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Denis Giles

20 March 2019

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By Buvnesh

If in case you read my last article on push-ups, towards the end I wrote about speaking about a “dual effect” in my next article.

So while doing a push-up I like to suck my tummy in. This not only helps me to increase muscle endurance but also helps to develop my core muscles.

Many assume that ‘Core’ means Abs and by doing Sit-ups and Crunches one can build a strong Core. But this is a myth.

Core does not only mean your Abdominal Muscles but involves a whole lot more than just Abdominal muscles. It involves a variety of muscles including your lower lat muscles.

Fun Fact: Your core muscle involves as many as 29 different muscle groups including trapezius (Traps); the muscle towards the bottom of your neck to your glutes (buttocks). And you can work on all of them at the same time with the exercise I am about to tell you.

What does Core mean?

In simple terms, Core means your whole upper body minus your arms and legs. Your core is where most of your power is derived from. Your core is used to stabilize your whole thoracic region (upper body and pelvis). It provides the foundation for all the movements of the arms and legs.

How to feel your Core?

The Core is a deep muscle and cannot be felt easily. However, it can be felt during a movement or any action that involves rapid release of energy or air from the body. It can be as simple as a cough or laughing hard. Many at times it happens that you get cramps in your stomach while laughing. Now you know the reason why it happens.

Core Strength is Important Because:

The human movement is Multi-dimensional and requires more than one single muscle to complete the desired movement. It is a combination of various muscles/ muscle groups working together.

Eg. When you rotate your torso; in this movement your external and internal obliques work together to complete the movement or like when you bend sideways.

Your Core can be felt while an action simple as opening a door; and go up to moving heavy weights.

Regardless of the daily activities you do, it is of utmost importance that you have a strong core in order to have a strong foundation.

Strong core muscle results in:

Improving your posture

The Core muscles are responsible for aligning the spine, ribs and pelvis of a person and help them stand straight with good posture. A strong core also helps a person to resist force whether dynamic or static.

The lack of core muscle strength would result in wrong postures such as, *slouching* where your shoulders rotate forward. This is very common with people who have a desk job or people who are immobile for most of the day.

The way you sit or stand determines the amount of stress on your lower back. A strong core would mean the least amount of compression of your lower back.

Improved performance

A strong core translates to improved performance; let it be in sports or your daily life. One can perform day-to-day tasks easily, and not fatigue as early as others. Weak core muscles would lead to weakness in one’s body and also cause lower-back pain, which is common in today’s older generation. A weak core would cause you to fatigue way before than a person with a much stronger core.

Perform bodily functions

As mentioned earlier, core muscles help you maintain a good posture and to resist any external force whether static or dynamic. These are mainly the function of the outer core muscles, which involves your Rectus abdominus (Abdominal Muscles)

In addition to the above stated functions, the deeper core or Inner core muscles handle much more complex functions of the body such as defecation (remove fecal waste from the body), bladder control, weight lifting and is also a great help during pregnancy.

Difference between Core and Abs

To many people Core and Abdominal muscles are one and the same, but that isn’t the case.

A core is a much more complex muscle that involves a variety of different muscle/muscle groups which work in combination, whereas the Abdominal Muscles mainly consists of the rectus abdominus (the infamous “6 pack muscle”). Core muscles work as a natural isometric and dynamic stabiliser during physical activity as compared to the rectus abdominus with a one dimensional function i.e. crunching the trunk to the pelvis or the other way around.

These are certain differences that would certainly refine your knowledge on how to train abs and core.

Where crunches and hyper-extensions are good to train the rectus Abdominus there are a few exercises that directly work on the Core.

In my next article I shall speak about one of the most effective exercise that targets all the core muscles at once.

Quiz Time:

Since we are on the topic about Core; Name an exercise where your body is not moving but all of your muscles are under tension? Comment down below with your best answer, and stand a chance to win a free workout at: “Kashrath- for a better you”.

Until then, keep grinding! 

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Denis Giles

14 March 2019

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Rise Up

By Buvnesh

Now that you are motivated, let’s start from the basics of working out.

The first exercise I ever did to improve my strength and endurance were push-ups.

Push-ups are a modified version of an age old technique known as “dand” which wrestlers or “pehalvaans” used to improve their strength. This movement is known as Hindu Push-ups in the modern world.

The only difference between a normal push-up and “Dand” is that “Dand” involves a lot more of your Shoulder muscles as compared to regular Push-ups.

Remember, although bodyweight exercises do not help you to build muscle but are a great way to sculpt/tone your body.

You have tons of variations that will keep your workout interesting every time you do it. These variations will help you to improve your core strength which most people lack and also help build your strength.

These exercises can be done anywhere anytime and it’s free. The only thing you need to invest is your time.

Now to perform a push-up:

Step 1: Lie on your chest, position your palms on the floor about five fingers apart from your chest, approximately shoulder width apart. Your elbows pointing towards your hips and your toes pointing towards your head.

Step 2: Now take a deep breath in, hold it and push yourself up. Keep pushing unless your arms are fully extended. And then repeat.

The Primary muscle that you should be focusing on while doing a push-up is your pectoral muscles also knows as your Chest muscles.

The secondary muscle involved are your tricep brachii A.K.A triceps; the muscle group behind your arms. “Anterior deltoids” also known as Front part of your “shoulders” and it also involves a little bit of Bicep brachii A.K.A. biceps.

Repetitions per Set:   

The rep-range that you need to follow if you are a beginner is anywhere from 1 to 5 reps for the first day and you can progress from there.

