devansh-malhotra

[devansh-malhotra]

HOW YOUTUBE IS KILLING YOUR GAINS

YouTube is the modern day “land of opportunities”. It is a place where one tiny clip of you executing a task in an unconventional way can help in building the foundation of a large empire. YouTube plays a huge role in influencing the minds of our youth. Everything from our likes and dislikes to even our purchase behavior is influenced by what we watch on our beloved platform.

That said, just like every other marketplace in this world, YouTube also has its fair share of knockoffs and fake information sources. In terms of health and fitness, fake sources or sources which have incomplete information are rather dangerous. Having half knowledge about an exercise can lead to serious injuries, which can sometimes affect us for life. Working out in general requires a lot of real-time assistance, no-one is expected to nail a workout posture/form by just looking at a YouTube tutorial.

Now, I am not saying that every workout/ fitness channel is providing half information or incomplete guides, most of them are legitimate with certified trainers behind the camera. However, while conducting research on this topic, I realized that most of these “certified” trainers are actually using YouTube as a medium for hosting their respective fitness websites/ businesses (beyond YouTube) to the masses. In layman terms, these individuals are using YouTube as a platform for showcasing trailers to their actual businesses, where they provide all the premium services with the addons of real-time assistance and what not. We all are different from each other, and our bodies respond to physical activities in a different way. Hence, what works out for someone, might not have the same impact on me. Various factors like metabolism, body structure, genetics, diet, etc. play a huge role in determining how impactful my YouTube workout session was. Sure, most of the generalized exercises like barbell curls, pushups, etc. work the standard muscle groups for each and every individual, however, more complex workouts like deadlift or bench press requires the assistance of a personal trainer (especially in the case of a newcomer, where ego lifting can be an issue). A workout newbie naturally does not know his limits, this is where a designated fitness provider can give him some notes and pointers while assisting him in reaching his workout goals. No-one can “learn how to swim” by just watching a good YouTube tutorial even if it is hosted by a certified world class swimming instructor. You are required to go to the pool and start from scratch with the basics. Same is the case with workouts, a deadlift tutorial video can teach you to keep the back straight, but it cannot correct you when you actually execute the workout in an improper form. Neither can a gym newbie nail a high intensity workout without being properly monitored. This exactly is where I believe YouTube fails to meet our workout requirements.

Now-a-days we see a lot of fitness challenges on YouTube, which might seem normal to actually fit people but are completely absurd considering the standards of an average human like me. Take 200 pushups a day for a month as an example. Now, a fitness professional who has trained for years and has insane strength and endurance, can pull it off. But for an average Joe like me, this task is not only daunting, but also dangerous for my overall posture. Just how everything requires balance in life, so does working out. A balanced weekly workout consists of various exercises which requires both push and pull movements. This ensures that the muscle groups are not strained excessively and grow evenly. Now, fitness professionals who perform 200 pushups a day on YouTube are supplementing that push workout with other pull workouts in the background (to balance things out). But the same information is not provided to us in their workout videos. Hence, when an average joe tries to complete the challenge he just saw on YouTube, he ends up with an increased upper body strength along with a rounded back and tendonitis in the shoulders. So, if you are looking to develop gorilla-like strength along with being hunched like a gorilla 24X7, go ahead.

Now, every thing has its pros and cons, not every type of content on YouTube is dangerous. It depends on how the viewer perceives the information he/she gathers. For me personally, workout videos on YouTube work as an excellent motivation before going the gym. Watching these videos gets the juices flowing in my body and all I want to do is get on the bench and lift like a 1000 pounds. On the other hand, transformation videos are also filled with a lot of inspiration which can easily motivate just about anyone to get off the bed and hit the gym. However, I am afraid, this is only how far YouTube goes in terms of fitness and workout content. Working out is like an artform, one cannot learn it just by watching someone else do it on the internet (without implementing it). Working out is different from dancing or singing; it has the potential to injure a person for life, if done incorrectly. Hence, real-time assistance from actual fitness personnel is what everyone requires. Because in the end, premium services from content providers on YouTube will cost you about the same of what gym instructors charge these days.

Unless YouTube launches a hologram technology where the trainer can actually see what you are doing in real time! But again, one trainer or athlete will not be able to monitor millions of concurrent viewers. Hence, I believe that personal trainers will keep their jobs for a little longer.

