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Innocent Choga Fitness —
“How can I reduce the size of my midsection without going to the gym?

“I find it difficult to fit into the sit up machines and running makes my leg joints sore. I can only join a gym after I have shed some weight. I feel uncomfortable when people in the gym stare at me. I feel so unhappy.”

As we discussed last week agricultural activities can assist in losing weight. There are other activities we can do that work certain muscles even better than designed exercise machines. It is a well known fact that sit-ups alone will not help reduce the gut, you need to combine sit-ups with cardiovascular activities to chisel out a six-pack abdominal set.

There is one activity that I personally think surpasses sit-ups in reducing and shaping the mid-section, and that is, chopping wood. If you want to reduce the mid-section chop wood, and if you want a well-defined and tough mid-section chop hard wood.

In order for this activity to have an effect on the abdominals you have to lift the axe high above the head using the lower back as the anchor. This creates a longer range of motion than when you use the shoulders as an anchor.

This long range of motion makes the axe heavier thereby making you work harder and thus making a maximum impact on the wood with every strike that you make with the axe.

This move works the abdominals, the anterior serratus, (these are the muscles on the ribs that join on to the latimuss dorsi); the intercostals (these muscles are located in between the abdominals and the serratus).

These muscles stretch and lift the axe along with the arms and the anchoring lower back. So while you work these muscles you also work the lower back unlike on the sit up machine which excludes all the back muscles.

Remember, for every action there is an opposite equal reaction. If you hit the log harder with the long range of motion, the maximum strength you exert on the wood sends back an equal impact on the muscles involved. If the wood is hard the axe is not just going to sink easily into the wood.

The harder the impact on the hard wood, the more forceful the return impact comes reverberating back to you causing what an inexperienced wood cutter will feel as a jarring impact. This feeling will reduce in effect as you get used to the activity, become stronger and better able to absorb the force with ease.

The same principles apply when you are digging using the hoe or pick against the ground. When you want to exercise go for the full range of motion .This creates power.

The long range of motion allows you to involve a lot of muscles in the body and it also involves the cardiovascular system. You will find that when you use the long range of motion you will get tired earlier, than when you use the shoulders as the anchor.

I have heard that boxers deliver body punches as a strategy to weaken the opponent. They say an accumulation of body punches can also result in a body knock-out with the receiving opponent crumbling to the canvass.

I have noticed that boxers chop the wood as an exercise. Mechanical analysis shows that, chopping wood strengthens the midsection enabling them to absorb the impact of the punches. It also enables them to punch hard bony areas without them feeling the jarring reverberating effects of the returning force

Emotional fitness requires us to spend some time in engaging in other activities that we like, for example fishing and other outdoor activities. Happiness is an important factor in the quest to get fit. It also enhance our wellness.

Gardening is regarded as leisure time activity that has been proven to be adding more years to individuals’ lives. It is an activity that we participate in at our own free will and time, thus we do not feel like we are working at all.

I would like to take this opportunity to express that as a fitness column we do not subscribe to body discriminations. During the course or our discussions we have to mention the various body types in an effort to make valid points in order to assist each other in fitness matters. We talk of people being overweight, obese, lean, thin, frail etc., but we do not discriminate.

Just because I have the opportunity to write about fitness does not mean I walk around judging people, after all I am also human and I have my own faults.

Weight related discriminations are common. Even muscular individuals are discriminated against. They gain confidence through regular workouts and feeling well. Experts say discriminatory attitudes do not help the victims but they cause even further weight gain or loss depending on the situation.

We are all equal in the eyes of the Almighty who made us the way we are and therefore we are all unique. So we have to mind what we say and how regard each other.

I just read on internet how certain lady took a picture of another woman in the gym changing room and splashed it on social media in an effort to “body shame” her. Now all gyms situated in her area are rightly refusing her membership and she is regretting .

Truly how do we judge ourselves better than others, when the Almighty never set out the criteria for a perfect physique. The criteria that we use in physique competitions are those that we humans set for ourselves for sporting purposes.

The fact is that we have to exercise and watch what we eat to make the most of what we have been given. So to motivate others we create happy atmospheres where there is no physical discrimination.

While it is necessary to create happy environments that encourage people to participate in physical activities, it is also necessary for participants themselves to create a happy state of mind for themselves in order to enjoy fitness activities.

 Innocent Choga is a six time National Body building Champion with international experience. He is studying for a science degree in Physical Education and Sport.