If you are a die heart bodybuilding fan then you must be heard about the reputed Oxygen Gym of Kuwait.  Yes, the same gym which has been known for its eminent Camel Crew!  Roelly Winklaar, Big Ramy, Victor Martinez, Brandon Curry, Ahmad Ashkanani and many more, are some of the renowned Olympians produced by the Oxygen team.  However, this piece is not about the Oxygen gym or the Camel Crew, in fact, we have an even more interesting news to break.

 Master trainer Yunus Shaikh and Indian bodybuilder Wahid Bamboowala, who stood strong in the top 10 line up of the recent Amateur Olympia India 2017 has now been upskilling himself under the Camel Crew of Oxygen gym. Yunus is the owner of very popular Mesomorph the Gym in Vasai, Mumbai. 

 We spoke to Wahid regarding his training and this is what he said, “The training here is a lot different. I have been learning several new things here. No wonder, the Camel crew bodybuilders are progressing every year for some legitimate reasons.  Nevertheless, I expect myself to come back bigger, stronger and with some upgraded knowledge which I’ll be applying to myself as well as on my clients.”

 Wahid has been posting his training videos and pictures along with coach Abdulla (One of the senior coaches at Oxygen gym) at his Instagram handle @bamboowala. You can also follow Yunus Shaikh’s instagram handle @yunusishaikh for all the latest updates about his training in Kuwait.

 Wahid has also bagged Mr Mumbai Gold and Mr Asia 4^th place under his belt last year.

 A Little About Oxygen Gym

 Headed by Mr. Badar Boodai, the Oxygen gym has become a favorite spot for so many IFBB Pro bodybuilders. Bodybuilders from different corners of the world have started moving to Kuwait for their training at this muscle factory.  No wonder, the progress report of their athletes has been garnering maximum eyeballs. 

Well, hope Yunus and Wahid’s Kuwait trip makes some value addition to them and soon they could share this knowledge and make India proud at some bigger stages!

The post Yunus Shaikh and Wahid Bamboowala Upskilling Themself At The Popular Oxygen Gym Of Kuwait appeared first on IBB - Indian Bodybuilding.

On asking about the e-book Junaid said, “I always wanted to come up an e-book for my fans. I was just waiting for the right time and I believe the time has come, therefore, so is my e-book! With all my experience and the best of my knowledge, I have designed some best workout and diet plans. The plans are both for muscle gain and fat loss while considering the vegetarian and the non-vegetarian population respectively. I am really excited to witness the response of followers on the same”

On asking about the availability and the price of ebook, Junaid added, “In order to avail the ebook, one has to visit my official website, www.junaidkaliwala.com or can DM me at my Instagram handle @jkaliwala. Keeping all the aspects in mind, the ebook is priced at worth Rs. 2594 only”

Here is a direct link to buy the ebook: http://www.junaidkaliwala.com/books.aspx Well, no wonder, even we are excited to try our hands at Junaid’s transformation secret!

The post Junaid Kaliwala Launches The Transformation Secret, a 12 Weeks Transformation Plan E-book appeared first on IBB - Indian Bodybuilding.

Rachit: When did the fitness bug bite you? Tell us about your love towards fitness and Bodybuilding.
Gaurav: Well, I started working out when I was in school. Like most of the people even I got inspired by Salman Khan. However, at that time, my dad had a pair of dumbbells so I used them for my workouts (should be around 20-25 lbs). Moreover, my school in Kanpur use to have a gym, thus I use to reach 45 mins before my classes just to workout there. I still remember, I used to carry an extra set of clothes for my early morning gym session. In fact, since school time, I was always keen to read extensively about nutrition and bodybuilding.

It was during college, when this fitness word became a part of my lifestyle and rest is history!

Rachit: From IIT Kharagpur to Aviation and now being India’s one of the best fitness YouTuber… What made you to choose the 3 different aspects of career?
Gaurav: Its just that, I live in the moment. I simply do whatever excites me. Most of the time there is an intuition which I follow whenever I step towards a new journey. If my heart says, “I can do this”, I actually get it done.
I actually live by this policy, LIFE IS SHORT AND THE TIME IS NOW!

