The Kerala boat race season began recently with the Champakulam Moolam Boat race. And it was a rare sight to see the Kerala Police Boat Club rowing the Champakulam Chundan, lifting the coveted Raja Pramukhan Trophy.
Now the team is gearing up for the 68th edition of the Nehru Trophy Boat Race, which will be held on September 4. After a gap of two years marred by the pandemic, all eyes would be on the fiercely fought snakeboat race on the Punnamada Lake.
And this anticipation is reflected on the face of team members, who are following a vigorous workout regime. The team is determined to lift the Nehru Trophy, which they lost in the 2018 and 2019 finals. This year, the team has considered bringing in a bit more discipline in terms of diet to improve fitness and health. And they have brought in a specialist to provide nutrition guidelines and diet plan schedules for the 120-member team.
It’s been almost two months since Kochi-native Rajiv Ambat has been guiding the team. Rajiv is a techie turned wellness expert, who is the CEO and founder of NuvoVivo Center for Obesity, Lifestyle Disorders & Research.
Rajiv says the opportunity to train the police team for the boat race fell into his lap. Aside from managing various lifestyle diseases, Rajiv is involved in sports nutrition as well. But it is the first time he’s structuring exercises and planning nutrition for a large team.
"A majority of the participants have been following a layman’s diet to maintain fitness. They weren’t aware of the nutrition intake and the do’s and don’ts while doing a sport. Hence, a scientific approach and professional guidance are necessary,” says Sunilkumar P R, coach of Kerala Police Boat Club and senior civil police officer, Alappuzha.
Rajiv says, so far, the team has been receptive to the schedule he has set. “It mostly involves resistance training. So power and endurance are highly required. That means only protein intake and working out wouldn’t get you the optimal result,” says Rajiv.
The quality and quantity of muscles also play into it. According to Rajiv, the police officials who already have a reasonable amount of physical activity only have to be tuned to suit the sport.
For that, reducing the weight of each participant was crucial. “This water sport activity is mainly about rowing faster. For that, losing weight is important. If each person loses their weight by 2kg, the boat will be 200kg lighter. Then it will be easier to go faster. However, make sure to lose just the fat and not the muscles. If muscles reduce, the strength will also decrease,” says Rajiv.
When the muscles are improved, so does the metabolic parameter of the participants. Thereby power and strength aren’t compromised.
Nutrition and diet plan
“It is difficult to set a schedule for each person. So it’s more of a general approach. I categorise each member according to their weight. Then set a schedule based on the same through WhatsApp groups,” says Rajiv. Protein is needed to regain muscle strength. Since the sport would make one sweat heavily, sodium and potassium intake is necessary. So coconut water and fruits are added to the diet.
“I don’t recommend the team sticking to a particular diet. Instead, I have given options. The members can have all kinds of food, but setting the right quantity is essential. Since I strongly stand for sustainability and flexibility, the menu consists of basic food items such as ground nuts, lentils, chicken, fish, and beef. But the intake frequency is curtailed to keep the calories in check,” says Rajiv. He has also added workouts essential to boost endurance and strength.
The training regime
According to Sunilkumar, the training begins at 6am in a village called Karumadi near Ambalapuzha. Physical exercise, cardio workout, weight training and water training are scheduled throughout the day.
“Water training is a long process. For a boat race, it is essential to know how to apply strength and stamina on the paddle to move faster. Synchronisation and knowing how deep one should paddle are also important,” he says. The Kerala Police team mostly consists of constables. It will compete against 19 other teams.
Women participation
The Kerala Police department formed a women’s team for the Nehru Trophy Boat Race competition in 2019. A team of 32 members will participate in the Thekkanodi category. Rajiv has set the nutrition and diet plans for them as well. “However, vigorous workouts and diet scheduling are not necessary for the women’s team as the number of participants is fewer,” says Sunilkumar. However, the snakeboat is not given to the women’s team.
“There are several reasons for that. There aren’t enough women participating in the boat race. To ride a Chundan Vallam, a team requires at least 100 members. And along with the Kerala Police team, other teams should also have 100 women each. It is difficult to have such huge participation. Another reason is that many still don’t appreciate women riding Chundan Vallam, as it is perceived to be only ridden by men. In some extreme cases, women aren’t even allowed to touch the boat. It is just discrimination, in my opinion. Kerala Police Boat Club’s women’s team has proven they have huge potential. They’ve won the race in this category in 2019,” says Sunilkumar.
Solving midriff crisis
Rajiv has also written a book The Midriff Crisis explaining his research and findings to date. “There is no point living everyday for tomorrow and never, ever living today,” says Rajiv in the book. The book will give one some cues on how to make healthy, sustainable, flexible and enjoyable lifestyle. To achieve this, Rajiv has busted quite a few myths. According to him, fitness is all about looking great and being physically active. It goes for all age groups.
However, those who are 35-plus have to have a medical approach. “Though the book can be read by anyone, my target audience is people above 35 years. This is the age where you are likely to have lifestyle disorders. Understanding the condition and giving a medical approach are vital. In that way, you know what you are dealing with and diet and exercise accordingly,” says Rajiv. It took Rajiv two years to finish writing the book.
“I always had the idea of writing a book. But I gave it serious thought during the pandemic lockdowns. Giving people the right awareness was my motive,” he says. According to Rajiv, the book gives an idea of health and fitness, calories, weight loss, supplements, women’s health and more. “It can be treated as the common man’s encyclopedia of health. It can serve as a solution to your immediate condition. The book will give an idea of what to do and how to prevent the conditions scientifically,” says Rajiv.