When it comes to running, it beats every other exercise that benefits us in a holistic manner. In the times of Muscle building, Gymming and unnecessary focus on abs have pushed us away from organic exercise that costs not even a single paisa. When we run, every part of our body is exposed to a stressful situation. Lungs are forced to suck up more O₂ and pump more CO₂ out. Diaphragm uses energy from the fat deposits around our stomach muscles. Blood flow towards our Legs and Brain increases and help in building more muscles and more neural connection which increases IQ. Further pushing the running records will carve cuts in your body, especially in your legs.

 

Benefits of Running:

1. Effect over IQ (intelligent quotient)

               Psychologists and doctors have done a lot of research work, on how to increase the IQ of any human being. Therefore, various kinds of exercises were tried like playing chess, various mental exercises, reasoning, etc. But eventually, all these individuals end up developing IQ in that very particular activity and not an overall IQ was increased. This is how our basic neural connections are wired up and evolved over millions of years, we become experts in a task we repeat most. Ultimately doctors and psychologists agree on one aspect was that, if we provide more O₂ to our brain, its neural connections spread and increase the capacity. Because our brain is an O₂ and Glucose gulping organ. If provided with enough or slightly more O₂ it expands.

               NCBI is a scientific database of scientific research on multiple aspects of Biotechnology. Similar research on IQ and exercise has been done and documented, which is provided below.

National Center for Bio-technology Information (NCBI)

               While doing any exercise, it is not any specific muscle but your brain that consumes most of the O₂. Scientists have also established that IQ increases in a very linear upward graph till the age of 25 years and falls at the same rate after 25 years. And the only way to make it stop and make it in a plateau form, you need to feed it ever more oxygen.  

2. Effect on Stamina

               When you start running and acclimatize yourself to that voluntary stressful situation. Your body starts developing a mechanism to cope with any stressful situation, which you are bound to encounter at every point in your life. Your body starts evolving more mental stamina because when you dictate yourself to stretch a few more meters, you are not training your body but your mind. In the Indian Army, they say “Your body can take any hell without training, but it is your mind that needs training”. And mental stamina is more valuable than physical stamina (which is a by-product of running) because it helps you withstand unfavorable situations in your life.  

3. Lungs Capacity

               Running pushes and extract more air from the deep alveoli that lie dormant during a normal day, because normal working does not push air into those deep pockets. Now more O₂ is available for other body parts when the demand of our brain is met. The main function of oxygen in our body is to catch the free electron (free radical) produced from the electron transport chain in mitochondria to produce ATP (energy). If these electrons are not taken care of, they deform our body organs, skin, etc.  But when enough Oxygen is available in our alveoli, it will slow down the aging, because now it catches more electrons. Many anti-Oxidants and other organic foods are hitting markets in the name of anti-aging. But all these things are secondary in nature, if your body is not removing those free electrons, then no external factors can help. They can provide additional support but cannot replace the inbuilt mechanism of our body.

4. Hormonal benefits

               The two hormones that are released when we run, are Dopamine (happiness hormone) and Serotonin. Dopamine is a hormone, that is released when we achieve something and our brain is rewarded with this hormone. It makes our mental peace more explicit and lowers the stress level. We can see things more clearly and can think better. On the other hand, when serotonin is released, it boosts our mood and emotion. The other benefit of this hormone is that it increases our apatite and digestion. That is why we feel more hungry when we finish our run. We feel like eating healthier and more organic food. It is all connected with our brain and stimuli behavior.

 

Muscle Building

          Today everybody is mad about muscles because the environment they encounter is like that. Everyone focuses on building more muscle and reducing fat. The major misconception is that more muscle means more power, which is absolutely rubbish. When our muscle grows, it reduces our agility and flexibility, we have to make a balance between both of them. You need Stamina, Muscle strength to lift your body weight, and a good aesthetic body shape. You don’t need those big muscles that restrict the natural movement of your body, if you don’t want to become a physical laborer, why are you harping on more muscle and more muscle.

                To build body strength, good body stamina, and aesthetic body shape, you really don’t need any gym or any other equipment. If Muscle would be the central part of strength, then all the armed forces would have the best gyms in the world. But they focus on strength building, and stamina building and they do it without any external equipment. We need Gym equipment to concentrate muscle in one specific location. So, you only need 6 exercises that can be done in your room (except running), to make your body acquire these 3 basic requirements which are Strength, Stamina, and aesthetics.

6 Exercises for Strength, Stamina, and Aesthetics

                The basic principle in these 6 exercises would be the same. Are you able to lift your body weight or not and this lifting of your weight would be done in various ways? If not then you will try to reach that stage and if yes, then you will increase the repetition of lifting your body weight. We will divide these 6 exercises into Two basic types. The first is “The Lower body parts” (Legs) and the second is the “Upper body” (Torso).

1. Lower body:

                        The lower body will consist of 3 exercises and you have to reach the standard level at a very slow pace because if you try to reach the standard level of these exercises in one day or one week, you might hurt yourself.

