Do you ever have those mornings where you just wake up from crazy dreams, feel just a little off your rocker so try to think of something normal to drag yourself out of it?
If I’m the only one – maybe I should find a good therapist but chances are, it’s a pretty sane thing!
Anyhow, this morning I woke up from some really weird dream about water Olympics and how someone had taken the most important thing (please don’t ask because I don’t remember, nor do I know much about water Olympics) and it caused all of these chaotic things to happen.
To shrug it off, not to mention my recent bout of homesickness (yes, this hyperlink is my educational blog 
with my first name, not the middle name I use – Elise, for modeling and Touche` Glamour) since my parents just sent a birthday/care package, I started thinking about playing catch with my dad.
In the U.S., most of you know that we play baseball or softball compared to your cricket. Me, I fell in love with baseball at the age of 7 when my grandfather to me to watch the Orioles at Memorial Stadium (now Camden Yards) where I fell in awe of Cal Ripken, Jr. – which up until this day, my parents still send me stuff on him.
This blog has a point which I’m getting to so just bear with my little story first!
So I began to really miss my parents; especially practicing and warming up before a game with him or just playing catch to practice and have fun. He was actually drafted to be a 
pitcher for the Minor Leagues so he never held back with how hard he threw, his knuckle pitches, curve balls, you name it, he threw it. And I wish I had him here right now to play catch with. Not to brag (okay, just to break a stereotype), but for a girl, I can throw at around 70 mph thanks to him so it’s fun and definitely, a stress release!
Getting to the point of this blog, I began thinking of how there’s no way to play that here. I’ve played cricket and while I enjoy the game, it isn’t as fast paced for me nor can I play shortstop, third base or right field.
You can’t even go outside and play outside the way we can in the U.S. because it’s just not safe – at least for me since I’m unfamiliar with a lot of things and places and only go where recommended. Even worse, I can’t find the equipment needed for playing the sports that I 
love.
I began pushing those thoughts aside and started thinking about general exercise in PK.
You cannot easily go jogging around the block, nor can you just let your child play outside alone unless there is an armed guard with you, a driver or some nanny. In the U.S., we do not have such things unless you live in the Hamptons.
Men can go jogging somewhat safely in certain parks and I’ve even seen couples walking together in safer parks but close to a year ago, there was that huge murder in the new Benazir Park. It’s a lovely place but it makes most suburban living people now even more wary.
Now this is not to say that no one goes outside; because there close to 20 million Pakistani people living in this country so there are millions of people walking around outside – laborers, maids, gardeners, cleaners, sweepers – but they are of another class (which I am still having a hard time understanding the whole class system).
So sticking to those who will be reading this, yes, many boys and men can go outside because they’re able to defend themselves much more than women can. But how can we find ways to stay healthy in Pakistan?
Some people do buy treadmills or those exercise bikes but since I worked my way through 
college on my own, I did so by working in a gym so I know that these are pretty unsuccessful as there isn’t much motivation nor is it the best way to exercise! Treadmills pound on the shin bones after long amounts of time, sometimes leading to shin splint. Both are good for cardiovascular exercise (of cardio, for short) but the bike doesn’t always get the heart rate up fast enough.
Not to mention that it’s hard to get the latest equipment here and if you do, then you probably have to take a loan to get the latest elliptical trainer.
It’s ridiculous how hard it is to find ways to exercise here!
And just sitting outside is not a weight-loss burner! Sure, the hot, humid air knocks you over every time you step out and it definitely does drop a pound or two but all it does is take moisture out of your body which will be refilled as soon as you get a glass of water!
With all of the greasy foods that are made here, there is no way around changing cultural food. It’s the food of Pakistan! You can recommend cutting down on the amounts of oil put in food but it doesn’t change much because culture is culture. Although as a side note, I will say this: Oil has a lot to do with acne and added on to the heat and humidity; you do leak excess amounts of oil through your pores and who wants an oily face?
So now that we 
have all the reasons why it’s so hard to sometimes maintain a healthy lifestyle, we’re going to go through a couple of exercises that can be done within the home that will help with burning calories!
This will be ideal for men who want to bulk up or women who have to stay inside. If you want to see real results, then you must understand a couple of things:
Before any exercise, always warm up first! If you don’t do a bit of stretching, you can pull muscles or cause joint or tissue damage.
- It takes the minimum of 20-25 minutes of cardiovascular exercise to burn fat – it will be hard at first so I recommend starting at 10 minutes per day and adding on as more of your endurance builds.
- Doing sit-ups and weightlifting is fantastic and does build muscle BUT if you aren’t
doing cardio to begin with, all you’re doing is pushing the fat out and building muscle underneath. - Getting in the exercise mood is hard enough. Find ways to distract yourself, i.e. finding an exercise buddy, listen to music or watch TV. You’ll be amazed at how the time flies by.
- There is an exercise myth (we will have the Top 10 Exercise Myths coming soon) that exercise makes you tired but that isn’t true! Exercise increases endurance and actually gets you moving which is why it’s usually recommended to be done in the morning. In reality, though, exercise is realistically done whenever there is spare time which is after work or in the afternoon.
- You should always eat fatty foods AFTER exercising but it is very important to not exercise on an empty stomach. It sounds odd but your body is still in high gear with your metabolism racing so it’s good to eat regular food within 20 minutes after that. However, protein should be eaten BEFORE exercising or in between but it must
be strictly protein without any carbs – tuna fish (without all the dressings), protein shakes, baked chicken without oil, etc., since it helps build muscle and lose the fat. - Lastly, do not lift weights if you do not know what you’re doing! I worked as a personal trainer for many years so I know how to do all weight lifting properly and without harming yourself so feel free to ask in the comment section or do some research first. Lifting weights the wrong way will a) not give you the right effect you’re looking for and b) can end up being very harmful.
Here are some great exercise videos to help you get started!
This first video shows you how to warm up for exercising at home:
This second video gives you a full workout routine for beginners –but do remember, it takes endurance to build up to a full workout!
And lastly, here are 2 more advanced workout videos for those who are past the beginner stage. This is a video I’m totally hooked on:
And:
Stay healthy,
Ellie
P.s.
I do try to hyperlink words you may or may not be familiar with but if there is anything I am saying that you don’t understand, please feel free to ask away. I forget sometimes how to slow down my English so I’m well aware that there will be times when I need to explain something better!
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