Rendezvous With Fitness Expert, Sai Tapikar

Womendiaries

Lifestyle corrections and following a good fitness regime is a need of an hour. Stress and obesity are two of the most prevalent problems facing society today. In fact, it is said that the only disease that would remain in the future is, obesity!

Sai Tapikar is a fitness expert who’s carved a successful career for herself in the fitness industry. Kettlebell, Zumba, Functional Training, Personal Training, Boot Camps, Weight Training, Pilates, Kickboxing…name it, and Sai teaches it all! In this interview, Sai talks about her journey in the fitness industry and how she’s managed to help her clients in their pursuits to good health. She has even charted a workout regime for our readers.

Sai Tapikar

Sai, how did your journey to being a fitness expert begin?

I started my career as a fitness coach back in 2004. After completing my high school, I began going to the gym. I thoroughly enjoyed my workouts.  I also became a trained kathak dancer.  I always wanted to do something different for a career that could serve both as a job and as a public service. I knew then that fitness industry is my calling, but I also wanted to complete college. I finished my graduation and also post-graduation in Sociology and pursued a fitness coach certification course from a prestigious college in Pune.

 I went on to complete a Post Gradate Diploma in Fitness Management while pursuing Masters. I would finish my sociology classes between 7 am and 12 pm and then attend diploma college between 1pm to 9 pm. My passion for fitness made this difficult journey easy. Between, I also took a job in a gym and continued to work as a trainer for the next 6 years.

I joined an American fitness brand and worked directly under Bollywood action hero, Sunil Shetty. While at Sunil Shetty’s gym, I grew from being a trainer to a floor manager.  This job stint taught me a lot about body composition, nutrition, posture, workout planning and more. This was just a beginning. As I learnt more, my hunger for more knowledge in the field grew and I went on the pursue trainings in,Zumba, Pilates, Functional Training, Kettlebell Training, Boot Camps, Personal Training certification, and Kick Boxing

So that’s how my career in fitness industry took a natural progression.

Since we are a women-oriented website, this question is on behalf of all women. Women, especially in India, make a lot of excuses for not working out.  What would you say to them?

As far as exercising is concerned, many women in general in our country are pretty lazy. Marriage, Kids, and they are settled and done! Social media has started rolling the ball for some women to turn towards fitness, but the ratio is still very small.

Boot Camp

I would like to appeal all women that if you want to continue looking young and fresh, if you want to avoid all the joint pains and the maladies that come with aging, and reverse the aging and preserve your muscles and bones, you must do some amount of weight training. To improve your endurance and stamina, you must do cardio at least thrice a week. After every workout, you must also do some amount of stretching to relax your muscles and improve flexibility.

Don’t run behind a certain size! Improve your strength! Don’t follow internet crash diets, eat a wholesome meal or consult a dietitian. We all deserve to remain healthy and hearty! And it takes just 21 days to change a habit! So, start working out. Make it your habit!

We heard you’ve trained Bollywood celebrities. Is that true?

Yes. That is true. After 14 years of experience in the industry, I have gained some recognition in the fitness world. People have seen the results with my coaching. Mouth publicity helped and one celebrity approached me herself. She was impressed with the variety of workouts I offered that broke the monotony of workouts for her. She attained her fitness goal and then recommended me to more of her colleagues.

Are celebrity workouts different?

Yes. Typically, in my observation, celebrities have a better fitness level than a layperson. I have to device a high intensity weight training and workout plans for them. Moreover, their workout timings keep changing to suit their busy schedules. Besides, their health goals keep changing as per the project they are working on. So yes, celebrity workouts have to be planned and executed differently!

Is age a factor for workouts?

Not at all. No matter of what age you are, 30,40, 50, 60,70 or even 80, a person of any age group can do weights and cardio. It’s all in the mind. You can become fitter version of yourself at any given point in life. Follow a regular exercise pattern. Don’t sit at one place for more than 30 minutes. Keep moving. Age is no bar. Consistency is! Be consistent in whatever you do. Of course, consult your doctor and a fitness coach before starting.

How important is diet?

There’s no doubt diet is extremely important too. If you workout a lot but have no control on your tongue, you will never see the desired results. Don’t go extremes, but follow a good nutritional habit.  Cheat here and there to not feel deprived. Consult a good nutritionist for that matter. Don’t follow internet diet fads.

I’ve observed this a lot with corporate employees. Especially, those working in the IT sector. They sit at a place for 8-10 hours with minimal body movement, their stress levels are high, sugar cravings hence are high and they hog on whatever they can grab their hands on. If you are among this crowd, you must stop eating junk food. The food that is seemingly healthy like the soya sticks, nachni sticks, are not healthy. Avoid eating bakery product. Stop consuming too much tea, coffee, or sodas. Eat your dinner as early as possible.

How do you design your workouts for your clients?

Every person has a different stamina, strength and body type. There are broadly three body types,

Endomorphs: Appear big, have high body fat, often pear-shaped and have tendency to store fats.

Ectomorphs: Are lean and long and have difficulty in building muscles.

Mesomorphs: Are muscular and well-built and are blessed with high metabolism.

Diet and workouts are designed as per individual body type, strength and stamina. More than anything, I make it a point to make the workouts interesting. Try to bring variations so exercise doesn’t become boring. Like alternate between functional trainings and introduce ladder workouts, work on upper body, work on kick boxing, work on weights, work with kettlebells, do Zumba or pilates. This way, motivation remains high and people come clueless and with a great enthusiasm to open the workout cookie jar.

Can you share a success story with your client that could motivate our readers?

Most certainly. One of my clients is an 80year old man. He’s suffering from Parkinson’s disease. He was almost bed ridden for quite some time. I devised a weight training program for him started with small weights. He has managed to gain a lot of control on his shaky hands and legs. He’s now even able to walk, climb stairs. He is my biggest success story so far.

Can you recommend a fitness regime for our readers considering they are absolute beginners?

Sure. Begin with a 15minute warm-up.

Warm-up:

Roll your neck up-down

Do shoulder rotation

Hip rotation

Toe touch

Hip March

30 second plank

Whole body Workout:

Squats – 10 Reps

Lunges – 10 Reps

Push-ups – 10 Reps

Wide Squats -10 Reps

Mountain climbing – 10 Reps

Seated Row -10 Reps

Chest press – 10 Reps

Shoulder press – 10 Reps

Triceps push-down – 10 Reps

Abs Workout

Crunches – 10×2

Leg raises – 10×2

Hip bridge – 20 seconds hold

Naukasan – 20 seconds hold (yoga form)

Stretching

Bhujangasan (yoga form)

Dhanurasan (yoga form)

Butterfly flutters

Do you feel you are now ready to begin exercising? Drop in your comments, suggestions in the comment box below!

If you wish to be coached by Sai,  feel free to write to her  at saitapikar1@gmail.com or visit her on Facebook

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