Changes and Progress

With major changes in life, also comes major disruptions.

This is especially true for me in my workout routine. With all the work we are supposed to do here, and the huge change in my diet, the first three weeks in this place (apart from all the scenic beauty) was hard. I didn’t know what to do to make sure I stick to my fitness goals.

I wasn’t getting enough time to work out, I hardly had the energy to workout in the evenings after all my classes, and I really wasn’t eating the kind of diet I should be.

If you are a college student living in a dorm/hostel, I’m sure you can empathize.

But, where there is a will, there is a way.

I decided, enough is enough, let’s just try and figure out what I can do with what I have.

First off, I was getting major cardio workouts while going back and forth from my hostel to college. They are close to 3 km apart, and I was cycling 12 km a day. So I figured, let this be part of my workout routine, and I pushed out all of my other cardio sessions including sports and running.

To compensate for all the cardio, I decided it’s finally time to take my strength training up a notch (I don’t want to end up with a cyclist physique) and also, add weights into my routine. Thankfully, there is a pretty well-equipped gym here, and you can find me there quite often.

The diet was the major issue. This hostel (like all hostels) leaves quality food wanting. If not for the taste, at least for the nutrition. There is potato cooked EVERYDAY, along with dal (which is mostly water) and oil floating in every curry there is. The only time we get a respectable quantity of protein is when chicken is cooked, and that’s only for dinner. Breakfast literally doesn’t have any protein content at all.

I now eat a lot of my food from outside, so that I get at least 3 eggs into my system every day and I target 70 grams of protein on my strength training days. I have upped my calorie intake and I am so glad it’s not reflecting on my body in a bad way.

All in all, I’m the fittest and strongest I’ve been all year. I’m able to cycle more, I’m seeing definite improvements in strength, and guess what? I finally did my first muscle up!

Target 1 of 7 achieved. The year of fitness is moving well 🙂

May 2016 (left) to August 2016 (right). Man, I wish I had a better camera!

A new chapter

Hello!

Yes, I realize it’s been a while since I last posted something. My life has changed drastically in the last one week.

As I told you in my last post, I have moved to a new place. Dehradun. I have joined the Forest Research Institute, and I’m going to be doing my Master’s in Environmental Management. It’s going to be a 2 year course, and I’m going to be living here for those two years-

Now, it’s not going to look like this all the time, but you get the picture!

The campus is literally a forest. My hostel is situated right in one corner, and there is a very real danger of leopard attacks. Don’t believe me? Take a look-

This notwithstanding…the campus is huge! I need to cycle 1.5 kms either way to reach an exit, and my college (conveniently) is right next to one of these gates. So, everyday, I’m cycling close to 6 kms going back and forth from my college to my hostel.

My hostel is pretty cool! It is my first experience staying in one, and I’m glad to say that the room is spacious, and my friends are all pretty cool. There is a gym along with the hostel, as well as 2 badminton courts, a basketball court (with the hoop low enough for me to dunk), a volleyball court, a TT table and a tennis court. Could I ask for more?

My days, are jam-packed. My classes are from 9 am to 4:30 pm, with a hour and a half of lunch break. This will soon be followed by some research work that I’m supposed to do. I intend to make sure I play something or gym for at least half an hour a day. So by the time I finish dinner at 8:30 pm, I am ready to crash.

There is a major downside, and that is that the WiFi there isn’t great. Which is going to create a lot of problems, among other things, to write blogs. But! I will still persevere and I aim to post at least 5 blogs a month on each of my blogs. Wish me luck!

A few more mistakes……and the 2 basic rules to exercise

So, after that epic fail with the 18 day abs saga, I…..DID NOT give up!

No sir. A normal person, with a normal goal of a 6 pack, and a normal desire to look really sexy would have given up. But me?

I was OBSESSED. I wanted that 6 pack at any cost. I was convinced that the 6 pack is the epitome of fitness. And I continued to work towards it.

Everyday, I would wake up 30 minutes earlier than normal, get a mat and start. Crunches. Bicycle crunches. Planks. Sit ups. High knees. All of the basic, simple exercises that every fitness guru in the world recommends. No, guarantees. Guarantees that it’ll give the 6 pack abs you want.

Result?

Nothing. Still.

Yeah, that’s what I felt.

Shmobia shmashing!

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Phobia, Shmobia.”

There’s this fear that is rampant among the youth in India, and I was not spared of it. Every time I was given a choice to do something, I would always, always, wait to see what the majority of the people would do, and then do that.

I had a perpetual fear of being unconventional.

There were a couple of reasons to it.

This is the dream that keeps me awake, Mr. Kalam…

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).”

It is ironic that today’s prompt is about dreams.

A dream is not something you get when you sleep. It is the thing that doesn’t let you sleep.

-Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

Today at around 7 pm IST, this great past President of India, Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam passed away. He is probably the one person in the country who managed to break all the religious mumbo jumbo that’s plagued our society and reach out to every Indian.

So in his memory, I’m going to share a dream of mine that has not let me sleep. In fact, I think of this dream almost every night in bed. Every time it pushes its way into my consciousness, I’m filled with energy and hope.

I want to travel (clichéd? maybe). But this isn’t just the backpack travel. I want my life to be on the road, and the road to this life, this dream, is the road of professional speaking. It is by far the way to change the world and make a difference that appeals to me the most. I am fascinated by every professional speaker I come across, and I really think this is THE way in which I can leave a mark on the world- “Saurab Babu lived during this time. This is what he did. This is what he said.”

Changing the world is what Kalam did. He has left a huge void. I hope that inspired by this man, inspired by his dream, I can change the world through my dream as well. I don’t know if I can reach the level this man did, but I’m sure as hell going to try.

Mr. Kalam, you were an amazing person. R.I.P

10 perks of being in Delhi University

College life is the definitive period of every person’s life. It’s where you get your first shot at “living”. If you are in India, nothing beats the experience you will get in the country’s top university, Delhi University.
If you have managed to survive the ridiculous cut-offs and the days of standing in lines getting admission, congratulations. You have entered into what will arguably be the most eventful years of your life.

Reincarnation

This blog was the result of a set of events that proved to be turning points in my life. In fact, the blog itself is one.
That was why I decided to call this blog “The Turning Point”.

But over the last one month, I’ve come to realize (through suggestions and a little introspection) that this title has no connection with the posts I post.

So I think it’s time for a change. Keeping with the mood of my posts and the ideas that I want to share with you, I’ve decided to rename this blog “Impulses Obliquus”.

Anti-Earth

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Interplanet Janet.”

The minute I read this, I started rubbing my hands (you should be getting that image where the evil cartoon villain rubs his hands in anticipation and a wide smile breaks upon his face as his eyes glint with glee). Here was a chance to write out MY BIGGEST day dreams for all the world to read.

This planet is going to be the exact opposite of Earth. The EXACT OPPOSITE. Everything that you consider normal here, is an aberration there and everything that is unconventional here is the norm there.

A promise to keep

It’s been a over a month since my last blog post…

For many of my friends, this will come as something expected. There were a lot of people who told me that my urge to start writing was just because of the “New year fever”  and soon, I will come back to Earth and begin to live my life the way I used to.

And, I proved them right.

Jump!

A profound experience, even if it lasts just a few seconds, can create a major change in you. I learnt this in May last year. It began as a typical day in Kathmandu would, cool and nippy. My friend Vidyyut and I, were on our way to have our biggest, most exciting adventure yet- Bungee Jumping.