Indian women's cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur and the five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand shared their fitness mantras on Sunday (December 31) through Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mann Ki Baat.
The Indian captain urged the countrymen to "be very careful" about their eating habits. She highlighted the significance behind the consumption of pearl millet which boosts immunity, is easier to digest and its cultivation also promotes sustainable farming. The 34-year-old star cricketer cautioned regarding poor meal intake by saying "one cannot out-train a bad diet".
"Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji's Fit India initiative has encouraged me to share my fitness mantra with all of you. My first suggestion to all of you is ‘one cannot out-train a bad diet’. This means that you have to be very careful about when you eat and what you eat," Harmanpreet said.
"Recently, Honorable Prime Minister Modi ji has encouraged everyone to eat pearl millet, which increases immunity and helps in sustainable farming and is also easy to digest. Regular exercise and full sleep of 7 hours is very important for the body and helps in staying fit.
"This will require a lot of discipline and consistency. When you start getting results, you will start exercising yourself daily. Many thanks to the Honorable Prime Minister for giving me the opportunity to talk to you all and share my fitness mantra," she concluded.
Viswanathan Anand lifts the lid on his fitness routine
The Indian chess Grandmaster revealed that though chess gives the impression of being a simple sport, one needs to be mentally and physically toned to excel in it.
He mentioned that a chess player needs to "remain calm" to be able to compete as the sport demands intense mental effort to last six to seven hours. He also pinpointed the importance of getting a "good night's sleep" of seven to eight hours.
"Namaste, I am Vishwanathan Anand you have seen me play Chess and very often I am asked, what is your fitness routine? Now Chess requires a lot of focus and patience, so I do the following which keeps me fit and agile. I do yoga two times a week, I do cardio two times a week and two times a week, I focus on flexibility, stretching, weight training and I tend to take one day off per week," said Anand.
"All of these are very important for chess. You need to have the stamina to last 6 or 7 hours of intense mental effort, but you also need to be flexible to able to sit comfortably and the ability to regulate your breath to calm down is helpful when you want to focus on some problem, which is usually a Chess game. My fitness tip to all ‘Mann Ki Baat’ listeners would be to keep calm and focus on the task ahead," he added.
"The best fitness tip for me absolutely the most important fitness tip is to get a good night sleep. Do not start sleeping for four and five hours a night, I think seven or eight is a absolute minimum so we should try as hard as possible to get good night sleep, because that is when the next day you are able to get through the day in calm fashion. You don’t make impulsive decisions; you are in control of your emotions. For me sleep is the most important fitness tip," he concluded.