Rachit: You have also been a national level bodybuilder…Tell us about your bodybuilding journey and also who inspired you to become a competitive athlete?
Gaurav: Ever since my teenage, I was always one of the biggest and strongest guys in friend’s circle. Though, I never thought I would step on the stage and compete in a bodybuilding show. In fact during college itself I used to squat with a load of 180 kg and deadlift with 200kg. I remember, during those days, I often used to get this question, do you compete professionally? And when this question became a regular thing to me, I actually wanted to give it a shot. Guess what? When I started competing, I consequtively won my first three shows! Gradually, I wanted to improve my physique with every next show, which I actually achieved.

Rachit: If 2 things you could change about the Indian Fitness industry, what would it be?
Gaurav: 1) Well, the first is what I am actually doing. I genuinely want my Indian community to get some basic logical information about fitness science. There is too much of garbage all over internet, with my channel FitmuscleTV, I am actually trying to deliver the best content possible which could help people to stay healthy, fit and safe!

2) I really want people to start using their common sense. People should think logical, read more before they believe on anything and should keep watching FitmuscleTV (Laugh!)

Rachit: We got to know you have recently commenced a new YouTube channel…Could you shed some light on that?
Gaurav: Correct, the channel name is Flying Beast. It is basically a VLOG channel. As I stated, I do whatever excites me at a particular moment. So it was during my Muscle blaze transformation, which I actually started after I took a poll regarding an Indian supplement brand that my followers wanted me to do a review.

I wanted to show my entire 8 weeks journey using that brand products, but not in a boring way. Therefore, I decided to make a vlog for the same. After a couple of vlogs, I found it really exciting. That was the time my love for story telling, editing, cinematography got skyrocket.
Hence, I decided to keep the fitness videos separate and to come up with a separate vlogs channel thus came up with FlyingBeast!

FlyingBeast ChannelLink: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNSdjX4ry9fICqeObdZPAZQ

Rachit: What are your future plans for your respective YouTube channels?
Gaurav: So for FitmuscleTv, Like always just to keep bringing in the #RealContent in an interactive way. My objective is to propogate the real knowledge and educate my followers on how this fitness science actually works. I
And for FlyingBeast, Let’s make it India’s no 1 Vlogging channel (Laugh!)

Rachit: Where can your fans/followers reach you out?
Gaurav: I am highly active on my Email and my Instagram handle. However, people can reach me out on my following social media handles:

Instagram- @taneja.gaurav
FB- /FitmuscleTV
FB- /FlyingBeast320
Email- fitmuscletv@gmail.com

Though, in order to communicate with my followers, I am planning to do frequent LIVE sessions this 2018.

Rachit: Any message for your followers?
Gaurav: First of all, I am really blessed to have such lovely followers. They are actually like a family. Just would like to say, Realise your strength and work towards it. Like I said above, ” The Time Is Now!”. Always remember, everyone has new ideas it is only ones who get the summit who actually take their first step. Believe to achieve that’s how you roll!

The post In Conversation with Youtuber Gaurav Taneja (FitmuscleTV) appeared first on IBB - Indian Bodybuilding.

Hire a Certified Personal Trainer

Well, this tip might seem expensive, but trust me there is a reason why I have put it at the top of the list. Your personal trainer (considering he is good enough) will help you to unleash your real potential on the gym floor. He motivates you to train harder and perform that extra rep which gives you that extra edge. Not only that, once you hook with a good coach, you become accountable for your efforts in context to diet and workout. As a result, he helps you achieve your fitness goal in an efficient manner.

Start Hanging Out With Experienced Fitness Freak Friend

As they say, if you want to become successful, surround yourself with the successful people. The same principle applies to fitness, start hanging out with a fitness freak friend and he will drag you to the gym for sure. Nothing is better than having an experienced and a knowledgeable training partner. Trust me it works like wonder! Share your resolution with your friend and simply ask him to help you in sticking to it. If your training partner is dedicated, the quality of training skyrockets!

