Got yourself a gym membership? That’s great! Now before you get on that treadmill, make sure you check out your current fitness levels.

Joining a gym to get into shape is always a good idea. However, many people make the mistake of simply joining and starting off on arbitrary exercises without getting proper counselling first. This can lead to frustration over lack of optimum results.

A good gym will take you through a series of steps before creating a workout plan for you. So if you’re planning to join a gym, ensure that your fitness trainer checks you for the following before recommending exercises for you:

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Irrespective of level of physical fitness, people with high resting heart rates have higher risk of death than those with lower heart rates, a new study has found.

A resting heart rate – the number of heart beats per minute – is determined by an individual”s level of physical fitness, circulating hormones, and the autonomic nervous system.

A rate at rest of between 60 and 100 beats per minute is considered normal.

People who are very physically active tend to have a low heart rate at rest, but the researchers wanted to find out if heart rate had any bearing on an individual”s risk of death, irrespective of their level of cardiorespiratory fitness.

They therefore tracked the health of just under 3000 men for 16 years, all of whom were part of the Copenhagen Male Study. In 1971, all participants were interviewed by a doctor about their health and lifestyle, including smoking and exercise, and given a check-up. Their cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed using a cycling test, set at three different levels of exertion.

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The stress of long working hours at the office and bringing up a family were the main reasons given by majority of people for missing out on exercise, a survey has found.

Staying fit and active every day can dramatically reduce the risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and dementia, but 94 per cent of those questioned did not deem physical fitness as being of prime importance in their lives, according to the survey.

One in 10 said they had not done any real physical exercise in more than a decade, more than a fifth said the last time they were really physically active was at school, college or university and only a quarter said they had been really physically active in the past week, it said.

The survey of 2,000 people found that long hours in the office were the reason 41 per cent gave for not finding time to exercise while childcare was blamed by 33 per cent, the Daily Express reported.

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Fitness expert, Namita Jain answers readers’ questions on fitness. Get your doubts cleared and see them featured on our FAQ page.

This week’s answer:

Hy Namita! My self tasheen khan. i am just 22 years and very concious about my health and figure. and my main problem is that i went gym early morning around 6 o clock or 6.30 am and last 15 day i am doing surya namaskar for loosing weight. now my weight is around 55 and i am below 5 inch so i want to loos my 5 kg weight. but i am hopeless about my weight because i am not success in it so please tell me the right way to loose my 5 kg weight and i want to let you know that i am follow all rules about dieting and doing strictly diet. send me also diet plan.
tasheen Alhind

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Fitness expert, Namita Jain answers readers’ questions on fitness. Get your doubts cleared and see them featured on our FAQ page every Thursday.

This week’s answer:

1. Hi there, I am 23 and want to loose my waight upto 10 kg unable to understand how to do it, please suggest me my daily diet plan, if possible,i am vegetarian.
my weight is 58 kg. and my height is 5’3.5″. my problem area is my hips and waist my waist is 30 and hips is 37. need your help.
Please suggest me my diet please so that i can feel fit.
Thanks and Regards,
Parul

2. Hi madam, I am 25 years old i want to reduce 10 kg weight. I was 58 before my marriage and since 6 months i have gained upto 8 kg which is 65 now. Please provide me a daily healthy diet chart to reduce my weight.

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Training mistakes to avoid in your exercise

We all sometimes make mistakes in our fitness training but there are some that you should always try and avoid. Read this list of top ten fitness mistakes to make sure you’re training both properly and safely:

Fitness mistake 1: Not regularly changing your fitness regime

Getting stuck in a training rut is probably the most common training error of all. Yes, 20 minutes on the treadmill and three sets of 10 reps with 5kg weights might be fine when you start out – but if you fail to increase either the length or intensity of the run, and the weight or number of repetitions that you do, the improvements will plateau out. In fact, one study found that in beginners, aerobic fitness began to plateau in as little as three weeks when the training load was not increased. So, to continue making progress in fitness, you have to keep raising the bar every it gets close enough to touch – every six weeks at least, but ideally more often.

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Fitness expert, Namita Jain answers readers’ questions on fitness. Get your doubts cleared and see them featured on our FAQ page every Thursday.
This week’s answer:

My current weight is 92 and im 5’4. my age is 23 yrs, i have reduced 8 kgs /16 pounds in 1 month by exercise and fiber diet. but now my weight is reducing very slowly . please guide me, i need to be 60 kgs within 3 months.
Nafisa

Simple strategies to help you lose weight

Exercise frequently

Consider increasing the number of days you workout. Try working out six days of the week. Include some “fun” activities – ones that you will enjoy and sustain.

Up the intensity

Are your workouts challenging? Or are you just plodding along a comfort zone?
To maximize weight loss, increase the intensity or the duration of your workouts.

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Fitness expert, Namita Jain answers readers’ questions on fitness. Get your doubts cleared and see them featured on our FAQ page every Thursday.
This week’s answers:
1. hiii.. m doing yoga but m not losing weight ..plsss help
Mandeep Sahota

In addition to yoga, you must include 1 hour walking daily to lose weight. Also, it is important to watch your diet. Please avoid heavy foods such as fried foods, oily foods, cream, cheese and sweets.

2. My wife age is 22.Her height is 5.3 and weight is 65.please give me diet plan for my wife to get her shape back.
Naresh

To lose weight you need to create a calorie deficit. Weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds per week is safe. To lose 1 pound a week you need to cut back on 500 calories a day. That is a total of 3500 calories a week. The best way to achieve this is by reducing your calorie intake and increasing calorie expenditure through exercise. Diet plus exercise is the ideal way to lose weight.

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Fitness expert, Namita Jain answers readers’ questions on fitness. Get your doubts cleared and see them featured on our FAQ page every Thursday.

This week’s answers:

1. Dear Namita, I read your posts in sify.health.com and felt that you are the right person and probably would understand my pain better. Please help me!!!

I am a 23 year old and working in an IT company. I am 5ft 2″ and my weight is around 66-68 kgs ( keeps varying).

I have lot of belly fat, uneven thigh muscles and huge bottocks.
I have tried lot of exercise regimes but unable to stick to one since my work policy doesnt allow me to.( I leave by around 7 in the morning and come back by 8. later studies)
This has considerably lowered my self-confidence and is affecting my work as well. I cannot walk too fast since i start breathing heavily and feel exhausted very quickly with
any kind of physical work. It takes a while(almost half an hour) to pull myself back up

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Our fitness training safety checklist

Numerous studies have proven that regular exercise is good for your health and that embarking on a structured exercise programme can only improve your short and long-term fitness.

However, if you’re thinking about beginning an exercise programme, before you rush out to your nearest leisure club and sign up for a year’s membership, or perhaps start jogging around the block, your first step should be to honestly assess your current fitness levels.

Start by completing our health status questionnaire so that you do not run the risk of injury when starting out in exercise, or something more serious.

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