CARDIO EXERCISES.

There are two types of activities in fitness – aerobic and anaerobic. Let us talk about the aerobic activity.

The aerobic activity includes cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance.

To improve this type of endurance you will have to improve your cardio activities.

No fitness routine is complete without cardio exercises. It may sometimes be monotonous or too exerting that you would want to skip it completely.  But let us not undermine the benefits of a cardio exercise.

Why are cardio exercises good for us?

Running, swimming, cycling, dancing, elliptical training and even brisk walking are examples of cardio exercises.

Our heart does not function at its optimum level when we are doing our daily chores. Done in a proper form and technique, we can achieve levels of performance, which we could not have imagined earlier.

Technology is improving at a lightening speed but human body is still the same. To improve the efficiency of our body we have to challenge ourselves.

The production of Endorphins or the brain’s feel good neurotransmitters is promoted by the cardio exercises. (Guaranteeing you to be in a good mood the whole day ) 

Cardio exercises helps in managing diabetes by increasing the muscle's ability to utilize glucose. Those who exercise regularly are able to control their blood sugar levels better than those who do not exercise.

POINTS TO REMEMBER WHILE DOING CARDIO EXERCISES -

First and most important is to take the consent of your doctor, check your blood pressure or if you have any other health issues.

To get the maximum benefit of a cardio exercise, it is important to do a particular exercise for more than 30 minutes.

Proper Footwear – helps to absorb the shock, which directly impacts the joints.

Heart rate Monitor – shows your heart rate and helps you to reach your maximum heart rate level where the heart beats slows down but the pumping of the blood is maximum.

Strengthen you surrounding muscles – which acts as a shock absorber thus reducing the stress on your joints.

Proper Form and Technique of running as well as breathing – helps your reach your goals without any injuries.

Stretching – which also helps in flexibility and decreases the risk of injuries by helping our joints to move in their full range of motion in turn making our muscles efficient.

Rest – The last and the most important thing is rest which helps in improving your progress.

 Shall we start? ;)

SOYA BEANS - QUINOA DOSA / PANCAKES.

Though I have been exercising for the past 5 years, I never gave importance to my diet as I am doing now.

As long as I was burning those calories, I need not diet…this was my thought and I convinced myself to do that. But I was wrong.

I went on a gluten-free diet for two months and I lost 3.5 kilos, of course combined with exercising.  And being a vegetarian and very rigid about my food preferences and tastes I was forced to research the Internet to make foods that I can eat and yet not feel bored eating the same things over and over.

I came upon the recipe of soya bean dosa here - veg recipes of India.

All other recipe website/blogs had rice, urad dal, rava as an ingredient either as flour or as a whole grain. I wanted to modify this a bit.

Ingredients: -

Soya beans – ½ cup

Quiona – ½ cup

Flaxseeds – 2 tbsps.

Whole black pepper – 1 tbsp

Salt to taste.

Makes about 8 to 10 medium sized dosas/pancakes.

Method:

·      Soak soya beans, quiona and flaxseeds overnight.

·      Grind them together in the morning by adding salt and whole black peppers to the dosa batter consistency.

·      Place a non-stick gridle or tawa on the gas and heat it on a medium flame.

·      Pour a big spoonful of batter on the gridle and gently spread it like a dosa.

·      Flip the dosa and let it cook the other side too.

·      Serve hot with chutney or curry of your choice.

NOTE – Like the regular dosa batter, this does not need fermentation.

You have to use the batter immediately after grinding it. If the batter is allowed to ferment, the dosa/pancakes will start breaking.

The batter is a bit thicker than the regular dosa batter and hence you cannot spread it out. These dosas are medium sized and bit thick.

HEALTH BENEFITS – 

SOYA BEANS – is rich in proteins and hence called the ‘meat without bones.’ The discovery of very small and unique proteins in soya called the ‘Pepticides,’ is now known to provide us with health benefits like better control of blood sugar levels, regulation of blood pressure and improved function of the immune system. Soya beans are rich in Vitamin K2 and B12.

QUINOA – the grain that has taken the super food status lately, is rich source of B vitamins, folate, zinc, iron, magnesium and phosphorous. It also has a sizeable amount of calcium. It is gluten-free and easy to digest.

FLAXSEEDS – contains both soluble and insoluble fibers, omega 3 fatty acids that are good for the heart and also is rich in Lignans with antioxidant properties.

Eat Nutrilicious foods and stay healthy :)