A recent study by an American university on its undergraduate students was a big revelation on the lack of fitness in college students. It has shocked many in the exercise and fitness world and has led to a realization that despite creating an awareness about the importance of physical activity and need for fitness, youth physical fitness seems to be at an all-time low. This study also has many parallels with India as we are hurtling towards an obesity and diabetes epidemic. Some might say that the diabesity epidemic is already raging in India.

Gauging physical fitness at Wayne State University, USA

Wayne State University’s exercise science department carried out an aerobic fitness test of their undergraduate students. The students’ aerobic fitness was below average for 20-year olds. The students started the test with a walk and within 3-4 minutes, their bodies shifted to the anaerobic energy system. This showed that they were extremely unfit. This shift from aerobic to anerobic energy system also shows that they had very few mitochondria in their cells. Mitochondria are the powerhouses at the cellular level and their depletion leads to various metabolic illnesses like diabetes, hypertension etc.

What do the above results tell us

The powers that be have drawn quite a few conclusions from the above fitness experiment:

•Despite all the efforts made to get people to be physically active – 10,000 steps in a day etc., most people still lead very sedentary lives.

•Young people today are even more sedentary than the older generation. This is especially worrisome as these youngsters would be affected by obesity, diabetes at an even earlier age than their parents.

•Most people still do not know the difference between being physically active and pursuing fitness. This is a negative aspect of “the 10,000 steps a day campaign”.

•Just because a person took 10,000 steps does not mean they are fit. They would be physically active but not necessarily able to use their cardio vascular system efficiently.

•The pandemic has increased sedentary lifestyles and this has led to a drop in the physical fitness for most people. The impact of various lockdowns will be felt for years to come as the lack of exercise and activity will create health issues for lots of people.

Relevance for India

India went through very strict lock downs during the last two years. Staying cooped up indoors has affected the physical as well as mental health of lots of people. The need of the hour is to start getting back to exercising. Unfortunately, there are very few guidelines on how to resume working out. I am seeing the old High Intensity Interval training garbage being pushed by all – experts in the media and trainers in gyms. These are my recommendations:

•Whether you are resuming your exercise regimen or starting afresh, start slowly.

•I cannot emphasize this enough – start with a walking program. Walk at a fast pace 5 days a week. Duration could be 30-60 minutes.

•Include two days of strength training – start with simple bodyweight exercises like push-ups, squat, lunges, planks, sit ups.

•If you had had COVID, then you can expect your body’s ability to tolerate exercise to be quite low. Please consult your doctor before starting your program. Doing even a minimum of 10 minutes a day can improve things initially.

•After two weeks of walking shift to walking and jogging. Use the Talk Test for checking the pace for the jogging. You should be able to hold a conversation easily while jogging.

•If you prefer to cycle, pace recommendations remain the same.

•Most of your training should be slow pace, steady state cardio. Later you can add ONE session a week for High Interval Training.

Now go and do it.

Kamal Singh is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist who has been coaching for 15 years

From HT Brunch, April 16, 2022

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