opinion
NOVEMBER, 2018 | THE HEALTH
Jom
Kayuh!
03
Different
Strokes
K
UALA LUMPUR’S Sunday Car
Free Day happens every first
and third Sunday of the month.
This is when hundreds of the
city’s fit and fit wannabe folks
make a beeline to Dataran
Merdeka with their bicycles to
have a workout while enjoying the fresh morn-
ing air. For others, running or brisk walking is
the choice which takes them to KLCC, Jalan
Tuanku Abdul Rahman and back to Dataran
DBKL for an aerobics session accompanied
by a live band, a lucky draw with bicycles for
prizes or simply catching up with family and
new found friends. For me the treat for this
sweat regime would be Penang nasi kandar at
the Kudu Restaurant nearby.
The cycling craze has taken the nation by
storm especially after Azizul Khamis a.k.a
Pocket Rocket won medals in the Olympics,
the Asian Games and the SEA Games.
by ADI SATRIA
Cycling for health
Senior folks like 66-year old Tjandra Ahmad
cycles to battle his gout condition. He does not
take pills or pain killers and avoids comfort
foods, if he can help it. Cycling keeps his weight
under control and he can take on many younger
ones like his own son Fithri, 39, cycling up the
hilly terrains of Taman TAR in Ampang.
Fithri had an angioplasty procedure last
year due to, by his own admission, nutritional
indiscipline and lack of exercise. Cycling is
now his new lease of health maintenance.
Then there is Burn (original name Bakar),
49, who also had the same procedure a couple
of years back but now maintains his heart by
cycling.
Cycling is a low impact exercise for all
ages. It is an aerobic activity, which gives the
blood vessels, heart and lungs a great workout.
Research proves that half an hour of cycling
daily burns five kilos of fat over a year besides
toning up the muscles and increasing stamina.
According to Burn, his first day on the
bicycle after his procedure was really tough
as he lasted a distance of only 100 meters from
his house. Through sheer perseverance, he now
cycles 10-12 kilometers at least three times a
week or 150 minutes based on the intensity
minutes approach. This distance is perfect for
PRESCRIPTIVE
LAUGHTER
Life just gets better as you get
older
I was in a coffee shop recently
when my stomach started
rumbling and I realised that I
desperately needed to pass wind.
The place was packed but
the music was really loud
so, to get relief and reduce
embarrassment, I timed my farts
to the beat of the music. After a
couple of songs, I started to feel
better.
I finished my coffee and noticed
that everyone was staring at me.
Then I suddenly remembered
that I was listening to my iPod!
A low angle view of a cyclist riding his
mountain bike on a rocky trail at sunrise.
“Cycling is a low
impact exercise for all
ages. It is an aerobic
activity, which gives
the blood vessels,
heart and lungs
a great workout.
Research proves
that half an hour of
cycling daily burns
five kilos of fat over a
year besides toning
up the muscles and
increasing stamina.”
the terrain of Bukit Antarabangsa where he
lives.
Burn uses gadgets like the Garmin Phoenix
3HR that measures his performance, heart rate,
distance, altitude, and even the atmosphere.
For nutrition, he relies on the MyFitnessPal
Apps downloaded from the internet which
guides and measures his food intake. He sets a
low target of around 1300 kilo calories per day
and six to eight glasses of water per day, critical
to keep the body hydrated.
Cycling improves joint mobility, posture
and coordination. It has been proven to
improve the condition of Parkinson’s disease
sufferers, arthritis and for the prevention
and management of other ailments including
diabetes, and some forms of cancer like colon
and breast.
Cycling is one of those healthy activities
that one can really enjoy even at a leisurely
pace, a sure cure for stress and depression. And
why not? When we were kids growing up in
Penang, cycling was our most enjoyable mode
of transportation to school and everywhere
else. It certainly has the same happy effect on
me even now.
Now that is the kind of wealth that only our
health can give that is worth living for.
ADI SATRIA is a veteran
of the marcom industry.
Besides riding big bikes,
swimming and cycling
is his destress control
machine. Cycling is better
for the environment.