From India - Please share your experiences

[shree]

Guru,

I was checking for bodyfat calipers in India & found this link.

http://www.bfysportsnfitness.com/shop.p ... incat_id=1

Looks like they have good collection and they are based in Mumbai.

Shree

[Anand]

hi deepak, welcome aboard mate.
i agree with the fact that many people would not do this program. but i feel this is a good program, especially for beginners. All the exercises are compound exercises and target many muscles at the same time. good for overall body conditioning and strength.
regarding diet, i can understand the situation you are in, being in a hostel. But please dont let that demotivate you. try the following if it is possible
- instead of having 2 or 3 big meals a day, try going for 4 or 6 smaller meals a day, and space them evenly
- avoid junk food (fast food, fried stuff, oily stuff, stuff with lots of sugar or ghee)
- try eating fruits and veggies
- eggs, mixed nuts and milk are good sources of protein, try to put them in your diet
- meat is not a must, if you look at guru's earlier message in the thread, he explains how he has worked out his diet schedule. its a very good plan

most important of all is to regular go to gym and progressively increase weights. For some individuals a regular and good workout can offset some of the negative effects of a not so good diet.

how far along are you in the program? maintaining a log? its a great motivator

[Anand]

Guru,

I was checking for bodyfat calipers in India & found this link.

http://www.bfysportsnfitness.com/shop.p ... incat_id=1

Looks like they have good collection and they are based in Mumbai.

Shree

hi shree,

nice catch.
but did u checkout the price tag. its 4k. it must be one of those high end devices. i was hoping for a something < 1k

[ricepower]

Im nearly an indian, actually a bengali living in the UK. But I can relate to your issues.

Obsiously the countless variety of legumes is the way to go. There are so many types of daal eaten in india and they are all good.

Chick peas in particular (gram/chana) are particularly good as they taste starchy and are a great replacement for potato in curries. You can also make houmous or falafel. If you get chick pea flour, you can also use it for many fried battered fritters (good if your looking for calories)

And of course nuts, I eat 100-200g nuts (with some raisins) a day. 200g is 1018kcal and 39.6g protein

And yoghurt of course.

If you do any baking of pizza etc, I have found polenta/cornmeal to make a great pizza base. It has a good amount of protein and is less rich in basic carbs like bread.

[guru]

Hi Deepak, welcome mate. You're in Mumbai too? Great.

I second Anand on the training log. Start one here if you have not already done it.

4k for the calipers sure is quite high. Maybe I'll have to look around more.

[guru]

An update here & a question -

I looked for bodyfat calipers in the local sports stores & got blank stares. Now I've decided that I'll get the test done at my gym, since they happen to have them. Of course, I have to undergo a full fitness assessment since they won't do only BF test, but it still costs only Rs. 300/-

I also asked for chalk & again got blank stares. Are any of you guys using chalk? If yes, where do you get it from?

[Anand]

i too got some blank stares when i asked in the local sport stores for a bodyfat (skinfold) caliper. one of the guys in the store recommended me to check up stores that sell medical instruments. i think here( in india) the caliper is still a precise medical instruments to be handled by medically qualified hands only

i havent used chalk yet, but i think one place where you can find decent quality chalk is stores that sell outdoor adventure equipment like for rock climbing. am sure they will have chalk

[guru]

i havent used chalk yet, but i think one place where you can find decent quality chalk is stores that sell outdoor adventure equipment like for rock climbing. am sure they will have chalk

Good suggestion Anand. I know a store nearby - will try mu luck there.

[Nilan666]

I know another Indian through facebook. I wont mention his name in here of course as he didnt register with the forum. But his stats would make anyone sit up and notice and make Mehdi very proud. Following SL5x5 for a year, he at 94kg body weight and ~21% bf, has a 170kg deadlift,150kg squat,100kg bench(or was it 110?) and ermm...have forgotten his row stats

[guru]

Absolutely impressive. Wonder why he never registered. We all could learn a lot from his log.

[Anand]

thats really amazing ... i wonder at the kind of dedication and commitment he put into it, and what motivation and drive that guy must have had.

speaking of drive and motivation, what keeps you guys going - is it reaching certain numbers, aiming for a certain physique, peak performance at a certain sport?

[guru]

speaking of drive and motivation, what keeps you guys going - is it reaching certain numbers, aiming for a certain physique, peak performance at a certain sport?

Well, I'm not a sportsperson, so the last one is out.

What keeps me going is now primarily this forum. There are quite a few of us here who check on each others' logs regularly, provide encouragement & offer feedback. Those things help push the iron a lot. Aiming for a physique also has some credit, though not a lot.

[Nilan666]

thats really amazing ... i wonder at the kind of dedication and commitment he put into it, and what motivation and drive that guy must have had.

speaking of drive and motivation, what keeps you guys going - is it reaching certain numbers, aiming for a certain physique, peak performance at a certain sport?

Different things pushed me at different times. Initially it was sport(atheltics), then i lost my direction got distracted and i started doing it purely to get strong. Sometime back i realised getting strong just for the heck of it is useless. No point in getting strong if i cant apply it to athletics. So its back to square one again...athletics rules!

[Anand]

nilan666, i kind of agree with you. i always felt gaining strength was a means to an end. i havent been able to define my 'end' so far, but am sure gaining strength should definitely make getting to that 'end' easier. personally i am not exactly strong, neither am i a sports person.

for now, what keeps me going is getting to my goals and to do it well while getting there, getting a good physique is hopefully one of the better side effects of achieving the goals.
As to what motivates me is seeing all the things the members of this forum are achieving, its amazing. seeing people put in the kind of effort and dedication in spite of their busy life is something that always wakes me up, and make me try a little harder.

[davinder]

Hi all,
Due to frequent stomach problems my doctor advice me not to take Whey.
I am a Non-vegetarian, can anybody suggest me an Indian diet without whey.
I am 75Kg and go to gym in the morning, earlier I use to take Whey 40min prior to gym and immedaitly after gym.
But now what should I take in place of whey.