Fitness 1 by Coach KK

Keshav started on his fitness journey like most others do, with the aim to lose just a few inches off his waist, however little did he know that it would soon become just more than an hour that he spent in the gym trying out different workout programs. From having tried and failed at random workout programs that led to an endless pursuit of self-education and a hunger for knowledge, Keshav found his passion in helping others who are or at some point were, stuck in their respective fitness journeys. Over the past couple of years, he’s helped people reach their fitness goals be it losing weight, building muscle, increasing strength, becoming more flexible or simply improving endurance and stamina by educating, providing unique fitness programming and systematic communication with all his clients. Keshav takes only selected clients who have a desire to become fit and healthy, not just on the outside, making sure that every single client is coached personally and not through ass...

Every time we step on a weighting scale to check our weight, we see a number which shows us the total body weight. For the sake of this post, I'll be using the following equation:  Body Weight = Fat Weight + Lean Body Weight To know more about Lean Body Weight and Fat Weight click  here . In simple words, it is possible to lose body fat without losing body weight, with the assumption that the lean body weight also increases roughly by the same amount as body fat reduces. Now if the change in body fat (decrease) is unequal to the change in lean body weight (increase), body weight will change. This change in body weight will be dependent on the relative changes in either body fat or lean body weight or both. There can be several reasons for losing inches from the waist or a reduction in body fat without seeing any change in body weight. Some reasons are listed below: Reduction in body fat with a roughly equal increase in lean body mass. If you’re not doin...

Green Tea has gathered a lot of attention in recent years as a weight loss product. Is it really beneficial for weight reduction and losing those extra inches off your waist. Lets take a look. First of all, have you ever seen any green tea product in the market which has specifically mentioned on their packaging that consuming green tea reduces belly fat. Chances are that you won't find any brand that says so. If you do, please send me a picture of it as well. Now, I’m talking about regular green tea here, prepared in hot water and not the supplemental form that comes as a pill. Weight loss happens because of being in a calorie deficit i.e. consuming less calories than required for body weight maintenance. Most weight loss plans range from 2 - 6 months, which require complete dedication and consistency to successfully achieve a target weight. So, to answer this question, green tea prepared in hot water will not aid in belly fat reduction or weight loss or fat loss, if yo...

I get asked about the best “Indian” weight loss diet a lot these days. Here’s my answer for that question: Well, if there was such a thing as “The Best Indian Weight Loss Diet” wouldn't every Indian be on it. Who want to be overweight, fatigued, fat and unfit anyway. If the best weight loss diet actually existed everyone would be fit, toned, muscular and healthy. To put the entire weight loss philosophy into a simple equation, I would say: Weight Loss = Calorie Deficit i.e. consuming less calories than for weight maintenance Thats it. No hidden secrets, no false hopes and certainly no absurd food choices. If your unaware about your current calorie intake, calculate that first. It can be done using a food tracker app on the smart phone. MyFitnessPal is a good one. Then balance out for appropriate ratios of protein, carbs, fats and fiber. Reduce intake and be consistent. Drink plenty of water and follow a well balanced exercise program. This is as simple as it g...

For those of us, who swear by lifting a loaded barbell be it for achieving a personal fitness goal, preparing for a competition, or simply to look a little leaner and muscular, creatine is one supplemental product that catches our attention even before the session gets over. Now, I’m certainly not here to debate weather it should be in your monthly supplement shopping list, simply because not everyone will benefit from it, but is has become a staple complementing my post workout shake. If your already eating loads of red meat almost every day, creatine may or may not show any positive results for you. However, for some like me, who’s primarily getting in calories from a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet, creatine can do wonders. So, what is creatine : In simple terms, creatine is a nitrogenous organic acid which is a naturally produced in the human body from L-arginine, glycine and methionine (amino acids). Chemically, creatine is represented as C4H9N3O2. Its primary function is to supp...

Reducing fat without losing muscle is quite tricky and if you're trying to do it for the first time, chances are its going to be really difficult. This is because there are lots of processes going on inside the body at any random time. Fat loss or even muscle gain is not like an ON-OFF switch that you shift from one goal to the other in an instant. Lots of bodybuilding and fitness enthusiasts take years figuring out how to manipulate certain dietary and exercise parameters so that they can preserve their hard earned muscle while on a fat loss diet. Following are certain general guidelines that can be helpful: Monitor your calorie, macro, water intake regularly. Calculating Current Macros and Calories Do not reduce or play with sodium intake. It can be quite unrewarding. Train hard, with a good split. This does not mean go nuts every time you're in the gym. Get enough deep quality sleep. Sometimes even twice a day, if you need it. Reduce calorie as and when needed. D...