Stop Comparing Yourself To The Instagram Models

Let’s be honest, you always want to look like those ripped Instagram fitness models right? Well, you need to calm down and start living in the real world. Most of those models have been training since decades and more than that majority of them stays on steroids year long. In fact, their physique is their identity and therefore their reasons for using anabolic drugs is still justified. But hey, you neither want to compete in a professional bodybuilding show nor wants to become a professional fitness model right? Therefore, stop expecting to look like those ripped models within a couple of months. It takes some decade of dedication to reach there. Hence, set a realistic goal and keep working towards it. Don’t be upset, you can still get six packs naturally if your nutrition and training stays on point!

Set Realistic Deadlines and Goals

Setting up deadlines will help you to stay on track for a set period at least. A lot of people fail in their fitness resolutions due to lack of a deadline. Moreover, do not set an unrealistic goal or an impractical deadline. For instance, gaining 5kg of muscle in a couple of months or losing 20 kilos within 2 weeks. Trust me it won’t work and you will fail miserably in that case. And unfortunately, you will quit your fitness goals. Hence, in order to avoid such things, set a realistic goal and plan a practical deadline for the same.

Post Your Fitness Resolution On Social Media

Some fears can be really productive. Making your resolution public gives you a psychological boost to stick to it. Posting your fitness resolution on your social media platforms will bound you to stick to it for a long period of time. Especially if your friends/followers keep checking on your progress updates. Here is another tip, subsequent to the resolution post, start posting your stories sharing your fitness regimen. It is even better if you share it with an experienced fitness lifter who might guide you and will help you to stay persistent.

Make a Likeminded Community

You party with your friends, you booze with them then why not train with them? Well, you might have different goals, for instance for some it could to gaining muscle or for some dropping those extra kilos. However, working together towards your respective goal can help you to sustain the motivation. However, make sure the community comprises of some kickass dedicated people.

Reward Yourself

Hence, follow the above-mentioned tips and witness yourself conquering the fitness goals successfully this year.

Good Luck!

The post Follow These Practical Tips For A Successful Fitness Resolution This 2018 appeared first on IBB - Indian Bodybuilding.

What Exactly Is Peak Week?

Anyway, here we are with the 3 common mistakes that bodybuilders commit during the peak week:

Mistake #1 Over manipulation of the carbohydrates

Carbohydrates or the carb loading is done in the last few days of the peak week. According to the traditional protocol, the carbs are depleted in the initial days followed by the carb loading phase. The carb loading is done in order to fill the muscle glycogen and to give the bodybuilder a fuller look. The logic is simple, carbs have a tendency to pull water towards themselves and during the glycogen fulfilment phase, the carb loading along with the last day of water depletion helps an athlete to achieve that tight and dry look!
However, when it comes to carb depletion a couple of week before the contest, if an athlete is already depleting carbohydrates since 6-8 weeks, for instance, 30-50gm of carbs intake per day, the further carb depletion may not help in that case. (Again depends on body to body)
Rather, the carb loading phase might be a game changer in that case. The most common mistake the bodybuilders commit is with the quantity of carbs during the loading phase. If you are on a carb depleted state from quite long, a sudden increase in carbs intake would not be a smart idea. The key is to increase the carbs gradually.

Mistake #2 Cutting Water Completely

We all know that Muscles are 70% water. Thus, the glycogen fulfilment of the muscle can be done properly only when the body is hydrated enough. Since, the carbs loading is also supported by the water, it’s imperative to maintain the water intake during the peak week. In the initial 5-6 days of the peak week the water intake has to be really high and should be cut suddenly a day before the show. This basically keeps the body in the flushing mode even when you are in water depletion phase on that last day.
The common mistake that athletes commit is completely eliminating the water 2-3 days before with the fear of water retention. The irony is, the issue of water retention comes due to adding too many carbs and not the water. The overloading of carbs causes the water to spill under the skin which gives you that softer appearance. Always remember, body is a way smarter machine than you think. It will always try to maintain its osmotic ratio i.e that water ratio between the intracellular and extracellular membranes.

Mistake #3 Eliminating Sodium

Again, probably the most common mistake done by the majority of bodybuilders. During the peak week or may a month before, a lot of bodybuilders eliminates sodium completely from their diet. Now this is completely pointless and unhealthy for the body.