 

                    a. Running 5 km in 22 minutes:

                                   The 5 km run is very tough in 22 minutes but it is achievable for anyone. If you are a teen or under your 30s, it is very easy for you. You only need to level it up from scratch, just grab one pair of running shoes and mark out a distance on a road, track, or park, whatever suits you. Then try to run 1 km and note your time, then increase your speed for 1 km after getting used to running 1km. Then try to run 2 km and note the time and repeat this until 5km is achieved. It might take you 1 month or two. But it will be achieved with patience and perseverance. (Bonus tip—For special forces in the Indian army, it is 20 minutes). But if you are above 30 years of age, you don’t need to run 5 km, you can run 3-4 km but the time for these two distances would be 14 minutes for 3 km and 18 minutes for 4 km.

 

 

                    b.Yogic Dand Baithak (डंड बैठक):

                                   After each run, you need to stretch your legs and prepare for the next round. This will be a yogic dand. Do three rounds of 15-20 Baithak each, according to your own capacity.

The benefit of Dand baithak: –   

 1. It helps you to properly stretch your quads and glutes (thigh Muscles).                                                              

2. It will synchronize the body movement with all limbs engaged.                                                                

 3. It will push your lungs to a new level of expansion (increases breathing).                                                                  

 4. Your agility will improve to new levels, you won’t need elevators ever.

 

 

                    c. 5-meter shuttle:

                                   This is the second most difficult exercise after a 5 km run. You have to measure a 5-meter distance and mark it with some visible marks (brick, leaves, etc). Then you have to start running between those two marks as fast as you can. You need to run 17 shuttle (34 total) too and FRO under 1 minute. This will exhaust you the most among all these lower body exercises.

 

 

2. Upper body:

                                   The upper body would also include 3 sets of exercises but with a standard that needs to be met. These exercises are very basic but effective and that’s why armed forces also used them to train their cadets.

 

                    a.Hindu/Yogic Pushups:

                                   The basic pushups that we do, but 40 in numbers under 1 minute. If you can do this with ease, then you should try to level up by making 4 rounds of 30 pushups each. That will be more than 100 pushups a day. It will shape your shoulders, biceps, and triceps. If you cannot do even 10 pushups in one go, don’t get disheartened. Everyone starts with some miserable figure. You only need patience and consistency. Start with 10 pushups with 2 or 3 rounds according to your strength. And then level it up by 1 more pushup every week in each set. You will do great.

 

 

                    b.Chin-ups:

                                   This is the most difficult of upper body exercises. The standard here is 14 chin-ups under 1 minute. But you always start with a small number. Look for any hanging place in your house, park, etc. And start doing it from 1 to 14 with patience and consistency. These two principles are a must in all these exercises. This standard is equivalent to the Special forces in the Indian Army.

 

 

                    c.Sit-ups:

                                   Now the only place that is left for your body to build is your core. It will be built by sit-ups. The standard here would be 80 sit-ups under 2 minutes. Again, if you cannot match the standard at the start, do it with a small or any number that you are able to do. You can add plank (side plank and flat plank) of 2 minutes in this, it would be complementary.

 

Nutrition

          Again, a lot of misinformation is being spread about the food you must eat for building a healthy body. If you are a vegetarian, you don’t need to change your food habit owing to the lobby of meat-eaters and protein parrots. If you eat grain (wheat and rice) along with Legumes (राजमा, छोले, मटर, मक्का, सोया, मूँग) and Pulses (अरहर, उडद, चना, लाल). You don’t need to shift towards meat, egg, or whey protein. Because our body needs 9 amino acids from food sources and synthesizes the other 11 amino acids within our body. Those 9 essential amino acids are present in the above-mentioned food and that too in ample amounts. These amino acids are the basic components of protein that make up our muscles. The unique property of protein is that it cannot be stored in our body like glucose, fat and excess supply is drained into our urine. It means, all the unnecessary meat-eating and whey protein consumption is being urinated. To all those meat-eaters, the digestion of meat creates more free radicals and decrease the PH of blood, which is not the case for vegetarian. Less the PH of blood, more it would be acidic and the affinity of hemoglobin towards Oxygen would be less, hence more free radicals will be generated and the cycle will augment. This is the reason why meat-eaters have a lesser life span compared to vegetarians.

                You only need to eat grain along with Pulses and Legumes with Salad (सलाद) before dinner and 1 glass of milk before going to sleep. It will be the complete nutrition that one requires to maintain the regime to build strength and agility. One bonus ingredient is Cow Ghee (only desi cow), it is the most beneficial thing to be included. Because it boosts good cholesterol and thickens your semen. The more semen you retain and produce, the more strength you will develop because more testosterone will be released. One famous Chanakya quote is worth mentioning here.

“अन्न से 10 गुना अधिक शक्ति दूध में, दूध से 10 गुना अधिक शक्ति माँस में और माँस से 10 गुना अधिक शक्ति घी में”

               And that’s why their cost is according to the value they provide. Many would say, Ghee increases fat, and it’s all the popular belief built over years to sell whey proteins and non-veg market. In earlier times, Desi पहलवान were all vegetarians and they used Ghee extensively. They had strength, agility, and aesthetic body as well. So consuming Ghee with your dinner is ever more beneficial.