Author Archives: Guru Prasanth

Hello guys, Welcome.

I was reading an article titled “Components of Fitness” gives basic understanding of various components in fitness and how it creates impact in our performance. (That particular topic contains many sub links, so that I read all article and delivering here. Hope it will save our little time by staying in same tab. Let’s start 👇)

Fitness defines the ability to perform physical activity, and encompasses a wide range of abilities.

Each sport and activity requires a specific set of skills, and so being fit for a sport requires a specific skill set. Being fit for one sport does not necessarily make you fit for another.

Fitness is generally divided into specific fitness categories or components and each can be tested, trained and developed individually.

Fitness Components List

• Body Composition
• Muscular Strength
• Muscular Endurance
• Power
• Speed / Quickness
• Agility
• Flexibility
• Balance and Coordination
• Cardiovascular Endurance
• Motor Skill

Let’s discuss one by one topic wise.

Body Composition

The distribution of muscle and fat in the body. Body size includes parameters such as height, lengths.

In some sports body size will directly affects the performance. Many training or exercise programs are there to modify body size and composition in some way to get optimal results. But some factors cannot be modified artificially such as heights, lengths. Ex: Tall basketball or volleyball players will perform better than others. Few sports listed below where body composition is the main factor.

1. Horse Jockey
2. Basketball
3. Gymnastics
4. Diving
5. Ultra marathon

Muscular Strength

The ability to carry out work against a resistance.

It is the maximal force you can apply against a load. Training to improve muscle strength includes lifting weights or increasing the resistance against which you work. (Example : Lifting weights using dumbells, barbells or using resistance bands to improve strength)

Certain sports, where an athelete needs to expose the muscle strength against a load. Such sports are,

1. Weight lifting
2. Wrestling
3. Football
4. Track and Field : Pole vault, weights
5. Boxing

Muscular Endurance

The ability to repeat a series of muscle contractions without fatiguing.

Muscular endurance is different from Cardiovascular Endurance. We are about to use the same muscles repeatedly over the period of time. In which case, our muscle should sustain to get the performance without getting sore or fatigue. Sports like rowing, cycling will require extraordinary muscle endurance. Same time track and field middle distance running also requires muscle endurance since they are using their lower body region and putting lot of force over there.

Push-up, pull-up, abdominal workouts are basics to improve muscle endurance. Apart from that sports specific workouts we need to carry.

Power

Sports Definition: the ability to exert a maximal force in as short a time as possible, as in accelerating, jumping and throwing implements.

There are many interpretations of speed – the speed of the game (ice hockey), movement speed (fencing, clay target shooting), and running speed (tennis, rugby). In any case, you need the fast twitch muscle fibers to compete in these sports.

Speed / Quickness

Speed is the ability to move quickly across the ground or move limbs rapidly to grab or throw.

Speed is not just how fast someone can run (or cycle, swim etc.), but is dependent on their acceleration (how quickly they can accelerate from a stationary position), maximal speed of movement, and also speed maintenance (minimizing deceleration). Movement speed requires good strength and power, but also too much body weight and air resistance can act to slow the person down.

When we start the topic you might guessed it correctly. Yes, sprinters. Speed plays a major role in sports like running sprint, cycling sprint. Other sports are,

1. Speed skating
2. Ice hockey
3. Swimming
4. Basketball
5. Football & Hockey

Agility

It is the ability to quickly change body position or direction of the body.

Agility is also influenced by body balance, coordination, the position of the center of gravity, as well as running speed and skill. Agility can be improved with agility training drills but also by improving the specific individual fitness elements of speed, balance, power and co-ordination.

Sports requires agility skills are,

1. Football
2. Basketball
3. Tennis
4. Badminton
5. Volleyball

Flexibility

This is a the capacity of a joint or muscle to move through its full range of motion.

Certain sports, such as gymnastics, it is one of the most important physical attributes. In many other sports, including team field sports, good flexibility is an important part of the overall fitness profile. Good flexibility is also important for injury prevention. Stretching exercises can be used in injury rehabilitation, preparation for sport (warm up), and for recovery after exercise.

