Yesterday's Workout!

Finally got around to doing some real kicka.. workout yesterday. In fact two days in a row.

14th October - 6 rounds around the campus (I estimate a distance of 650 or so mts per round) after my last workout on 5th October. It was a relief to get out of the house with a friend and move around after awating a major Hurricane (Phailin), antcipating, preparing and then tiding over it - over the weekend. Not much damage around the campus except a few broken limbs (from trees, silly) and lots of leaves and twigs.

15th Oct - 8 rounds including some slow jogging  (again with above friend) which felt truly satisfying. Continued onto the gym. Did 3 rounds of weights for legs and arms and then the blessed relief of the vibration plates.

I know these variety of exercise will help better eventually - but there is nothing more adrenaline busting than watching the calorie count going up up on a treadmill!

Here's to more exercise!

Did I spoil it all with a beer tonight? Cannot be helped - sigh. i do so wish I can avoid those mixtures and ...

10 Benefits of a Bowl of Papaya for Breakfast

It is a well known fact that papaya has a huge cache of benefits asociated with it. Together with green tea - papaya is the most revered of food that nutritionists and dieticians recommend. And with good reason.

The 10 Benefits of Papaya

 Reason # 1 to eat papaya

Unlike many other healthy food - a rich ripe papaya tastes like heaven. Its sweet and slightly sour taste provides just the required kickstart to a glorious feeling throughout the day. For a sustained diet of any food - it has to taste good - papaya has that going for it in loads!

# 2 - The fruit is available throughout the year. So it can form a part of any dietary plan in any season.

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 # 3 - Its health benefits are myriad. It contains an enzyme Papain that helps in natural digestion.

# 4 - A bowl of Papaya can provide about 10% of our daily requirement of natural dietary fibre and helps in clear bowel movement.

# 5 - It is a rich natural source of Vitamins A, C, E and flavonoids like Beta carotine  and thus a rich source of anti-oxidant nutrients. These vitamins strengthen the body immune system and what better way to get them then from a natural and easily available source? Papaya similarly has anti-inflammatory properties because of the presence of its unique enzymes.

Check out the Papaya Nutrition content here

Papaya Nutriton Content

# 6 - Lower Sugar (than Mango) - A small bowl of papaya (100 g) contains about 43 calories and 8 g of sugar. Compare it with Mangoes. A 100g intake of ripe mango will have about 14 g of sugar and 60 calories. (all nutrition facts from google search results ) Thankfully mangoes are a seasonal fruit! It is advisable not to take more than 20-22 g sugar in a day. Am not sure if natural sugar is ncluded in that, though.


# 7 -  Beauty Benefits - Papaya is a good source of natural food for a healthy skin. While a dab of mashed papaya can make a good skin pack and skin lightener, the vitamin A in papaya ensures a clear skin tone and good eye sight.

# 8 - Low Sodium, Potassium Rich - The low sodium content of Papaya is a major boon as it prevents water retention. Potassium in the fruit helps control hypertension.

# 9 - Unripe papaya is frequently used as a meat tenderizer while cooking meat dishes - like mutton and lamb. The enzyme papain breaks down the tough meat fibres and makes cooking easier. However the unripe papaya should be eat cooked as direct intake of the enzyme could have adverse effects.

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# 10 - Eating the bowl of papaya has other periphery benefits like healthy hair, good eye sight, clear skin; papain is extracted from papaya for dietary supplements, raw papaya is used everywhere from a face to a hair mask, to a wound soother.

I am really however not sure how many of those periphery benefits are supported by science and facts. Papaya has been touted as a great weight loss enabler. The only way I can see papaya helping to lose weight is because it makes a filling zero cholesterol meal. Be sure to continue counting your sugar when you eat a load of ripe papaya based diet.

I have been having papaya for breakfast for the last so many years and i like to believe it has helped me be a healthy person. It makes a wonerful and healthier filler when you want to nibble on chocolates or chips.

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Papaya definitely needs it be added to one's diet.

Maa Durga vs Cyclone Phailin

Maa Durga has her task cut out for her on this Ashtami 2013. As the devotees gear up for the much anticipated Durga Ashtami Puja - there is apprehension, fear, belief, resignation in the air.

The demon is around the corner. In the shape of a whirling, swirling juggernaut of a tornado that looks ready to uproot everything in its way. This omnipresent Goddess,  the embodiment of power, peace and motherhood - the killer of Mahisashura and all the evils that the demon personified - will she be able to vanquish this massive demon?

I can feel the people still hoping that the Goddess will somehow sway the demon. Together with our belief in Lord Jagannath we believe in this Mother Durga towards whose worship we plan and look forward to throughout the year.

Cyclone Phailin is a tangible monster with wind speed currently at 160 mph and around 400 kms away from landfall. It is showing all indications of a Supercyclone. But I still hear questions like - is it truly coming? Why is there no wind or much rain yet? Phailin is a tangible swirling mass of wind and condensation with no possible (or visible) reasons not to strike as predicted. We havent got the wind yet because we have been warned a lot in advance. The wind is coming and fast.

Two Supercyclones in the space of 14 years? Just when the trees have started to grow back and thrive after the massive devastation of 1999? Just when memories of the devastation and the chaos that followed have begun to heal? Not possible. The Maa will somehow thwart it. Hopefully not at the cost of swerving and sending it to other states.

Belief is a strong and strange thing.

