I know all the gyaan about how drinking water is good for health. But…yech! I seem unable to do so. I run every morning and feel tired. What should a girl like me do? — Raji

Well, Raji, a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do! Here’s what you do: pour just one large sip of water in a small glass and gulp it down, then pour another and gulp that down… Continue through the day at any opportunity and before you know it your tired, dehydrated muscles will be hydrated and tire no more. When you don’t moisten those muscles, they become like shrivelled leaves which crack and tire easily. With water, they become like a juicy green leaf – fresh, tender, flexible where they spring back to normal when you bend them. As you gulp down the sips, you’ll find your body actually thirsting and asking for more. Soon, you’ll develop a taste for water. Gyaan: take…that…first…sip now!

How many minutes are required to warm up? —Jogi

Just 5 to 10 minutes, Jogi. The proof the warm-up is a thin sheen of perspiration. It signals: “Muscles ready for take-off!” Also, the muscle temperature returns to non-warm-up levels within 45 minutes. Ergo, start exercising in the 45-minute time-span.

If I stop exercising, will my muscles turn into fat? — Kirti

No, Kirti, they won’t. Muscles cannot turn into fat just as chalk cannot turn into cheese. When you exercise, the building-proteins – amino acids – from the bloodstream are pushed into your muscle tissue, hence they become bigger and stronger. When you stop exercising, less amounts of amino acids are pushed into the muscles. Result: the muscles shrink. The extra amino acids in the bloodstream, being protein, cannot be stored, so they’re broken down and eliminated through the urine.

Factoid: when you stop exercising, you don’t decrease your eating… So, since sufficient calories are not being burnt, the fat you eat gets stored and boom! You balloon! Timely tip: continue…continue…continue to exercise!

(The writer is the co-author of the book Fitness for Life .)

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