Top flexibility rates sports are,

1. Gymnastics
2. Diving
3. Martial arts
4. Pole vault
5. High Jump

Balance and Coordination

Balance is the ability to stay upright or stay in control of body movement, and coordination is the ability to move two or more body parts under control, smoothly and efficiently.

There are two types of balance: static and dynamic. Static balance is maintaining equilibrium when stationary, while dynamic balance is maintaining equilibrium when moving. We use our eyes, ears and ‘body sense’ to help retain our balance.

Coordination is a complex skill that requires not only good balance, but good levels of other fitness components such strength and agility. Balance and coordination can be improved through practice and training within specific sports.

Hitting and catching sports make up most of this list.

1. Table tennis
2. Tennis
3. Squash
4. Auto racing
5. Ice hockey

Cardiovascular Endurance

Cardiovascular endurance, aerobic fitness, or stamina, is the ability to exercise continuously for extended periods without tiring

A person’s aerobic fitness level is dependent upon the amount of oxygen which can be transported by the body to the working muscles via the lungs and blood system, and the efficiency of the muscles to use that oxygen.

Certain sports, such as distance running and triathlon, it is the most important physical attribute. In many other sports, including football codes, good endurance is also very important as part of the overall fitness profile. The top rated sports for endurance are all clearly endurance based sports:

1. Triathlon
2. Long distance running
3. Cycling – distance
4. Field hockey
5. Football

Okay guys. We have read through all the components. Eventually we belongs to one or two sports majorly. Do we require all the components discussed should incorporated to our training ? Yes we can. All the components are beneficial in some way. Few components are core part and other components gives support for a sport. For example : If I’m a long distance runner, then Cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance are the crucial factors to be considered. Meanwhile I need to concentrate on flexibility (stretching) to avoid from injuries, balance and coordination, agility to get the proper running form. Similarly it will vary sports to sports.

Hope the information will be helpful for you. Try to add the necessary components to your training and get the results. 👍

Credits : Thanks for your time. All credits goes to topendsports.com . I just referred multiple articles, collated it and summarising all of them into one.

Stay fit.

Stay healthy. 😇

Welcome friends. In this post, I’ll suggest running shoes in each budget segment. Before getting into the topic, I want to share some tips for selecting a better shoe for running.

Consider below points while buying a new running shoe.,

• Grip – Bottom of the shoe made with black colored (mostly) rubber material, to provide sufficient grip on slippery surfaces.
• Mesh – The upper front area of the shoe with knitted mesh fabric helps in breathability and elastic purpose.
• Cushion – Good cushion gives a good bounce effect and absorbs shocks when our heel or feet strikes the ground.
• Above three are the major things we need to note. Apart from that there are few more factors to be considered – midsole, ankle cuff, toe area, pronation

Ok. Let me list the shoes one by one budget wise. (I will try to make this list up to date)

Below ₹ 1000

Asian Wonder 13 – 520₹

Decathlon Kalenji 100 – 800₹

Power Maze – 900₹

Campus Rodeo 2 – 900₹

Lancer – 540₹

₹ 1000 to 2000

Decathlon Run Cushion – 1300₹

Decathlon Active – 2000₹

Puma Escaper pro – 1800₹

Puma Rapid Runner – 1600₹

Puma Dark Shadow – 1600₹

HRX Alpha – 1300₹

Adidas Hellion Z M – 1650₹

Adidas Furio Lite M – 1900₹

₹ 2000 to 3000

Adidas Pictor – 2400₹

Adidas Jest – 2800₹

Reebok Driftium – 3000₹

Decathlon Run Support – 2500₹

Asics Patriot 12 – 2700₹

Asics Road Hawk – 3000₹

New Balance 520 – 2800₹

Asics Jolt 2 – 2400₹

₹ 3000 Above

Guys, there are a lot of shoes available in this segment with good quality. These shoes survive for 1000+ km and 50km+ weekly mileage. So I suggest 10 models here.