Sodium plays a pivotal role of co-transporting the glucose generated by digestion of starch absorbed in the small intestine. Moreover, it also supports the carbs to cross the cell membranes. Not to forget it is one of the most important electrolytes that your body needs. A prolonged deficiency can be really fatal.
In fact, the sodium helps you in getting that desirable pump during the workout as it facilitates the muscle to contract and relax. Hence, do not cut sodium entirely, your body needs sodium to function! Next time when you see bodybuilders cramping on stage, it is primarily due to sodium depletion in the body.

Note: A peak week is a trial and error protocol that varies from body to body. Therefore, if you are doing it for the first time, it is better to try it once a couple of months before the main event. This will help you to understand that what actually suits your body and you can do the needful in the final preparation phase.

The post Here Are The 3 Common Mistakes To Avoid During Peak Week appeared first on IBB - Indian Bodybuilding.

1. Dream to Achieve

2. Ask Yourself

3. That Satisfaction

4. The Mindset

5. Be Yourself

6. Mind Is Everything

7. Dare to Dream Big

8. Thoughts become things

9. Make Every Breath Count

10. Be Your Own Masterpiece

11. Have A Vision

12. Never Give Up

As he says, it is all in the mind, hence, train your mind to bring the best out of you, because you achieve what your mind believes!

The post These 12 Kickass Motivational Quotes Of Kai Green Will Leave You Awestruck appeared first on IBB - Indian Bodybuilding.

The Sedentary Curse

There was a time when people used to walk a lot! Not as an exercise but just as a part of their regular routine. A 3-5 kilometers distance used to a be a walk away for many people . Fast forward to 21st century, to visit a place located just a 500m distance away; we prefer to hog over our motor vehicles. If we ponder about our current lifestyle, we have become a slave of technology. From morning till night,we are surrounded with some or the other form of tech gadgets. As a result, we have been cursed by sedentary lifestyle.

Also, not to ignore that; meanwhile in all this vicious routine, we tend to ingest too many crap foods. In fact, to get food we use some or other application that brings out your favourite junk at the table. Therefore, this is how a sedentary lifestyle screws our health. The funny part is, once you get some health issue; you visit a doctor and he prescribes you a minimum 20-30 minutes of exercise (precisely walk) regularly along with his medications. Interesting isn’t?

So This Is What Went Wrong

We humans are meant to be mobile and active. There was a time when our ancestors used to consume a lot of carbohydrates along with good amount saturated fats (Parantha/Rice, Desi Ghee etc) and they have lived healthier and longer than our current generation. At one point where the technology has proven a boon to mankind, it has also deteriorated a lot of things. The lifestyle diseases has grown exponentially in the last couple of decades. Nevertheless, India is ranking among the top nations for the diabetes and obesity cases.

Alarming Call: Start Walking As Much As You Can

Let’s be practical, we cannot change our lifestyle much, neither we can boycott the use technology. But there is one thing which we can do, that is, to become physically more active. Therefore, start going for morning or evening walk. Use stairs instead of lift/escalators. Trust me, though its a small change, it works like wonders!

Benefit of Walking

Walking if done for more than 3 minutes is categorized under a low intensity cardio exercise. Alike other cardio activities, walking is a great way to strengthen your cardiorespiratory health (heart & lungs). However, the best part is, walking at a regular pace puts negligible stress over your joints. Moreover, it does not tax your heart much and therefore, proven really beneficial for the people who are already running with some heart issue. Another key benefit of walking is that it oxidizes the excess fat first rather than the muscles. This is key reason why most of the bodybuilders perform the static state walking as a part of their cardio exercise. In addition, it supports healthy functioning of our other vital organs (especially brain) by boosting the oxygenated blood flow in body. Well, last but not the least, walking helps in burning calories which further helps in fat loss. A 30 minutes of walk at a normal pace can burn around 60-90 calories (depends on person’s body weight).

So Which Is The Best Time To walk?

Well, the answer to this is, whatever suits you! Whenever you get time, be it early morning or late evening. After your lunch or even after the dinner. Irrespective of time, just incorporate 30-45 minutes of walk in your lifestyle. Walking will boost your NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) which actually the current generation is depriving off.

The post Walking: An Underrated Exercise You Are Not Doing Enough appeared first on IBB - Indian Bodybuilding.

