Q: How is that a person can keep his body tight and strong without any extra fat? Is the weight exercise only the solution for it or any other alternative is there? Also everybody says that when you go for gymnasium and all of a sudden stop doing exercises, you will put on lot of weight and get a tummy, is that true?

A:It goes without saying that good physical fitness is of utmost importance. Doing exercises with weights is not really necessary for fitness. You can keep yourself strong and your body fit without any extra fat by making sure you spare about 20 minutes a day for any exercise routine you feel you can handle properly. You can do simple exercises for the whole body - cycling, swimming, playing a game of badminton or tennis or just simple walking. For body exercises or sports activity, make sure you do warm up exercises and cooling down exercises. A brisk walk is the simplest form of aerobic exercise to keep you fit. Make sure you wear proper shoes and walk at a moderate pace for 5 minutes in order to warm up. Usually when we exercise, the body burns sugars for the first 15 minutes. It is only later that oxidation of fats becomes a reality. So there is no point in starting with peak effort, you will only tire yourself out while the fat loss will be negligible. A basic physical fitness can be achieved by carrying out exercises throughout the year. Yes! If you stop your exercises, you do put on weight at the wrong places. This is because after a period of inactivity, the ability of the body tissues to absorb oxygen decreases noticeably. Even a short period of 15-20 days of inactivity can reduce your capacity to absorb oxygen by 20-45%. There is a corresponding decrease in the cardiac output, muscle mass decreases and the blood volume decreases. The body is less efficient in transporting oxygen from the lungs to the tissues and as a result, the energy supply of the muscles is reduced. You usually put on your tummy or hips when you give up exercises because they are bulky muscles and are prone to be lax as we more or less adapt to sitting posture.