[devansh-malhotra]

YOGA 101

Yoga is nothing but the meaningful connection of your soul to the mind and the body. An efficient way of life which is proven to heal and purify your soul by the yogis…

  Sure, explosive gym workouts gather all the attention and are fun to execute, but the reason why people rely on yoga is because of it’s healing powers. Everything from meditating and breathing to even moving in a specific fashion can be termed as yoga. As humans grow, intellectually and physically, they themselves discover different forms of yoga in their daily lifestyle. Yoga comes naturally to all living creatures at some point in their life, be it for stability, for healing, for strength, etc. depends on the individual. Yoga is the catalyst of life, it not only makes every process faster, but also easier for all beings who practice it. Now-a-days, many individuals believe that yoga is an ancient artform which helps in gathering large audiences on the western plane. This thought process motivates certain influencers into spreading a word about yoga, online through their reach. Many individuals believe that yoga is something which should come from the within, I agree to that statement to an extent, because without that internal motivation and drive, achieving greatness via yoga is nearly impossible. However, regardless of the medium of propagation, teaching correct yoga is extremely essential. Every person should have access to reliable techniques and information for practicing better yoga. Hence, this blog, where I attempt to walk you through different forms of yoga, which can make your online life easier.

Work from home, online classes, internet, zoom, these are some words which have taken up a major chunk of our time in the past couple of years. This has led to several promotions, various bonuses, abundant success stories and also a bunch of lifestyle diseases. Hypertension, diabetes, obesity, etc. to name a few. Every too good to be true thing comes with a hint of bad with it. In case of online-mode of education and work, the bad was a world wide pandemic and the work from home bit obviously.

The quarantine and lockdown period not only made our working lives difficult, but also managed to score some points in the poor lifestyle department. People knowingly and unknowingly fell into traps of sedentary lifestyle choices which gave them problems with their joints, eyes, organs, etc. Going to the gym was not in the books and working out at home was not possible without the essence and vibe of the gym. Hence, most people waited for gyms to reopen and life to resume like the way it used to function. However, this wait time stretched out to about two years, which is more than enough for bad habits and poor lifestyle to settle deep inside the human body.  

People who were well acquainted with yoga before this pandemic had hit the jackpot, all they required was some open space and time. All their problems and issues were fixed by yoga during the lockdown. However, yoga is not just about working on current issues, it also caters to the issues which were induced in the past. Hence, the people who were unaware about the yogic tactics, or simply did not execute yoga in the time of pandemic, it is still not late. Yoga is all about healing and walking the peaceful path of life. This allows almost any individual to pick it up at any point of time and lead a better life. In yoga, it’s not about the workout, everything revolves around the lifestyle. Yoga requires discipline and focus, which directly and indirectly makes the person a healthy human.

In this blog we will discuss “yoga” which will make you ponder about whether you should adopt the better lifestyle or not. This is not like other articles where the author recommends some exercises and vouches for it. Here, I will let you decide whether yoga is the key for whatever you are looking for in terms of health and fitness.

We all are aware about the fact that yogis live in the tundra’s with minimal food and clothing, and are still more versatile and strong than a major chunk of the population. The backbone of their strength is yoga, which made their minds strong. A strong mind means a strong body, a strong soul, a healthy heart and a full stomach. Performing yoga is not about becoming a part of some cult, it is about self-reflection. Narrowing down on ones mistakes and working on them efficiently and progressively.

Great stuff about the origins and essence of yoga, but which type of yoga am I supposed to practice?

Excellent question. If you go on the internet and type in different types of yoga, you will be amazed to find out that the results of yogic terms lack discipline themselves. Abundance of different responses and reviews will clutter your mind and confuse you into adopting different yogic practices. Let me clear that google search for you, first of all, yoga is not only about asanas and pranayamas. It is also associated with how a person carries themselves. Ahimsa (non-violence), Bhramcharya, Aparigraha, Saucha, Santosh, Swadhyaya, Ishwara Pranidhana, Pratyahara, Asana, Pranayama, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi. All these are the elements of yoga. That said, you are not required to master them all for becoming a healthier human. All these elements are required only if you are willing to become a true yogi. For escaping your bad habits and becoming a better human, Dhyana, Asana and Pranayama will do the magic. Now, asanas can be divided into three major categories. -Meditative asanas -Relaxative asanas -Cultural or corrective asanas

Whereas pranayamas are divided into eight categiroes. -Suryabhedig -Sheetkari -Bhastrika -Palvini -Ujjayi -Sheetli -Bhramari -Morchha

Hence, there is something for everybody in yoga. If you are looking to relax your mind, relaxative asanas should be your go to. On the other hand, if you are looking to fix your posture, correctives asanas are what you should rely on. Pranayamas are as important as asanas, they help in building better linkage between your neurons which directly makes the mind more productive. Hence, both the techniques go hand in hand. One makes you stronger physically, while the other makes your mind strong.

In conclusion, yoga is the counter to every disease, you just have to stop procrastinating and turn a new leaf for good.