Hi. Its been a while since I last posted. Without wasting any more time I want to dive into a topic that is some what controversial but outright confusing and misunderstood, especially by women. First of all to get the basics straight, weight loss = calorie deficit i.e. consuming less calories than maintenance levels for a specific period of time. Similarly, Sustained Weight Loss = Calorie Deficit + Exercise. Now, if you're one of those who specifically dislike exercise such as weight training, etc. and would prefer to be in a weight loss phase counting solely on reducing food intake, this post is not for you. However, if you're the kind that is ready to start on their weight loss plan and are willing to include some sort of exercise few times per week do read on as I'll be covering three points that I've come across in my career which cause the biggest hurdle for women aiming to lose weight and become fitter. Under-eating: Well, I just mentioned above the losing ...

Although its been more than a month since New Year's Eve and this post is late, most of you would have already jumped onto the weight loss wagon, but by its very nature losing weight or rather becoming fitter, stronger and leaner especially from the mid section, has never really been sustainable for some of us. With this post, we bring to you some of the most common misconceptions that people have about weight loss and how making some minor adjustments or little tweaks here and there can make this fitness journey of yours more simple, realistic and achievable this year. Weight Loss is not linear:  Well thats not entirely true, since there have been people following a weight loss diet who have managed to keep the needle of their weighing scale linearly move downwards each week, but these are certainly the exceptions rather than the majority. For most people, you're going to see some sort of a zig-zag trend with weight loss where the weight fluctuates over the short term. Th...

Lemon with warm water has for long been considered as the secret ingredient for losing belly fat. I’ve heard of countless people resort to drinking water with lemon first thing in the morning with the intension of reducing their waist line, over the years. Now if this was to done to say, detoxify the body or increase Vitamin C intake I could understand. However, losing belly fat is just not one of the primary benefits of consumption of water+lemon either in the morning or at any other time of the day. If you are already in a calorie defici t and consuming lemon water, you would lose fat, however the fat loss is coming primarily from the lowered calorie intake and not the lemon water. Lemon water is a good source of Vitamin C which may boost immunity. If you consume lemon water first thing in the morning, it is going to do exactly what it should, supply the body with Vitamin C. Losing fat from any one specific area of the body usually does not happen. When on a fat loss program...

Sugar is a form of carbohydrate, not a good one but it still does its job when taken in the right amount and at the right time. Most people do tend to eat loads of sugar while exercising little to nothing. Eliminating sugar will do two things as follows: Reduce the amount of calories that come from sugar. Alter mood. Sugar is famously irresponsible in changing mood by elevating serotonin and dopamine. In addition, some people accustomed to consuming lots of sugar daily, feel a sudden loss of energy when they entirely remove it from their diets.Instead of completely avoiding sugar (unless its a medical issue that requires immediate attention), its better to reduce it slowly over a period of few days, to a bare minimum. Say for example, if the current daily sugar consumption is 100grams, reducing 20grams every day for the next 4 - 5 days is a much better option.For healthy adults, the best time to consume sugar is around the workout i.e. either before, in-between or after the w...

Most fitness enthusiasts make it a point to perform a short pre-workout ritual commonly known as the "Warm up" before moving onto their training session. This short duration activity is usually performed for few minutes and is lower in intensity and volume. Some common warm up techniques used by many are: Walking Light jogging     Running  Jumping jacks Arm Swings Hip Rotation The duration/repetition for each the above mentioned exercises performed is something which is  dependent more on the individuals "getting in the zone for training" capacity rather than a random arbitrary number which should be adhered to. Another variable here is the weather conditions in which the training is ought to be carried out. It takes much less effort to warm up the body and get ready both physically and mentally in the summers, in comparison to the winters. Following are some of the advantages of warming up before a training session: Increase in body temperature. ...

Whey protein in recent years has gathered so many followers and consumers that it is hard to ignore it any more. Up until the 1990's not many had heard about whey protein and little did people know that one day it would become a staple for many fitness enthusiasts. What separates whey protein from the rest of the supplements available is its marketing and distribution. While one may or may not find any other relevant supplement, whey protein would surely be available for purchase at any time of the year. Whey protein supplements come in many forms as follows: Whey Protein Concentrate : Contains high protein, moderate carbohydrates and fats. Whey Protein Isolate : Contains high protein, no carbohydrate and fats. Whey Protein Hydrolysate : Hight in protein, although marketed for its partially broken down amino acid structure to aid in digestion. Whey protein is generally marketed as a post workout supplement, which means consuming it immediately after a heavy weight train...

Carrying a gym bag to the gym with you can be quite beneficial. Gym Bags allow one to have access to certain items that may be needed either before, during or after a gym session. Following are some items that I would consider to look into as part of my gym bag accessories list: 1. Gym Bag : Obviously a gym bag is the most essential item that is required to carry all other items to the gym. Following are all great options for a gym bag.   2. Sports Drink : Workout can be dehydrating and as such having a sports drink can be helpful to replenish both energy and electrolytes. You can either make one at home yourself or go for ready made ones like those linked below.      3. Shoes : This is by far the most neglected aspect of preparing for the gym session. Having the right kind of shoes for the activity you would be performing can only enhance your performance. There are specially designed shoes for Olympic Lifting, Power Lifting, Running, Endurance trai...

