Sabya's Niche

This is the latest position of my back. The second phase of dieting is on. Bodybuilding has become a passion in the last 5 months... and it's going to stay that way for quite some time!

It was a short trip From here to nowhere A journey that was on the anvil All along Undertaken well.. In the mind For it never could be. (A short poetry... that never could be!!)

[Topmost pic - current; Pic just above - November, 2008] Hi folks! Sorry for the long delay. Wish you all a belated Merry Christmas and an advance Happy 2009. Fully into bodybuilding now. I've reduced about 7.5 kilos in 3 months and have shifted to full-fledged weight training from chiefly cardio-vascular exercises. No six packs as yet, but have already been seeing the outlines of one. It's alternate-day jogging and 6-days a week weight training now. I'm actually on a split routine, i.e. alternate days of working separate body-parts to give those time to recover and grow. My mornings now begin at 4:50 am on jogging days and 5:45 am on the other ones. The workouts are rigorous - consisting of 2.5 hours on an average. I complete all studies the previous night, of course, till I begin dozing off embarassingly in my chamber! The experience of my new passion is thrilling - overcoming newer and greater weight resistances and reaching new heights ...

Lost 2.5 kgs in 1 month! Gym, what else? And of course, minimal sweetmeat consumption. Gradually I'm feeling the effects of an about 1 hour 45 min workout 6 days a week - cardio (cardio-vascular exercises) and weight training combined. I've even taken a challenge with a 'wise-guy' of the gym, who's been working out for 3 years and has a good physique, that I'll build a six-pack abs by February, 2009. He still doesn't have it and naturally is on a ridicule mode. Wait till he sees my abs next Feb! As usual, I haven't left any second option and since I've thrown the challenge I'll meet it. So it's a rigorous routine now; so much so that even on our vacation tour of 10 days I lost half a kilo instead of gaining any. I trained for about 2 1/2 hours yesterday and hope to do at least 2 hours daily (except Sundays and Gym closures). I'm also beseeching our gym trainer to give me a strict diet. Of course I'll have the half-dozen pack, but the...

Hi people! Welcome back again and Subho Bijoya, Happy Diwali, Eid Mubarak, etc. to you all. Our family went to Shillong in Meghalaya and Kaziranga in Assam via Guwahati this Puja vacation. It was a splendid trip. Shillong is a remarkably busy and extensive hill station, sprawling over quite a large area on the mountains in the Khasi-Garo-Jayantia region of north-east India. It had quite beautiful locations, including picturesque waterfalls like the 'Elephant' and 'Seven Sister' falls. Cherapunjee, the world's ex-wettest place was also on our itinerary, though we found it one of the hottest places we've ever visited due to the scorching sun! Yet, the land (-hill!)-scape was good. We next went to the forest at Kaziranga through Guwahati. Although the core area of the dense forest would open only in the first week of November, we were lucky enough to spot most of the wild species for which tourists visit Kaziranga from a watch-tower on the fringes of the forest...

Gym time! Instruments at home fell lacking in meeting my needs, courtesy John Little's schedule. So joining a gym near home, named 'Fitness Drive'. It's complete with instruments, trainer and all. Will start tomorrow. 6:30 am sharp! Feeling very excited. Another chapter's opening in my otherwise oh-so-boring daily existence.

Sorry folks - a really long gap this time. I shan't make any excuses. Just too busy due to the oncoming annual vacation of our Court.   I'm into the fourth month of driving and bodybuilding! Getting benefits in both. Initially I was getting confused since there's so much literature on bodybuilding on the net. However, I'm getting somewhat accustomed to understanding the needs of my body.  As far as driving is concerned, the teething troubles of the new driver seem to be over. Now I'm trying out techniques in 'hypermiling' i.e. extracting more mileage out of your car than the brochures say. E.g. using the brakes and gas pedal (accelerator) less, shifting the gear to neutral and idling long before you reach traffic signals and so on.  Hey.. saw a movie in the meantime which touched me. It's 'Mumbai meri jaan', using a cliche from an old Hindi movie song to good effect. It's about the change in lives of different cross-sections of the Mumbaikars...