Asics Ikaia 9 – 3200₹

Asics Gel Excite 8 – 4200₹

Asics Hyper Speed – 4900₹

Nike revolution 5 – 3700₹

Nike Downshifter 10 – 4000₹

Nike RunAllDay – 3100₹

New Balance 1500v4 – 5300₹

New Balance 870v5 – 5400₹

Brooks Anthem 4 – 7400₹

Decathlon Kiprun Long 2 – 5500₹

Quick tips:

• Ideal shoe mileage is about 500 to 800km (excluding advanced advance elite runners shoes).
• If you’re a beginner, check the shoes in the 1000 to 2000 category. Once all set and you are preparing seriously for the race, then go for 2000, 3000+ budget for performances.
• Always compare the product with official websites (ex: Nike, adidas, Asics.,) and other e-commerce sites like Amazon, Flipkart. Compare the product, price and finally read the reviews.
• Remember any products in this world will have negative review, so no need to skip based on few negative reviews
• Basic shoes under 1000₹ are good for running in the ground and mud surfaces (about 25 to 40mins run) but they may not be suitable for road running.
• Newly unboxed shoes are stiff and less flexible. Once you start running with that, flexibility will come.
• Don’t try harder sessions on very new shoes. Your legs need to adapt. So start with a slow session for 3 or 5 days. Then pick-up speed gradually.

Thank you for reading the post. If any data mismatch in products, please mention in the comments section.

Stay fit. Stay healthy. 👍

We all have a tradition, The tradition we follow to greet others : We ask “How are you? How is your health?” Before asking “How is your business? How is your new bike?”. So, Health comes first.

Yeah! We all know Health is wealth. But how do we measure our health? Who is a healthy person? A body builder or a martial artist or a person with zero disease or an athlete? It’s none of the above and all of the above.

Let’s try to understand whom is it to be termed “Healthy person”

Some people are physically fit and yet have zero contribution in society. Some people are more towards society and social activity and yet fail to take care of the body. Physical fitness alone doesn’t define a healthy person. It’s a combination of Physical fitness, mental happiness and the responsibility towards our society.

We all know Japanese ancestors lived a way more healthier and happier life than any others.

They treat all the above mentioned three factors equally. Having a good meal , green tea, maintaining a regular sleep cycle, exercising to keep the body fit. Mediation, cleaning the house and doing household chores to maintain mental health. Most importantly, building a strong and helpful community by organizing events in the neighborhood, discussing each other’s happiness and loss, and helping each other out. It is very important to interact with people at work, neighbors, and family.

As an introduction, consider these three factors as prime and prep your body, mind and soul to achieve your healthy life.

See you in next topic 😊

In this article we will talk about Pushup workout – the traditional, simple and powerful workout that every fitness enthusiast should do on their workout routine according to me.

Hi guys. Once again I welcome you all readers to my post. Are you a fitness freak? Are you stuck in a place where there is no gym and no fitness equipment accessible? Are you feeling the workouts are only for experts? Do you really feel you don’t have enough arm strength to move forward? Then my only answer is “do Push Ups !”

“Pushups are traditional, very simple and yet powerful workouts. Quality of the workout is more important than the quantity”

As we said in the above quotes, please keep in mind that Quality is more important than quantity. This is applicable not only for pushup but for any workouts and any sports.

How to start pushups for beginners.

Many of you may think why we are giving so much importance and paying serious attention to this one simple workout. Yes we need it. Pushup is everything and it is a key workout. Basement is very important for a big big building. Similar way, you have started your fitness journey. Absolutely it should be a long journey. So, the basement is very important. Basement is none other than Strength, the quality, the form of workout.

You might have seen many people doing 100 pushups at a single shot, 500 pushups per day, 3000 push ups per month and so many showcase things. Yes the counts are super amazing, still the people doing the partial or half motion pushups. Let me tell you one fact here., a person doing full range of motion (full form or quality pushup you can say) gets more benefits than the person doing more counts with bad form (half motions you can say).

