Trending Bodybuilding Business Playing Havoc with Lives

Bodybuilding Business: Growing Apathy Towards Community Welfare

Excessive consumption of steroids to build a muscular body killed a 23-year-old gym trainer in Noida last month. The youth had been taking injections of steroids for past two years and a week before his death he took a heavy dose of steroids and suddenly his condition started deteriorating. His heart was badly affected due to excessive intake of steroids and after a three days’ struggle in hospital he lost his life. To our dismay, this is not the first case of loss of a young life due to growing trends and fascination for six-packs abs body among teenagers and youth. Not just in India but across the globe youngsters fall prey to this obsession of body building and craze for a muscular body faster and quicker and suffer from serious health issues and sometimes lose their lives. Let’s read another story from Mumbai. Naved Jamil Khan, a young body builder from Thane District had lost his life on the day of a Body Building Competition, he was about to take part in because of suspected excessive intake of steroids. He was diagnosed with Hepatitis B and increased levels of cortisol (a steroid hormone) were detected in his body which damaged his liver and he died on the same day he was expecting a grand win for himself.

Please Watch My Video: Build Your Body Don't Damage It 

The Bodybuilding Business-

The Bodybuilding industry is one of the fastest emerging industries in India in the past decade. Earlier when people discussed about muscles and bodybuilding it was with reference to only for the wrestlers and pahalwans but with a surge in six-packs abs heroes in Bollywood, the trend of muscular body became so popular that thousands of strength- training centers and gyms started mushrooming in our country and India is now poise to become one of the world’s largest bodybuilding meccas. With the spike in health- training centers, the supplements and drug manufacturing companies were also keen to mark their presence in Indian market and introduced their products to large crowds of youth who were dreaming of heart-slaying, shirtless physiques and hence, readily inclined towards bodybuilding supplements, synthetic hormones and steroids.

What are Bodybuilding Steroids?-

These bodybuilding supplements or steroids are synthetic hormones similar to the male sex hormone testosterone. The steroids which are used to increase muscle mass and decrease fat are known as anabolic steroids; they are called performance-enhancing drugs and can cause adverse effects on human body; if not taken under a nutritionist’s supervision.  Thousands of people take supplements anticipating their health benefits such as weight loss, weight gain or muscle building failing to understand the toll they take on one’s health and normal metabolic functions of the body. To gain a bulky, muscular body many youngsters start the illegal and unmonitored use of steroids and become ‘abusers’. There are different kinds of steroids like; anadrol, oxandrin, dianabol, winstrol, deca-durabolin and equipoise. People use various slang terms to buy them illegally for example ‘roids or juice’. The supplement stores charge heavy money to provide these drugs which are used in form of pills, injections and protein shakes. For faster results abusers generally start stacking i. e. taking two or more kinds of steroids at one time. While consuming steroids, abusers bulk up, biceps bulge, abs ripple and quads balloon but the internal effects on body functioning can be fatal; sometimes the damage is irreversible.

 

 

The hazardous effects of steroids on human body-

The unsupervised consumption of anabolic steroids can lead to major health issues like kidney failure, liver damage, heart strokes and even development of tumors in body.  Steroids can weaken the immune system and the body becomes prone to other infections and serious diseases. Most of the time hypodermic needles are used to inject these hormones into body which increases the risk of HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. When steroids reach to different organs they stimulate protein growth in individual cells. They can cause livers to grow tumors; develop cancer and cysts and hearts to clog up. These cysts and tumors can rupture causing internal bleeding and ultimately death. Not the body alone, steroids take control of mind also and result into mood swings, violent behaviour and cruelty in users since they attack on the limbic system of brain which balances moods and emotions of a person. Gradually steroids intake leads to mania, delusions, and hyper aggression. It has been observed that steroids have disfiguring effects on human body such as greasy hair or baldness and disturb the hormone balance. They can even shorten the life span of the user.