One of the biggest transformation dilemmas for the majority of lifters is, should they go for bulking first or cutting? Although, there is no concrete answer to this question as it depends on various vital factors. What are the factors? Well in this piece, I’ll be breaking down the same:

A Little About Bulking And Cutting

We all know the fact that for cutting one has to be on a caloric deficit diet whereas for bulking, a caloric surplus diet is the key.  However, for any optimum diet, setting up adequate macros according to the respective goal is imperative.  Though, protein remains the king no matter what your goal is (Except in the ketogenic diet).

Cutting
The basic bullet points that one has to keep in mind while going for a shredding phase is to stay away from all kinds of crash diets/ detox juices and of course overdoing of the cardio exercises. Moreover, avoid slashing calories drastically in order to prevent the metabolism disorder.

Bulking
On the other hand, during bulking phase it is imperative to understand that the goal is to pack muscles rather than fat. The majority of lifters with the mindset of mere being in caloric surplus incorporates a lot of junk food in their diet. As a result, they tend to put on a lot of fat as compared to muscles. This is called as a dirty bulk.  No doubt, there will be a slight fat gain during the bulking phase but if the ratio of fat gain is 3:1 where 3 determines fat, well you need to look into your macro breakdown!

What should I opt first? Bulk or Cut?

Alright so coming to the point, the decision of choosing between bulking or cutting depends on the following factors:

1. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
   BMR is the primary factor that one has to keep in mind before choosing between the two phases.  BMR is basically the number of calories that your body needs at rest for its vital functions. Sedentary lifestyle, less appetite, too much of cardio workout on regular basis and so on are key contributors to a sluggish metabolic rate.  As a matter of fact, higher the BMR, better will be the body’s ability to burn fat and absorb nutrients. 
   How to calculate BMR and what to do with it?

   Although there is a precise formula to calculate BMR, one can easily calculate it online by filling up the required details and avail their own BMR. As I mentioned above, higher the BMR; better will be body’s ability to drop body fat. Therefore, calculating BMR gives an idea to set your caloric budget according to your goal.For instance, if you need to drop body fat, calculate BMR and consume 100-200 lesser calories than that. You can use applications like My Fitness Pal or Fat Secret in order maintain your food log and to calculate your calories intake. In case you want to bulk up, calculate your BMR, and start increasing 100-200 calories every week. Keep increasing calories until you reach at least 500-800 calories above your BMR. (Depends on body to body)
2. Muscle Mass
   If a person is carrying good amount of muscle mass, chances are he will be having a good BMR. Since muscle is an active tissue that requires constant energy supply to sustain itself, therefore, higher the muscle mass better will be the basal metabolic rate.
   In case, a person has negligible muscle mass, I will always suggest to bulk up first in order to pack on some muscles. As a matter of fact, building up muscles is a very slow process (especially for a natural lifter) but once you load some muscles, the fat loss becomes faster and more productive from the aesthetics perspective. Moreover, muscle gaining process also accelerates the BMR which is again the key element for any transformation.
3. Less Appetite
   Now, this is a most common factor that I have observed while working with several clients. Most of the people are already under eating in regards to their BMR.  As a result, they have sluggish metabolic rate and therefore, bulking phase is what I recommend in such cases in order to accelerate the metabolic rate.  Logic is simple, such people are already under eating, and in order to drop body fat, they have to cut down calories based on what they have been eating (already much less than BMR).This could be the even worse scenario as cutting down calories much below than the actual BMR is almost putting your body in starvation mode. Hence, going for a lean bulking is the way to go for an effective fat loss in a long term.

The Final Words

If you are fat with less muscle mass and less appetite, you should first embrace the muscle gain aka the bulking phase. In case, you are fat but with a solid background of weight training  (solid muscle mass) and with a appetite of an elephant, well, you may go for a shredding phase immediately.
For skinny fat people, since they usually have high BMR, in this case, they can begin with either muscle gain or fat loss as per their choice. However, in my opinion, I would still recommend bulking phase first as after loading some muscles, shredding phase will result in better aesthetics which of course gives a feel good factor.

Note:  Irrespective of the goal, weight training supported with a high protein diet should be a staple protocol to achieve your goal. Remember, more the muscles, higher will be the BMR.

The post Bulking Vs Cutting: What Should You Do First? Here Is The Answer appeared first on IBB - Indian Bodybuilding.