
But I'd share a part of it with the rampant food porn on the TV,  print...

'How to Cook' shows,
Reality shows on cookery,
Travel shows on cookery,
Advertisements showcasing Chips, chocolates, cakes, sodas, oils, flour, meals ready to eat,  jams, Restaurants , pizza, burger, sandwiches.......
High time we had statuary warning on all such products - 'Warning : Consumption may cause obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cardiac disease, and may kill you'

The second bugbear is social, peer & better half... pressure,...
Come over for dinner, (why not a hike or a jog or a workout if you are 'real' friends)
Bhai saab ek roti/ thoda aur.
Ek jalebi se kuch nahin hota,
Daaru / chai to sirf paani hai,
Birthday cake hai khana padega
Maine kitne pyaar se banaya hai,
Waste ho jayega, tum khatam kar do please .
... and my favourite - Khalo-2 (this is a personal bugbear)

Had enough of the c ...
Back to basics, now I'm back to being my sullen, solitary, carnivorous self. Dropped a kilo already....

Gods in heaven..

..and us below

Who is playing games, I don't know

Are the Gods bothered, do they give d.....
Hmm...Do I give a d... which skin cell I shed every moment of my existence.. Do I give a s...about the millions of microbes living in and on me .....No I don't.

If God is the sum total of all existence- energy, matter, and laws...we are infinitesimaly small, inconsequential even.

Neti-Neti (not this - not this) .........

How heavy is 20kg?

Quite a lot actually!

I finally gathered enough courage and forced myself to fool around with the 20kg Kettlebell gathering dust for the last one year. (My thoughts were far more eloquent when I was struggling with the k'bell)

F......the d..... thing was heavier than I thought it would be, it was far-2 heavier today than the last time I lifted it.

Ever the over-confident a..I decided to do the Deep 6 routine ie 5xComplex, where each complex is of following alternate hand exercises:-
5,5 swings,
5,5 snatches,
5, 5 squats
5,5 clean & presses,
Turkish get down- up to start a new complex.
(It is called deep 6 because it includes all primary k'bell exercises- swing, snatch, squat, clean, press
& TGU)

S...I should have started with a 8kg k'bell, the d.... thing didn't swing beyond my stomach, oh well I did push it up higher but it wasn't like last year when I could do Crossfit type swings with chutzpah. Snatches were even more f...ed up, f....you my stupid ego, I should have been doing free hand snatches....

I could clean (barely) but presses were a different animal altogether, a black demo. TGU(well TGD) - didn't have the guts to attempt these

Did not have the ....for round 2 leave alone completing the mandatory 5.

Guess what I did next- yes take it easy.  I decided to switch to RKC Bare minimum- a beginners program which consists of a 10 min warm-up with 10 counts each of wall squats, halos and mountain climbers. Followed by actual workout which is 20 swings followed by 1 minute of active rest (jumping jacks, mountain climbers etc) for a total of 12 minutes.

Sounds easy enough - I got the wind knocked out of me in the warm-up itself. Could do only 20 half swings, active rest what a joke - I could barely move.

Had to take a full days rest, God willing I will do the RKC Bare min today.

I love life

Life is beautiful!

My weight loss seems to have plateaued but strength loss continues unabated.
My arms which were 16.5" last year have shrunk to 13.5" this year. Last year I looked stout, this year I look wimpy. Gods forgive me, but if this the price for years of indulgence and neglect, I accept the price and will work towards betterment.

On analysing the background I realised that
1. I have cheated on my diet far more than I should have. Few days back I had rum and chicken, worst still the gravy was rich and had more calories than I should have consumed in the whole day. The day after I had 3 glasses of sweet lime- there goes the whole ketogenic diet in to the bin.
2. I am not working out, no weights, no calisthenics, no runs, no nothing.... The Kettlebell I bought lies untouched in a corner. To think I was planning to buy Olympic rod and bumper plates worth 50k. Totally f...up, got to work out.

The best exercise is the one which you actually do and not what you read/think about. It could be as simple as walking or as taxing as fighting a bear.

I tried walking, probably overdid,(2 hours in the sun-times I am still a sissy) slept away for the next 3 days.
I have been looking wistfully at my 20 kg Kettlebell for more than 3 weeks now, high time I dared swinging the famed piece of iron around. WTF!

Nike has it right even (if they make extremely overpriced garb).

Just do it....

Gods willing, I will...

Mirror lies....

And a watched kettle does not boil...

When you are gaining weight bit by bit, your brain is unable to discern the small difference on hourly or even day to day basis. So when you look at the mirror, you see a guy who's alright- a bit stocky but good looking, not thin but healthy...

When you take a photograph few months later, holy cow! Reality strikes like a baseball bat- you look like candidate for Biggest loser. Hey two people could hide behind me, in fact they just did

Moral of the rant, mirror is good for shaving- that's it.
If you want to know how you look, get a body shot and a group photograph taken regularly.

Use a measuring tape and a scale and the ease with which you can squeeze into your pants to assist you. If it is not a loose fit - you are gaining weight, if you need to squeeze  in - you are fat.

I am a cheapskate...

I prepared a potent protein shake - 01 scoop EAS Whey, 01 scoop Weider's Casein in 500 ml milk. The only thing which I missed out was probably two spoons of coffee.
Unfortunately, I could not consume it immediately, in fact I could not consume it over the next six hours. Naturally the milk curdled. This was the second time this had occured; first time my buddy had thrown away the whole stuff into the sink....what the....this s....cost me..a hell.. 60g of premium protein down the drain - I could'nt let it happen for the second time. So I gulped the shake/slush down. It was slightly (quite) bitter, very thick, very filling and the satisfaction of not throwing away a drink worth Rs 100 was priceless. In the hindsight I would rather not let the milk curdle since the taste was pretty-pretty bad.