Interesting Reading: All That Glitters is Not Gold

How to control this problem-

The bodybuilding trend can be considered a serious problem that we have been suffering for a decade. Anyone can open a gym without adequate training and well qualified instructors. They have little knowledge of body building and openly flout the norms for opening gyms and giving health training. Lack of certified trainers and lower moral and ethical values of gym owners plunge them into money minting by easier and illegal sources. It is found that they encourage young minds to intake steroids to attain a muscular body just in few weeks. There should be strict policies to control the violations by gym instructors and fitness trainers. Even stringent laws should be made to curb the open sale of such hormones. There must be a regulatory framework to monitor the activities of gyms as hundreds of gyms across the nation sell these illegal drugs which are smuggled in. The abuse of steroids by teenagers and young generation is a growing threat to mental and physical health. These centers should be governed by a regulatory board or authority. It’s high time government should set up Regulatory Boards to keep an eye on such health training centers. Lack of self motivation, discipline and community welfare is rampant in every sphere of human life, be it social, moral, education or even in fitness. Everyone wants six-packs abs but can’t be consistent and committed to practice hard for the same; gym owners also consider this business as any other business and the growing apathy towards their clients’ health is enough to say that they are totally blind and indifferent towards the health and mental wellness of their fitness enthusiasts.  

Positive Reading: The-Pursuit-of-Perfection

Time to think and answer:

Can a business dealing with health and fitness of people be run with the same mindset as any other business?

Aren’t ethics or moral obligations required when people trust you for taking care of their bodies?

 

Increasing Suicidal Tendency In Indian Youth

Winning Spirits May Lead to Self Destruction and Lose on Life If Not Guided

I have always considered sports, music and other outdoor activities great stress busters and strongly supported their necessity in the curriculum of school education. Sports play vital role in a student’s life and help children develop physical and mental health and teach them all the essential life skills and make an integral part of children's education. Above all sports teach us the value of losing also; playing sports is all about fair play and giving our best no matter whether we win or lose the game. The best lesson games teach us is accepting defeat in a positive competitive spirit.

However, the recent tragic suicide by Ritika Phogat , a young aspiring wrestler and cousin of the ace Indian women wrestlers Geeta and Babita Phogat, left us all shocked and perplexed about our ideology of believing sports as strengthening and building higher level of self-belief and stronger mental and emotional stability.

We have always blamed parents’ expectations, pressure of study and academic achievements for the increasing suicides among youth but this incident compelled us to think and rationalize our approach with these questions- “Were these notions either a fallacy, half-truth or the obsession of proving oneself always a winner leads towards higher susceptibility to succumb to one’s own ambitions and unfulfilled desires?” In India 28 students commit suicide every day that means a young mind decides and executes self-destruction every 51 minutes and tragically the numbers are increasing every year at a higher rate. It is believed that suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 15 to 24-year-old. The shocking revelation by the data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) states that 10,159 students died by suicide in 2018 with an increase from 9,905 in 2017 and 9,478 in 2016. Is it right to consider the pressure of study as the only factor responsible for killing hundreds of innocent lives across the country? Do we ever think about the fragility of emotions a child is vulnerable to? Do we ever realize how constantly these young minds are facing rejections at every level in their lives? Do we really take care if young ones set higher benchmarks for themselves and plunge into the hardships of attaining those unattainable goals?

Interesting Reading: Never-To-Advise-Adolescents 

There’s a strong and intense dreamer in all of us and we strive hard to realize these dreams but many a times youngsters fail to evaluate their potential and set high standards of goals and expectations for themselves; adding fuel to the fire parents and mentors keep pushing them to make relentless efforts to achieve them. Please don’t confuse my words by considering these higher goals only in academics; these can be related to any other arena, surprisingly it can be a Pursuit Of Perfection to become the best in siblings, friends or even being the best human also. Once we start training a child’s mind to become an achiever, a winner and a star performer; he starts visualizing himself to be one among the crowd and feels as if everyone’s eyes are on him. Under this constant imaginary scrutiny by his thoughts and to satiate the unquenchable thirst of proving him the best, becoming a super hero, he is drifted towards self-doubt and anxiety which is a very serious emotional damage for a young mind. Shockingly; sometimes minor or meaningless things as not getting enough ‘Likes’ on a social media post, or losing an online battle game can push the teenager into the chasm of suicidal thoughts.