This is a great exercise to not only sculpt and tone your Chest but also your arms and shoulders or your upper body in general.

Once you are good in doing push-ups, it will result in increased muscle endurance. Push-ups are not limited only to men. Even women can do this movement and see good results in their upper body.

Pro Tip: One thing I always like to do while doing a push-up is to suck my tummy in and hold it in as long as possible, while breathing. This has a dual effect which I’ll speak of in the next article.

Till then keep grinding. 

For queries and suggestions, please feel free to mail me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Denis Giles

15 March 2019

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Aha! So, Indian barber shops are full! Everybody, I hear with even a whiff of a moustache is trying to shape it downwards like Abhinandan’s whiskers! And mummy’s eyebrow pencil’s disappeared as those without, use hers to get the Abhi look.

“Look at me!” they say, strolling away from hairdresser’s razor, “I’m a brave heart too!”

Oh no, you ain’t my friend. It’s not just the moustache that made him a hero in a land bereft of men of courage and valour!

There’s more to the Wing-Commander, just hear me out dear muchy-wallahs!

His was not to complain when all he was equipped with was a fifty-year old MIG 21; an aircraft labelled a ‘flying coffin’ for all the deaths it’s caused. What a lesson for some of us who say, “I’m not equipped to fight. I’m weak, sickly, uneducated, shy, fearful, penniless! Let someone more equipped fight while I cheer and grow similar moustache to show solidarity!”

But the Wing Commander took that old machine up, and gave chase to an F-16, a much superior American built jet fighter. He did not radio for support but gave chase, alone! Quite unlike you and your ‘lynch’ mobs and ‘Romeo’ squads who attack one lone man and lynch him isn’t it?

Abhi fought alone!

Not just alone, he crossed the safety of the Indian skies, into Pakistan airspace! Yes, enemy territory! And we, who within the safety of ourcomfort zones, our whatsapp groups, attack and shout and yell with rabid hate, would you cross alone and do such talk to the very ones you deride with words, or do you hide behind TV screen or social media?

Abhi then, my recently moustached friends, gets shot down, and injured. He is attacked by fierce enemy mob. Does, he kneel and plead for mercy? No! He fires in the air, jumps into a pond, swallows his papers, tries to fight back to the end, but is captured! Then walks shackled, bloodied and injured but with fearlessness and dignity! And that same courage is seen as he’s questioned by the enemy, his voice firm and brave, not giving in an inch.

And later as we Indian crowds cheered, he walked tall and strong, not revealing through limp or demeanor, his injuries, back into Indian territory across the Wagah Border.

Learn from him, you who sport his moustache, and others who have made him a hero. Stop, whining about weak body, but take the MIG 21s you’ve still got, and without using the mob, your gang, your majority or minority support, stand alone, lock onto the enemy spreading communal hatred, and take him or her down! Fight alone for the eradication of poverty, against police atrocities, against intolerance, then walk tall like Wing Commander Abhinandan did!

You in yon barber shop, come out; it’s not just the moustache..! 

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Denis Giles

14 March 2019

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Sarla Devi Scholarship for Students in Crisis 2019

Description: DharampalSatyapal Charitable Trust is giving this scholarship to students undergoing any kind of personal crisis, causing hindrance in their higher education. This scholarship supports families dwindling with finances to help them with their wards' higher studies post class 9 in any stream.

Eligibility: Applicants who are orphan, physically challenged, cancer patients, or have single parent (only mother) or have any chronic illness (candidate or immediate family member) can send their entries. Family income should be below INR 4.5L p.a.

Prizes & Rewards: 100 desirous and needy students will be awarded with INR 10K.

Last Date to Apply: March 31, 2019

Application Mode: Online applications only.

Short Source URL: http://www.b4s.in/AC/SDS6

Sarla Devi Scholarship 2019

Description: DharampalSatyapal Charitable Trust announces this scholarship for meritorious but under-privileged students who are from any part of the country, currently studying in Delhi/NCR region. The purpose of this scholarship is to provide them a chance towards a better future.

Eligibility: Students pursuing 1st year in MBBS, Engineering, Nursing, LLB, Psychology or Mass Communication with minimum 75% in class 12 board can apply. For students who are aspiring for CA, CS and scored minimum 80% in class 12 can also apply. For dropout students looking forward to pursue vocational courses are also eligible to apply. The applicant's family income shouldn't be more than INR 4.5 L p.a. 

Prizes & Rewards: INR 75K for science and engineering streams; INR 20K for arts stream; INR 25K for commerce and CA, CS; and INR 15K for vocational courses as scholarships. 

Last Date to Apply: March 31, 2019

Application Mode: Online applications

Short Source URL: http://www.b4s.in/AC/SDS5

Smart Fellowships, ICGEB 2019

Description: International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) is offering a chance to young scientists in their early research career to undertake scientific projects in Life Sciences at local research facilities with the fellowship grants provided by ICGEB.

Eligibility: Indian citizens who are either in the process of gaining a Ph.D. degree or have secured one in the last five years or young scientists with M.Sc. qualification may apply for this fellowship

Prizes & Rewards: Monthly stipends of US$800 to US$1500 for 3 months to 9 months depending on the merit of research proposal and additional US$500 per month grant to the host laboratory of research for the applicant will be provided for selected applications

Last Date to Apply: March 31, 2019

Application Mode: Online applications via email

Short Source URL: http://www.b4s.in/AC/SFI2

Courtesy: www.buddy4study.com