So here we are clear that, when it comes to pushups, keep one point in your mind that – I’ll do better quality over quantity. 1 point done 🙂

On the other hand, some people do the push ups very fast and finish within a very short time. Note down how long we can sustain. How long our strength lasts. Yes, now we are promising that we will concentrate on our Endurance as well. Do the pushups nice, slow and steady. If you take 10 push ups for 15 secs (1.5sec/pushup), then try to increase the duration to 20 secs next time (2sec/pushup). This is how we can increase our endurance. 2nd point also done 🙂

“Rome was not built in a day. But they had built every single day ! “

Third point is consistency. Consistency is the Key to success. For me, doing atleast 5 pushups daily for all seven days is far better than a person doing 50 push-up in a single day and taking rest for remaining 6 days. Maintain that consistency, slowly increase the count and do the form steady and nice.

I summarise the benefits of pushups here

• A simple workout – Anyplace
• Strengthen your triceps, biceps, chest, shoulders and abdominal too
• Within 15 mins you can do smart number of push-ups
• Unlimited variations – No limit for creativity right ? Same applies here 😉
• Challenge others for motivation

Improve strength day by day

What I suggest to beginners is, first concentrate on strength for biceps, your core and shoulders. You can do squats, crunches, planks. Then start with knee push-up. Try to reach 10 counts of knee supported pushup and then make it into two sets, 3 sets. After that try regular pushup but ask your roommate, friend or parents to give support. (Use a towel or hands to support when you lift up)

Just aim for only one perfect push-up. That is our goal. Once you did it, then no one can stop you. Increase the counts gradually but slowly. No rush. No hurry. A year has 365 days. The very very important is that put aside the ego. No ego lifting.

Thanks for your patience and reading the entire article. I hope it will be helpful for you in your next session. Enjoy.

See you again.. ! 😇

Hello friends. In this post, we will see about the top apps that can be used for fitness. I feel these apps are user-friendly, simple, time management, interesting.

Before entering into the article I want you to understand that this is not an entire review of any app. I have some good experience with those apps and sharing it. 😇🙏

A quick look at the benefits of fitness apps over YouTube videos 👇

• Time management
• Offline access – no buffering
• Animation
• Move to the next workout easily
• We can not customise the workout order on YouTube

We don’t want to waste time by discussing the benefits of fitness apps again and again. So these are the apps I find very useful for fitness.

STRAVA, HEALTHIFYME, KEEP

Guys, don’t think like among thousands of fitness apps in the play store only three is good? Not actually. There is a lot of applications working similar to this. But still, why I choose them?

• User interface – in simple words application design is pretty cool and professional.
• So many features loaded (let me share them in detail below)
• Standard updates

Strava

• 

Used for activity tracking globally. Especially running and cycling. Activity tracking applications like Strava (Nike, Adidas, Runkeeper, etc) are the best replacement for smartwatches (I meant to say that if you don’t have any smartwatches then you can download strava and track your activity). Strava plays a vital role in motivating beginners. Say, you ran 1km in 7mins on the very first day and running 1km in 6mins on the next it will show achievements. They give digital batches. Segments , leaderboard, monthly challenges are there. (Once you started using Strava, I’m sure you’ll love it except gps tracking issue 🙈)

Healthifyme

• 

This app has wide variety of sections like a supermarket. No no.. It is a hyper market. Yes. Starts from calories tracking, it touches activity tracking, personal training, water intake, reminders, global challenges, community feed, etc. No matter you are a beginner or expert healthifyme suitable for you. It asks some list of questions and then suggest foodlist, calories intake, workout to be done and all. I’m very confident that a person who can follow all the tips and suggestions shared in this app will see the results soon. There is no compromise.

Keep

• 

My brother introduce this app to me. So let me introduce this app to you guys. This app is best for workouts. Weight based, no weight, band or whatever they have preloaded workouts. You are coming to home late evening and want to do effective workout before dinner, then open the app search the workouts you want to do, check the timing and finish it. Because you don’t want to give in right. It is not fully offline. Before any workout we need to download the workout package. Then it will be offline always untill we clear the app storage.

So guys – Strava is for activity tracking, Healthifyme is for calorie tracking and nutrition, Keep is for workouts. A deady combo huh .. just under 300mb (Lesser than Free fire 🤔)

Give a try once and I hope you will enjoy it. Stay healthy, Stay fit. Thank you.