Strength and conditioning fitness coach Chinmoy Roy, who was an assistant trainer with Greg Chappell in the Indian cricket fitness camp in 2005, believes that getting back to the closed confines of the gyms has a definite impact on the mindset of the people who have formed a habit of outdoor exercise during the prolonged pandemic period. With more people exercising in the proximity and high chances of transmission by touch, even a gym addict has refrained from hitting the gym. “Out in the open, though the spectrum of choices is limited, sheer safety factor has ushered in a paradigm shift in the way fitness is perceived. Even those obsessed with weight training, have turned into runners,” tells Roy.
To further stress the enormity of the pandemic’s impact Roy points out that about 30 to 50 fitness centres, both big and small, in and around Kolkata have shut down. And online training classes, feels Roy, can never deliver the same quality as offline training. Hence, post-pandemic, the gyms too have witnessed a marked change when it comes to maintaining hygiene to attract their members back.
Roy's own fitness centre, Kronos on Sarat Bose had also undergone a sea of change in terms of not only maintaining social distance and hygiene, but also the fitness programmes offered. "After lockdown when we resumed workout sessions, I incorporated a lot of bodyweight training and breathing exercises apart from strength training and conditioning and cardiovascular exercises to minimise the use of gym equipment. We also held simultaneous online sessions for those who were still not sure of returning to the gym, but with time, digital classes have gone down in numbers since nothing really can replicate physical classes," he tells.
A vast majority of fitness aspirants, according to Roy, are not rightly geared to train on their own. When it comes to staying fit, Roy thinks, thanks to social media, people are more obsessed with looking good than feeling good from within and they either starve themselves to shed those kilos or gorge on proteins to achieve that muscular and toned look.
“Both of these don't do any good to the body's system of functioning. This mindless overdrive brings about a rush of a stress hormone called cortisol and at times adrenaline that arouses the fight and flight system, making us anxious, impatient, jittery and thereby weakening our immune system. Therefore, choose exercises that trigger pleasure and boost our immunity. A blend of outdoor running and strength training in the gym and some outdoor games definitely help in the long run,” tells Roy.
Roy also tells us that prehab exercises are extremely effective to avoid injury, decreasing pain or preparing for surgery. “For example, before a knee surgery doctors advise knee strengthening exercises to the patients to ensure that there are more muscle fibres left post-surgery,” he explains.
We ask Roy whether a 40-minute walk or run is good for our overall health to which he says a big no. “It does no good. It's a fact that both running and walking are the easiest forms of exercise. Walking needs no technique. But running does. Long continuous activity brings about overuse injury. By putting the knee and ankle joints under impact force at a stretch for 40 minutes every day, we trigger arthritic changes in the knee joints or ankle pain,” he informs.
The best way to achieve results entails reducing the duration from 40 minutes to 20-25 minutes and creating intervals. “Walk briskly for two minutes and reduce the pace for the next one minute. Walk or run three days and do strength training, yoga, cycling or swimming on the other three days of the week,” advises Roy.