February 2011 - Indian Airforce

But in my generation, the young officerswould rather be in the field every day, playingtroop games like football, hockey or basketball.Cricket was still an elite game meant forSunday mornings to be washed down withbeer and Golf had not yet taken root. Sadly,not many follow that profile any longer and thebi-weekly PT days are best avoided. ‘Extreme’heat or ‘drizzle’ are good enough reasons toseek cancellations.Iam 47 years old and getting into an age bracketwhere the general discussion on health is towatch your diet and take long walks. Goodadvise that, but what do I do if I wish to eat well,love my drink and yet remain healthy? Brisk walkhelps, but will it win my battle against the bulge?Not too sure.I first went to the gym ten years back. Ratherlate to start, considering that a lot of youngpeople throng the gyms – in the armed forcesand the civvies street. But in my generation, theyoung officers would rather be in the field everyday, playing troop games like football, hockey orbasketball. Cricket was still an elite game meantfor Sunday mornings to be washed down with beerand Golf had not yet taken root. Sadly, not manyfollow that profile any longer and the bi-weeklyPT days are best avoided. ‘Extreme’ heat or ‘drizzle’are good enough reasons to seek cancellations.A decade back, a kind soul introduced me tothe gym – just when I started getting disgustedwith this changed mindset and found myself inthe minority at the playfield – and I have sincenot looked back. Gymnasiums were availableat AF stations before, but I had a mental blockfor closed door exercise (except for squash) andpreferred to be in the open, sweating it out like a‘man’. This period was also my first tenure as staffat Command HQs and the office work seemed toosedentary.There are a plethora of reasons why Icontinued to visit that particular gym, the primereason being the upkeep – clean, healthy, airconditionedand supervised. Till then the gymsI had seen were sweaty, dingy-lit, bacterial denswith pieces of iron passing as apology to weights.I have since been regular except a tenure of AirHQs, wherein the work timings and stay in civviesstreet made it difficult to find a convenient gymwithin financial reach and not crowded enough.Luckily, the posting was to DASI, and I did makeup for the loss during the inspection visits – everyalternate week.Why am I penning my views on this subject?I am not giving you the results of a researchfrom books or the net – sure way to get onedisinterested since it would sound like aninformed sermon – but my personal experience, ajourney through the niceties of the environmentand the way it has helped change my outlook.So don’t expect a regimen drawn up nor a dietchart to supplement your exercise routine – onecan get it from the cyber space – I would expressthe ups and downs of the hour that I spend in thegym everyday – well almost an hour and almosteveryday – and the resurgent enthusiasm thatstays through the day.The process. One has a lot of questions relatedto the gymnasium. I will try and clarify a fewdoubts, as I see it.INDIAN AIR FORCE 2 0 1 1 F e b r u a r y Aerospace Safety 25