Young people with mental health problems are always at high risk of committing suicide. Parents, elders and friends should be alert if they observe feelings of distress, irritability or agitation as most of the times suicide isn’t an impulsive action; it can be result of a prolonged hopelessness, worthlessness along with loneliness. Sometimes adults feel that if children say they are going to kill or will hurt themselves, it’s just for the sake of seeking attention. Here the art of parenting plays a crucial role in protecting a precious life. It’s very important to realize that their young one is ignored or wants to convey something so try to delve deep into his/her mind and keep the lines of communication open and express your concern, support and love. Never minimize or ignore what your teen is going through, read the body language and treat in consolable way otherwise the sense of hopelessness and accepting themselves as ‘good for nothing’ will be ingrained in their minds.

Blog EduEmeRalds urges to all the youngsters -

“Life doesn’t always celebrate the winners; the world is equally beautiful and blossoming with multitudes of losers as they are greater learners and innovators.”

The irrevocable loss of a budding, talented wrestler teaches us a lesson about our education and value system which focuses only on material gains and none wants to talk about mental health, emotional balance and life skills. The harsh realities of the outer world, being alone in a huge crowd and the obsession of taking every bit to take it a notch higher, teenager’s free spirits and growth get obstructed impinging on their psychological and emotional efficiency to fight back the stress and pain of losing or rejection in life. Such situations worsen and become unbearably intensified due to emotional and psychic claustrophobia of loneliness. While suffering this despairing sense of isolation, feeling unable to speak up what they are going through and trapped within their solitude they accept their existence as meaningless and futile.    How painful is it to think: What forced them to take such an extreme step? What loss would have been as big as life itself? What kind of battle they must have been grappling with that they find it easier to kill themselves than to survive and combat?

“I wish … we could ever get the answers.”

Indian Jobs and Workplace Wellness

  Organizational Work Culture & Employee Wellbeing

Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic hit India, various issues pertaining to work life balance, reforms in HR policies of Indian Industries and radical changes in organizational culture have become much debated topics and a few favorable changes were introduced in many organizations also. Many companies in India have started working and strategizing upon workers’ lives to improve their physical, mental, financial and emotional health.  The coronavirus brought economic hardships and mental illness for many and the miseries caused by it have remained etched in our minds with this realization how ignorant we are to undervalue the various facets of wellness- from physical, mental and emotional health to workplace wellness and our family and recreational inclinations and why can’t we change the way we live and work. This global pandemic has taught us that Employee Wellbeing should no longer be just a box for HR to tick. The organizations must work hard to look at it in a holistic manner and ensure to cover all aspects of physical and mental health of an employee.

 In our country, the term ‘Job Satisfaction’ directly proportionate to ‘punching a clock and collecting a paycheck’ and not with the organization’s policies which focus on the mental and emotional well-being of its employees and aim to develop a conducive and healthy workplace culture where people can reach out for help and support as and when needed. The meaning of employee wellness is changing and it’s not just limited to physical health and finances it’s more about being mentally and emotionally healthy as well as spiritually uplifted. The management of organization should take the responsibility to send happy hearts to their homes every evening and welcome smiling, energetic faces the next morning. But unfortunately India has very less number of such organizations which think of employee wellness.

Employee Training and Development Programmes:

I would like to begin with ‘a piece of knowledge’ (albeit it’s rare) from Whatsapp University which reads as a conversation between a CFO and a CEO (nothing new and surprising; you must have already read it as the spread is faster than the corona virus):

CFO: What if we invest in our employees and they leave?

CEO: What if we don’t and they stay.

