Fit Hai toh Hit Hai

Recently, when Akshay posted his ‘fit’ bodypic on his 52nd birthday, one of the fittest actors, he was able to create just the right kind of impact. If you are a morning birdie, you would have certainly spotted a sole runner amidst morning traffic huffing and puffing his way through it. Come morning and the neighbourhood parks buzz up with yoga enthusiasts. Also working out at a gym is the new lifestyle mantra. Walking upto a gym in the trendiest gym gear is a great style statement! But fitness is a serious business. Gone are the days when only movie or sports stars used to follow fitness regimen. Need of the hour and rising awareness has led to people like you and me paying great attention to fitness and even reaching some remarkable milestones.

Minakshi Shetty, a Chicago based mother of a 2 year old and a tech journalist completed half marathon after a 2 year hiatus from working out. “Words fail to describe what it was like to face my fears and doubts when I ran 14 miles. After running a few 5Ks last year, something hit me. I actually found running to be enjoyable, and thus decided to run the longer 10K distance. I ran 5-6 miles twice a week and joined a group named ‘DESI GIRLS’ in Chicago. We ran every Saturday. The group gave me the motivation to wake up on a Saturday morning at 5 am. Race day morning was incredibly nail-biting and stressful. With the chant of ‘Ganpati bappa morya’ we took off running and I was soon by myself, trying to soak it all in. I completed my run in 2 hours 15 mins which which was my goal time. Also what I felt on that day was, I definitely could have trained more but I always used the busy MOM excuse. Overall I’m really proud of myself and looking forward to improving my running so I can continue to grow!”

An optimum weight is very much a part of fitness but not the only component of it. Fitness is multi-pronged and more dynamic. With the launch of nationwide ‘Fitness programme’ which emphasises on inclusion of physical activity and sports in daily routine, being fit is going to be the next big thing.

“I think fitness for me is a lifestyle, I mean it just doesn’t end at the gym or after a long hike or a quick run. It is quite relative so to say, could workout differently for different people. It’s sad to see so many young millennials leading such unhealthy lifestyles. They are always stuck to their phones. With the drastic change in the multimedia today, the scenario has only changed and for the worse. I think one of the ways in which we can encourage the young people is to inculcate the habit of engaging in any kind of physical activity right from their childhood.” Says Delhi based PR professional, Diksha Guleria.

Fitness is a mind game, literally. A fit and a healthy mind is the topmost component of a fit body. However, keeping the mind hale and hearty is easier said than done. The thought churning factory can cause real havoc to your health and fitness if it is not channelized in right direction or not nurtured with positivity, compassion and basic human positive traits. What is even more appalling is that a negative mindset or not being able to adjust according to changing environment which in common parlance is called stress can spiral our eating habits which directly impact the optimum weight of the body and the fitness.

“A journey towards fitness is an interesting travel within, with this vision, good intentions and an attitude to learn, I feel humbled to have motivated thousands of people towards fitness. My true achievement lies in being the founder of fitness community in Punjab called ‘We Amritsar Runners’, co- founder of Gurgaon Runners Group, co- founder of India’s largest multicity ultra marathon, The Great Run of Punjab and India’s largest relay race for kids, Running Champs League.
My mission is to make structured training for fitness available to all for which I contribute in giving free all year round trainings to men, women and kids and motivate fence sitters for taking first step towards fitness. I finished 132km run from Chandigarh to Amritsar spreading the message of women safety, and have accomplished Half Iron Triathlon (1.9km swimming+ 90km cycling + 21.1km running in one go). Fitness for me is becoming a better human being, if your fitness routine doesnt make you humble and kind, it doesnt seem to be working for you.” Enlightens Mehak Khanna, Fitness Coach and Founder of Fitness Communities: We Amritsar Runners and Gurgaon Runners Group.

Fitness implies the body working to its best potential. Certainly, being disease free, being active physically and mentally, and maintaining a healthy mindset are all inter-related and all essential prerequisites of fitness. It is very much dependent on the lifestyle choices we make. We all are aware of the drastic lifestyle changes- we are on feet less, we are in fields less, we are using the gadgets and gizmos more and we are much more sedentary.

The worrying part is rising trend of lifestyle diseases. So something somewhere is going wrong. Also fitness is directly linked with success. A fit body harbours a productive mind and less health hiccups which definitely leads to success. And mind you, success is achieving happiness. Decide for yourself what your happiness quotient is…