Getting fit

Sore today, strong tomorrow
                                      ~ Anon

When I decided to sign up for Clipper, one of the first people I spoke with was Sunil Prabhakar. 

He did the entire Round the World Race in 2015-16. Not only did he send me lots of written advice but also called and shared his experiences. The words that stayed with me were make sure you’re fit enough to do everything asked of you. Try your hand at everything and let your experience decide what you want to focus on during the trials and the race. And definitely get out of your comfort zone.

The very next day, I made a beeline for the gym. And continue to do so every day after work. Upper body, lower body, weights, core, cardio – bring it on!

I got a bicycle as a birthday gift last October and have been enjoying my early morning bike rides for a while before the Clipper bug happened. So luckily for me, my muscles were better acquainted with exercise and didn’t scream in as much agony.

Cycling in Goa is a pleasure and something I would not have dreamed of doing in Bombay. Not just for the roads and the traffic, but also the time. Everything in Goa is closer, cleaner, greener, better, easier…ok I’m getting carried away. What I’m getting at is that fortunately Goa offers the best conditions for a healthier life style. And, it’s serendipity that I joined the Clipperati whilst in Goa.

Thus far, yoga was my preferred form of exercise. All I had to do was slip out of bed, roll out an on  mat, take a deep breath of fresh sea scented air and launch into Suryanamaskars. Wow, you say. Well, not really. The body get used to it when you repeat the same exercises and the mind wanders too. My mind and body definitely needed a change. So typically, weekdays involve cycling, yoga and gymming with weekends spent Goa style imbibing beer and urak and feasting on sorpotel, tongue roast, goa sausages, chonak rawa fry, beef chili. I can keep going but will stop so you can control that drooling!

And, yes this weekend was much the same but I have been sweating it out at the gym this week too.

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