This conversation can even explain a layman how training and grooming employees is important for any organization. Lack of adequate training and updating stagnate the workers and they get deprived of the zest and enthusiasm which are pivotal for maximum productivity.  Companies invest a lot in promotional activities and campaigns but the budget becomes always less when it comes to employee training, education and other grooming sessions. Research has proven that training and development programmes for employees are always in favour of organization for retaining the employees. The obvious reason is; employees who value the development of skills for their career growth may be more willing to work for an organization that constantly equips them with well-run knowledge through training and development practices. The level of commitment as well as motivation increases if management invests in employee training. Hence, employers should be looking for every advantage available to keep employees engaged and productive for the long term

Concept of Leaves in India

Employees are entitled to avail a certain number of leaves as per their convenience and company’s policies but do Indian employers really grant leaves without any hitch? You certainly know the answer, that’s a big NO. If we compare the leave policies of Indian Organizations with other countries we will feel we are enslaved workers. Indian organizations hardly think of giving vacation leaves which is a mandatory clause in most of the countries as it directly impacts employee’s quality of life and work efficiency. Countries like Switzerland, Australia and Sweden set the standards for employee benefits and champion the idea of a healthy work life balance. Swiss companies grant their employees an average of 5.2 weeks off from work and in Australia companies must pay all employees annual leave based on their regular hours of work which generally translates to four weeks of annual leave per year.

Apart from these leaves paid vacation is a highly sought after employee benefit as it helps strengthen family ties, improves employee retention, increases productivity, contributes to the overall wellbeing of workers and reduces healthcare expenses. Indian private organization must think to incorporate such employee benefits to achieve better productivity and employee retention.

 

Flexible Working Hours:

As we know the era of strict 9 to 5 workday is a bygone episode. Employees must be given the flexibility of working hours so that they can work on their fitness regime and take care of the elderly or kids in the family. Finland is the only country, continuously striving to increase scheduling agility for its workforce resulting into employees’ focus on work and productivity.

To Lead with Inclusion:

According to the International Labour Organization the current gender diversity in Indian Industries reflects a big gap with the representation of women in the workforce has dropped from 24% to 20 % during the pandemic. Indian women’s low labour force is due to the presumptions rooted in the biases, the gender wage gaps, lack of safety policies, flexible work offerings and availability of child care facilities for new mothers. Industries in India should start investing actively in equal opportunities for both men and women and defy the notion that hiring women, especially the married ones will simply mean more efforts and flexibility by others in the team to ensure the work commitments. Companies should make recruitment processes more inclusive and flexibility must be offered in genuine cases to protect women’s career momentum.

With a broader vision and holistic approach towards employee wellness our country can also generate a more productive and efficient workforce and realize the dream of becoming a super power in the coming years and a USD 5 trillion economy. Small changes in the infrastructure can bring highly lucrative impacts such as:

»       Offering In-office gyms or workout sessions 

»        family get-together on monthly basis

»        Recreational and spiritual activities for employees

»        Medical care policies

»        Children education loans.

»       Appreciation and rewards on employees’ achievements

 Company benefits and workplace wellness are a great way of keeping employees happy and enticing new talents to join a business organization. Not only it ensures high company morale but guarantees to increase the appeal of your business and help maximize the retention rate. Indian employers should focus on the following areas of employee well-being viz. physical, intellectual, emotional, occupational, financial, spiritual, social and environmental, there should be special departments to create policies and processes to measure the ‘happiness quotient’ of employees.

Let's conclude it metaphorically and think of a money minting machine with robots all around in contrast with a lively, exuberant workstation filled with clamour of happy laughter yielding money, repute and brand value as byproduct. 

Which sounds a better definition of an organization?

The Women Warriors Demand Gender Neutrality

The Unsung Indian Women Warriors Whose Contribution Was No Less Than Men

It was a moment of pride and honour when 34 women personnel of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) joined the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), in India. The Indian women warriors, once again breaking the glass ceiling, are set to specialize in jungle warfare and counter-Naxal operations and this 88^th Mahila Battalion will be the first all-women battalion in the world. Needless to say, this is not the first century when India has been witnessing the brightest laurels brought by women in every sector; we have a glorious history of such bravehearts in the making of India as well as during the Pre-British era and they left no stone unturned in holding their Motherland’s head high. The sad part is we know nothing about the unheard stories from History and the unsung women warriors who made supreme sacrifice to perform their duties that were only to maintain the honor of their people and states.