Prayer for you Maa

Ya Devi sarva bhuteshu Matri rupena samsthita
Ya Devi sarva bhuteshu Shakti rupena samsthita
Ya Devi sarva bhutesu Shanti rupena samsthita
Namestasyai Namestasyai Namestasyai Namoh Namah

How to do Suryanamaskar (With Illustration) - Health, Fitness, Meditation and Prayer

How 12 Rounds of Surya Namaskar is all your Body Needs

Surya Namaskar or the salutation to the Sun God has long been accepted by Indian culture to provide a deep aligning of the mind, body and spirit. these asanas passed down from ascetics and refined by yoga Gurus has been practised for centuries early in the morning as a form of salutation to the Sun God Surya.

The modern day or current popularity of Surya Namaskar can be directly attributed to Sr sri Ravi Shankar and his Art of Living good living cell - as the popularity and following of Pranayama by millions can be attributed directly to Baba Ramdev.

How to Do Surya Namaskar


The Surya Namaskar yoga consists of 12 asanas in an inviolable sequence

# 1. Stand with your palms together (Namaskar pose) and your feet together in Pranamasan

# 2 Ardha Chandrasan-  Lift the arms up and back in a slow fluid movement so as to stretch the entire body. Keep the arms close to the head and push the pelvis slightly forward to stretch better.

# 3 Bend forward from your waist to touch the mat

# 4 With both palms on the mat, move your right leg backward with knee on the floor. Left foot should be between the palms and head tilted looking up

# 5 Take the left leg back, keep the arms straight, feet on the ground in an inclined plank

# 6 Parvatasana - Raise the hips up while looking down. Palms and feet are on the ground. The position as the name suggests is like a mountain or an inverted "V"

# 7 Lower the knees, chest, chin to the floor. Raise the hips slightly.


# 8 Bhujangasana - Raise your chest and look up like a cobra. Back should be in an arc.

# 9 Repeat Parvatasana - Raise the hips up while looking down. Palms and feet are on the ground.

# 10 Go to position # 4 with the alternate set of feet - right foot at the front and the left leg stretched back.

# 11 Position # 3, ie bending forward from the waist while touching the ground

# 12 Same as position # 2 - Ardha Chandrasan - arms raised up and the body stretched outward.

End with the Namaskar which is the start of the second leg of one cycle in which you move the right leg forward first in Step # 4

Check out the illustration of Surya Namaskar .

600 Calories on Treadmill - Tum dee dum

I worked out 600 calories on treadmill today. This is by far my BEST EVER effort on a treadmill. I had done 600 calories one roughly 10 months back when I was preparing for the marathon. However then since my concentration was on jogging - I couldnt log much calories even though I worked out longer.

Today's workout log

Calories Burnt - 600 cal
Workout - walking on incline on treadmill
Distance covered - 5 kms
Time - 50 mins

Maximum incline - 13
Maximum intensity - jogging for 1 min at 7 km per hour speed on 13 incline.

Followed this workout with some crunches, leg press and 6 minutes on the Vibration Plate

Feeling - good!

This workout came about after losing around 1.5 kgs this week because of an upset stomach which compelled me to a minimal diet. I feel positively lightweight and timble toed ;-)

Sandra Bullock - Gravity and Age Defying Fitness

I just read the review of Gravity in which Sandra Bullock plays a lost in space astronaut. At 50, Bullock is getting rave reviews for her yummy appearance.

Bullock was always one my favorite people on screen. With this performance (which I will be sure to watch) my admiration for her has gone up a notch or two. Just one generation back - 50 was considered to be irretrievably old. Male actors have transcended the 50 years barrier with meaty roles for sometime. Women havent been so lucky. Good roles yes - but "gravity" defining roles at 50 - cant remember any!

Bullock's role which must have demanded a load of stamina is a tribute to her fitness. Sandra trained specifically for her "weightlessness" in the movie. She admits she pushed her body to the extreme during training.

Read about how Sandra trained for Gravity here.

Bullock's fitness regime is apparently a combination of dance routines for cardio, yoga and pilates. She revealed on Today Show to Jay Leno recently that she does kick boxing and rides a bike whenever she can and runs when she is in Austin.

Sandra Bullock Workout Regime

Sandra's workout by as prescribed by her trainer Eden Paul includes
Squats
Reverse Lunges
Push ups
Dumbbell Workouts
Scissor Kicks for those killer abs
Side Lunges

Sandra reportedly has been working recently with Simone De La Rue at the Body by Simone Dance Studio on
Yoga, Pilates and Dance Cardio. She apparently puts in one hour every day six days a week with Simone to get her killer looks.

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Sandra Bullock Diet

What diet does Sandra follow? Sandra apparently maintain her looks and fitness by a healthy eating habit. She has revealed at times that she doesnt have a specific diet plan as such but avoids junk food. She apparently cheats a day a week.

Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred

Such an example of health and fitness coupled with true beauty and acting skill - deserves a shout.

Keep it up Sandra!

Download Tom Clancy Books on Kindle and Amazon

Tom Clancy, RIP (1947 -2013) will no longer spin out best selling spy books and thrillers. The author of the popular Jack Ryan books died in Baltimore. Clancy's first book "The Hunt For Red October" was endorsed by none other than Ronald Reagan as unputdownable and according to Clancy got him into the best selling list for the first time.



Read more about the popular author here.



http://news.yahoo.com/best-selling-author-tom-clancy-died-age-66-152101522.html



Get Tom Clancy's books here


The Hunt for Red October [40th Anniversary Edition] – HarperCollins AU



Download Tom Clancy's books for Kindle here

The Hunt for Red October (Jack Ryan Book 1) - Kindle edition by Clancy, Tom. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.