Photo Credits: Tripod Gym - Narayan Pissurlenkar_2
Photo Narayan Pissurlenkar
Tariq Mohammad
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“Let me put it in simple scientific terms,” says Tariq, adding, “Exercising should be made a lifestyle of every individual. Apart from losing fat, building muscles or looking good it also helps in reducing the aging process and age related health issues. Exercising becomes more important for women as they are more prone to age related degeneration. Progressive exercising with balanced nutrition can halt or reverse the aging process.” ........................
Tripod Gym: Scientific weight training has arrived
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A personal training is the latest trend in the market now. Many are hiring qualified personal trainers to help and motivate themselves to reach their goals as they design an effective workout and nutrition plan based on the client’s goals. But here’s a word of caution from Tariq Mohammed - “One must ensure safe and sound exercise technique. It’s true that the trainers constantly motivate the client to perform better. However, there are a lot of myths and misconceptions floating around. As fitness professional it’s our responsibility to spread the awareness. The need of the hour is to spread awareness about the scientific approach.”
A physical appearance is the result of physical performance. Focus on improving performance looks will follow. Gaining weight or losing weight is just a result of progress made in the gym. It is but obvious it does boost one’s self confidence when people see a change in their body, health and fitness levels.
Recalling his own journey in the fitness world, Tariq narrates, “I was always into sports as a teenager. I used to take part in Athletics and also represented the national cricket team of Doha Qatar. I liked activities which involved strength, power and speed. I started going to the gym at the age of 17. As years passed by my interest in exercising increased and I got curious to learn about fitness and exercise science. During my graduation I started working as a part time fitness instructor and started reading about various exercises related to fitness and the science behind exercising. At times I ended up reading books on exercise science more than the management books. After working as a part time fitness instructor I decided that I should make a career in fitness as it was something I liked to do. So as soon as I completed my graduation I went on to pursue higher education in exercise science. For me it’s not just a job to do, it’s beyond just a career - it’s a lifestyle.”
Tariq completed his education in fitness from the most renowned fitness academy of India (K11 Fitness Academy). He has done his certification in personal training, sports nutrition and advanced personal training (training the individual having special needs like people suffering from cardiovascular disease lifestyle disease etc). “I started off my career as a freelance personal trainer and finally started my own facility - Tripod at Taleigao,” he shares.
Open throughout the day from 6 am to 11 pm Tripod caters to different fitness goals like fat loss/weight loss, muscle gain/weight gain, body toning, body building, post pregnancy weight loss, pre-natal training. “We also help in improving the health and fitness of people suffering from polycystic ovarian syndrome, thyroid, diabetes, recovery and prevention from injury, hypertension etc. Including all this Tariq is trained in designing nutrition plan in helping them achieve their goals. “Our goal is to provide the people affordable service with the best scientific knowledge available. Our USP is that we just do not train people but also teach them how to achieve their fitness goal coupled with right eating habits as per their goals and general well being,” he claims.
Well, Tariq agrees that there are many myths, about everything related to exercise and nutrition. He comes across many absurd myths on a daily basis. Fitness industry in India is yet unorganised. Everyone thinks they have the authority to comment on any fitness topics without any technical knowledge. Legal advice is best given by an advocate and a civil engineer can talk for hours on construction. But the case is not the same when people seek advice on fitness.
The first myth is people wish to lose fat around the tummy/hips only. “This (spot reduction) is a big myth and anyone promoting this is fooling the general population. The concept deals with the ability to burn off fat in particular area only. For example a woman may want to lose fat only on her hips and not her bust. A man with fat on his waist will only want to do abdominal training in a bid to lose on his waist. This is totally impossible. The important fact for us to know is that fat belongs to the whole body and is not attached to the muscle underneath. Thus training a particular muscle does not affect the fat on top of it. Fat loss occurs only as a result of increased basal metabolic rate. So your entire weight training workout combined with cardiovascular workouts plus a control over your eating can achieve fat loss in the entire body and not just in the areas that you think you need to lose,” explains Tariq.
The second myth is to do more cardio to lose fat or weight. “The worst thing you can do for fat loss is excessive cardio or aerobics. It is a sure shot method of stripping the body of lean muscle tissue and thus slowing down basal metabolic rate,” says Tariq.
Pointing out to the third myth - lifting weights will make women look muscular and bulky - he elaborates, “Men and women look different due to hormonal factors. The predominant male hormone is testosterone which is an anabolic hormone responsible for muscle build up and the predominant female hormone is estrogen which actually promotes fat build up. Women have very low levels of testosterone and men have very low levels of estrogen. This is the main reason why women carry more fat and less muscle than men. No activity, let alone weight training can make a woman look like a man.”
On modern gym culture, Tariq opines, “Today, many individuals are indulging into various fitness activities as they are getting aware of the health and fitness benefits from regular exercising. The gym culture is moving from only bodybuilding related to varied individual goals like losing fat, general fitness, improving fitness to increase performance in sports, recovering from an injury, control diabetes, maintain blood pressure, get stronger, etc. Moreover many females are hitting the gym for their varied goals.
Is there a particular age to join a gym? “There is no specific age to join a gym,” explains Tariq. A gym can cater to individuals of all age groups. A minimum age to join a gym would be 15 years provided the teenager is mature enough to understand the instructions. The older the individual, the higher is the need to join the gym. Exercising is the best anti-aging tool with minimum investment.
Has diet and exercises to do anything with weight? “Definitely,” Tariq replies immediately. “Both diet and exercise determine whether you will put on fat, lose fat or build muscles. Any exercise programme for a particular goal without a well-planned nutrition is a waste,” he declares.
Can gym help those who are struggling to gain or lose weight or get rid of any other physical abnormality? Whatever the goals may be, any workout programme should target at improving these components of fitness - cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility and ideal body composition. “Working on the above components of fitness combined with a balanced diet will help an individual to gain or lose weight,” he assures.
Tripod offers memberships ranging from monthly to yearly - Rs 1500 per month to Rs 12000 per year for general memberships. It also provides personal training, weight loss, weight gain programme. The training depends on individual’s goals. It is planned as per the goals, time in hand, age, nutritional considerations, past exercising history, medical conditions, etc.