History bears testimony to the fact that a large number of women had struggled till their last breath to save the honour of their land. An article by an Englishman written after the first war of Independence says, “If there had been a thousand women like the Rani (Rani Laxmibai), we could never have conquered India.” We are proud that we have many such inspirational stories and narratives in Indian history. Let’s go back to the years when India was about to rise and rub her twinkling eyes to see how many traders in disguise were ready to ambush and take her prisoner, but salute to the grit and determination of all those queens, princesses, women guards and commoners who turned into fierce fighters to thwart all their sinister attempts and to destroy the invaders and enemies.

Uda Devi

A little girl from a Dalit family in a small village of Uttar Pradesh was in constant anger to see the rising atrocities of British over the people around her leaving them more aggrieved and irate with each passing day. In her growing years she approached Begum Hazrat Mahal to allow her to make a brigade and revolt against the British administration. Uda devi and her Dalit sisters were titled as Veeranganas, who played a vital role in the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857.

In the month of November 1857, General Collin Campbell’s 93^rd Highland Regiment attacked the Palace of Sikandarbag but they had to face a hand-to-hand combat with rebels who had already fortified the position. After a long struggle when the British besieged the palace, it was observed that many of the British casualties were due to bullet wounds being shot from a distance. Suspecting that a sniper was hiding in a Peepal tree nearby; they fired at the tree and killed the rebel. Only then it was revealed that the sharp shooter was the Veerangana Uda Devi, who participated in the uprising and fought with her indomitable courage.

Onake Obavva

Obavva, a common woman from a very humble background was wife of a guard posted at Chitradurga fort. During the years around 1760-65 when Haider Ali was determined to conquer the fort and making repetitive maneuvers for the same; he found Obavva entering the fort through a secret opening, he ordered his cavalry to chase her and intrude. When Obavva noticed some suspicious activity she decided to guard the crevice herself as her husband was away. She had no other weapon except a wooden club called onake to kill the trespassers. She was very precise in her attack as she hit the intruders on their head one by one. When her husband returned he was shocked to see his brave wife standing victoriously with a blood-stained onake in her hand and over a 100 dead soldiers. 

Velu Nachiyar

She was the queen of Sivaganga and popularly known as Veeramangai meaning brave woman. She was the first Indian queen to wage war with East India Company in India. She was trained in martial arts, horse riding and archery, not just this she had a flair for languages and was fluent in French, English and Urdu. After her husband’s death she was forced to escape her state but she didn’t lose hope and sought an alliance with Haider Ali with the aim of attacking the East India Company.  She planned a suicide attack to destroy the ammunition store of the British. Queen’s adopted daughter Kuyili, the commander-in-chief volunteered to carry out this suicide attack. She soaked herself in ghee and jumped into the store, setting everything on fire. After this first recorded suicidal blast in India the queen finally won her lost state and title in the year 1780. She is still remembered for her fearlessness and gallantry.

Interesting Reading on History: Embracing History to Discard Distory

These stories of valour and sacrifice are just a few drops from the ocean of Indian history. There are hundreds of such stories which are under layers as words like courage, bravery, war and weapons are only associated with men and women are hardly appreciated for such heroic qualities. The gender disparity in India has not only taken a toll on women’s right to education, equality and expression but on the appreciation of their heroism   also. It has been believed for centuries that they are meant to play only a supporting role, preparing meals and singing to soothe the menfolk; which is completely false and jaundiced idea. The gender stereotypes and attitudes in our country had shackled all the fame and glory of women and they often met with a cold stare and derisive laugh if they ever opposed the odds and proved themselves feisty. 

It would not be wrong to say that the freedom was fought by all, men, women, upper and lower strata of Indian societies, but the glory was sung only for a few; many remained untold, unheard and unsung. The apathy was faced more by women, the most vulnerable part of a patriarchal society. 

Don't you think such narratives should be incorporated in the History text books?

As A Parent You Preach OR Perform?

Parenting is Practicing Good Habits, Not Preaching 

It is said that Parenthood is akin to seeing your heart beating outside your body for the rest of your life. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that parents can go to any extent to give a happy life to their children and gradually they become the only reason behind all their efforts and ambitions in personal and professional lives. In an attempt to give our best we tend to overlook the true responsibility of a parent. We strive to teach them the best values, social skills, honesty and altruism but we deny this fact that preaching won’t do much good but performing those traits and attributes will certainly make a difference.

