Fitness 1 by Coach KK

Every time one hears of dieting to lose body weight the concept of metabolism surfaces, especially phrases such as "increasing metabolism" or "increasing metabolic rate", etc. For those who are unaware about what this means or its relevance with weight loss may find it exciting or even intimidating at times to having been given the secret power to change/alter their metabolic rate by following a unbalanced, low calorie, nutrient deficient, and bland weight loss diet. Most people dieting to lose weight coupled with being less aware about what metabolism is may end up with a altered metabolic rate, physiological and psychological response than may potentially take them further away from their fitness goal/s. Metabolism Metabolism is defined as " The sum total of all reactions taking place within the body geared towards building it up and breaking it down". Building up functions are based on anabolism (anabolic functions) while breaking down functions ar...

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...

The question of using whether free weights or machines or both often arises in the mind of gym rats. Free weights are mainly the freely adjustable dumbbells, fixed weight dumbbells, fixed weight barbells and plate loaded barbells. These are some of the common free weight instruments found in most gyms and can even be purchased for personal use at home. Machines are classified as fixed weight machines, plate loaded machines, cable and pulley machines, hammer strength machines, etc. Although the use of either free weights or machines is dependent on the goal for which the individual is training, sometimes because of lack of availability or maybe making a purchase for personal use at home or for simply the sake of trying a new thing, choosing between free weights and machines becomes necessary. Following are three simple factors that may work for most people while choosing either free weights or machines or both: Training Goal: If training for a specific sport such as olympic w...