Sustaining weight loss is as important as losing weight to begin with. After having achieved weight loss most people simply get back to eating what they were before staring the weight loss diet. The result is a regain in both weight and fat to the level that was prior to the start of the weight loss or even more than before in certain cases. While this is certainly not the case with everyone losing weight, these are some who do experience it. During a weight loss diet, the calorie intake is reduced well below maintenance levels and thus as the diet gets over most people just jump back to their maintenance level intake while some even surpass this level taking in a lot more than would be needed. Another aspect to take into consideration is the hormonal status of the individual during weight loss. Cravings are at their peak and resisting food especially high calorie foods is just not that easy after the weight loss diet ends. Not to forget the fact the during weight loss phase, as in...

Most of us who are into strength training must have heard the words "Power Rack" at some point in their training years. While an extremely beneficial piece of equipment, the power rack is rarely found in gyms in India especially gyms in smaller cities and towns. A standard Power Rack consists of four vertical columns attached to each other, hooks for placing the barbell, safety bars for catching the barbell (if it may fall) and a pull up bar. It is designed keeping the most important parameter i.e. Safety in mind for the strength training enthusiast. A Power Rack is easily confused with a squat rack, which most gyms have or even a smith machine which is a totally different equipment serving a different purpose. Some other terms used to describe a power rack are power cage, half rack (which is basically half i.e. having only two vertical columns) and a squat cage. A standard heavy weight power rack should be a compulsory item in a gym or even at home if you train at h...

For those that may not be familiar with calories and macro nutrients can go through  Calculating Current Macros and Calories  this post will give a brief introduction on calculating current calorie and macro nutrient intake. Based on this current intake adjustments can be made to accommodate for a fat loss aimed dietary intake. Do keep in mind that there can be a difference between your recommended daily calorie intake and the current daily intake you'r consuming. If there's a big gap between these two numbers then it may be better to not reduce calories further as it may lead to a further slowing down of metabolism and thereby hindering the fat loss goal. I have done the following calculation taking a hypothetical individual "A" as an example. This is just to explain the concept and you should not assume this to be the recommended fat loss intake and thus should only understand the concept rather than start following it. Example: Recommended Body Weight Maintena...

Weight loss unarguably is one of the most common fitness goals that keeps on confusing most, even though it is well studied and information relating to it is freely available. Following are my top 5 tips to help you know more about weight loss, how it can be achieved and effectively managed even if you've tried and failed before. Medical Check-up: Believe it or not but this is probably the most underrated weight loss parameter. This helps to check for any pre-existing medical condition (hormonal, etc) and nutritional deficiencies (vitamin d, iron, etc.). Sometime clearing these nutritional deficiencies and/or addressing the necessary medical issue may be all that is needed for weight loss. It is always better to get a check up done by a qualified doctor before starting any random type of diet and exercise program.  Calorie Deficit: No matter how much you sweat in the gym, if you’r not in a calorie deficit as per your needs, weight loss will not happen. Calorie deficit m...

It is not at all uncommon for people to hit a plateau while on a fat loss program. For those that may not know, plateau during a fat loss phase is said to occur when in spite of lowering calorie intake and exceeding energy expenditure through exercise, weight does not decrease. During a plateau body weight stays the same or may even increase is some rare cases. Following are some strategies that may be helpful while dealing with a fat loss plateau: 1. Take a break: If you have been dieting for a very long time chances are that your metabolism may have adapted to a lower calorie intake. What this means is that by further decreasing calories for a very long period of time it may do more harm than good for your overall health and fat loss goals. Taking a break also does not mean that you have the option to now go hunting for food and eat anything you set your mind on. Slowly going back to maintenance calories and staying there for some time may be a good option. A break may last f...

Abdomen and Lower Body are two of the most common places where most individuals store body fat in addition to arms. While the density of fat stored by different individuals in different areas of the body varies, abdomen is the one that generally leads the way for most people. Although, there is no specific diet which has thus far been proven to reduce fat from any one area of the body, blindly following any random diet may do more harm than good for some. Reducing body weight itself is not difficult for most people, however keeping it off for the rest of their lives is the hard part. A majority of people losing weight have regained it back (some even more) after a few years. There has been some research showing that dieting often or a lot of times during a lifetime may result in a substantial gain in body fat percentage over the years. Reducing body fat percentage and keeping the fat off for a very long time requires good adherence and consistency. To know more about measuring...

Cardiovascular exercises have always been the preferred choice for most of the fitness enthusiasts for losing those extra pounds weather they follow a fat loss program, weight loss program, conditioning program or some other fitness oriented approach. Popular mainly for its fat loss enhancement function and cardiovascular benefits these can be done in more than one ways as used to be the case some years ago. Different forms of cardio include, but are not limited to Low Intensity Steady State (LISS), Moderate Intensity Steady State (MISS) and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). While LISS cardio; most commonly in the form of simple walking has undoubtedly gathered the greatest popularity mainly due to the ease of performing it, good tolerance among varied age groups from young to old irrespective of gender and no need for any special equipment other than free space;  new age equipment such as treadmills, stationary bikes and the cross trainer deserve their fair share of liki...