Let's have a look if your parenting involves these practices-

Reading is the Best Gift:

As a teacher, I often meet parents and hear the question repetitively about how to inculcate reading habits in children. To this, my question to the parents is always the same: Do you read books and newspapers at home? Does your child know that you have a flair for reading? Not surprisingly, most of the mothers’ answers are NO. I would like to ask, “How children can engage in an activity they don’t observe in their daily life?” Here, mothers can be a strong role model for their children because they spend comparatively more time with kids than father and mothers are the first educator of children. That’s why we say ‘Mother tongue’ not father tongue. Children are keen observers of their surroundings and possess a stronger perception. They know you more than you know yourself. So, dear mothers start reading and see the difference, your children will soon join you. Buy good books and make them your friends. The house that doesn’t have a library belongs to poor and a room without books is like a body without soul.

Do You Have a Purpose in Your Life?

It’s only a parent’s duty to teach children about a clearly defined purpose in life. Please don’t expect anything exceptional from your children if you haven’t done something worth doing and ended up meandering through time and situations. If you blame your circumstances, your child will start doing the same. Make sure you support your children in understanding that it takes a lot of sacrifices, hard work, discipline and determination to nurture your hobbies into habits, habits into passion and finally passion into skills. If you have invested your honest efforts in pursuing your goals your certainly no need to teach how one has to toil oneself to achieve his goals and dreams and how one can make life meaningful.

Importance of (Self)-Discipline:

In the words of George Washington, “Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable.” Here I would like to add, these words hold true relevance with not just army but with our day to day life also. If you wish to teach discipline to your children, you have to inculcate it in yourself first. Ask these questions to yourself, and mull over: Do you keep a daily schedule? Do you devote equal energy and time to all your important tasks? It is very significant to critically analyze your own approach to discipline and diligence towards your duties and how you treat yourself. Respect your being and keep improving. Take care of your body, mind and soul so that it will reflect in your children as well.

Instill Fearlessness in Your Child:

Fearlessness doesn’t mean lack of fear or being overconfident in any situation, it means that you are able to conquer your fears and rise above. Share the anecdotes of your school and college life when you were caught in an embarrassing or challenging situation and how you dealt with it. How nervous or scared you were at that time and how that moment of fear taught you courage for the rest of your life. The most important fact to be discussed is: there’s nothing wrong in getting nervous or feeling less confident. Winston Churchill, a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1940-1945) had a long list of failures and lost his confidence many times but every time he fought back and proved his resilience. Make your children understand that neither the mistakes nor the victories should turn into impediments in the path for long-term goals.

Interesting Read: Never To Advise Adolescents

Building A Healthy Lifestyle:

As mentioned earlier, parent you are under a constant scrutiny and surveillance by your children. They see how diligently you make efforts to maintain your mental and physical well being and how important your health is for you. If you follow a fitness regime, yoga, meditation or jogging on a daily basis  and give a fixed time to your wellness trust me even if not today, tomorrow your children will be aware of their well being. If you are indulged in a sedentary life, spending most of your time with TV and mobiles the kids in the family will naturally be inclined to entertain themselves with all this. Avoid using mobile phones at home, when not necessary and be judicious if social media or online games are turning into an obsession for you. Children under the age of 10 learn all their lifetime habits from their parents and later get influenced by their peer group. Utilize this time at its best to motivate your child to lead a healthy life. 

Have Faith in Yourself:

Swami Vivekananda believed that only three things have precedence over everything if you wish to attain success and self realization in your life. These things are none other than: the unflinching faith in yourself, to have a positive approach in life; and to focus on one idea exclusively at a time. When your children observe you having an unshakable faith and determined on what you do and decide they will begin nurturing the same faith and trust in them. They grow as confident and resilient humans and will remain undeterred in odd situations. So rebuild your art of parenting with all these attributions.

Each and every individual is born with great potential and has the capability to steer the family ship. As a parent you must accept and believe that the more you become honest and transparent with a healthy goal in your life the more your children feel closer to you and find themselves imbued with all those skills and qualities that you ever wanted to see in them. And you never realize so effortless it will be!