Sohrab advised that every individual should include some form of resistance or strength training in their weekly routine.
Published Aug 09, 2024 | 7:00 AM ⚊ Updated Aug 09, 2024 | 7:00 AM
Sohrab Kushrushahi at the Dakshin Healthcare Summit. (South First)
Let’s assume you’re getting off at a metro station and walking a kilometre to reach your office, thinking it saves money and counts as exercise.
However, during the inaugural Dakshin Healthcare Summit organised by South First and TV9 Network in Hyderabad, Sohrab Khushrushahi, Founder of SOHFIT and Life Coach, shared a different perspective. He stated that he doesn’t consider walking as an exercise.
During the panel discussion on “The Secrets of Longevity – Unravelling the Science,” the moderator, Dr Arvinder Singh Soin, chairman of the Institute of Liver Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine at Medanta, posed a critical question about longevity.
“How does one continue to hike at 90 years old, carry two suitcases in their nineties, run on the treadmill, or climb two flights of stairs in their eighties? How do you build muscle, strength, mobility, and stamina for the long haul?”
Sohrab started to answer with his view on fitness where he said that he views fitness differently from conventional perspectives.
He questioned, “What is fitness? What constitutes being fit or unfit?”, and noted that everyone has a different answer, but many equate fitness with their weight, which he believes is a limited view.
Explaining his view on fitness, Sohrab said, “For me, fitness has several aspects. It’s not just one thing. For example, in my mom’s generation, it was all about walking and cardiovascular health—how much we walk every day, and how many steps we take. However, the newer generation emphasises on strength training, which is crucial as we lose muscle every year, especially after a certain age.”
Sohrab emphasised, “Muscle is your most important organ. It’s where everything happens, and your metabolic health starts with your muscles. It’s very important to have a certain amount of muscle.”
Sohrab sparked a debate by stating, “Walking is not exercise.” Backing his statement, Shorab shared anecdotes about people, including his mother, who consider walking as their primary form of exercise. “I meet many people who tell me they train five times a week, but all they do is only walk for an hour each day. In my book, that’s not exercise.”
Sohrab advised that every individual should include some form of resistance or strength training in their weekly routine.
Reiterating the need for strength training, Shorab added, “If you’re someone who doesn’t do it regularly, start with a couple of times a week. You don’t need to become ‘Mr World’, just do some basic strength work. The older we get, the more we need it. I think 50-60-70-year-olds need it even more than 20-30-year-olds.”
The life coach shared his experiences of training elder people, giving the anecdote of coaching a 60-plus-year-old gentleman, Ajay Piramal, founder of Piramal Industries, Shorab shared, “At the age of 64, he used to go to the gym three times a week at 5:30 in the morning. He was one of the most amazing people I have met because of his dedication.”
Speaking of the other aspects of fitness that people often ignore, Sohrab threw light on recovery and nutrition. “Recovery breaks down into two key components: sleep and proper nutrition.”
Elaborating further he added, “Many believe that if they train hard, they’re doing well, but from my observations, they overlook the importance of what they eat and how much they sleep. To me, they are more important than the exercise itself.”
He encouraged the audience to incorporate strength training into their routine at least twice a week, regardless of their age. The second thing he urged them is to make sure they get enough sleep.
Speaking of his personal experience, the corporate lawyer turned life coach said, “I come from an era where it was considered ‘cool’ not to sleep. We thought sleep was a waste of time and believed we were wasting our lives by sleeping.”
“I’ve often told myself then, ‘What am I going to achieve by sleeping? I’ll have plenty of time to sleep later.’ But this mindset doesn’t work. Lack of sleep can cause complications in your health and overall system,” he said.
Speaking of nutrition and diet, Sohrab advised that one of the easiest and most important things to focus on is how much protein one is consuming.
Attributing the lack of protein to the Indian diet he added, “This is a significant problem in the Indian diet, which is heavily based on rice, rotis, and dals, often neglecting sufficient protein intake.”
Emphasising the need for healthy longevity, Sohrab noted, “Longevity is great, but the quality of lifespan is more important to me. I might come from a different school of thought, but I want to live to be 80, 85, 90, or even 100, and still be able to do basic things on my own.”
“That, to me, is true longevity. Yes, there are many medicines and treatments available, and we’ve discussed many here, but the foundation of longevity starts from within,” he said.
Interacting with the audience, Sohrab questioned: “How many of you sit down on the floor and eat with your kids?”
He said that when he was a kid in school, he used to sit on the ground to eat in the canteen.
Stressing the importance of everyday practices, he noted that the idea of sitting on the floor was actually brilliant. “In rural India, you’ll see that people don’t have knee or hip problems. They squat, they sit on the floor, and they use the Indian toilet. They don’t sit on chairs all the time. I try to spend 10 to 15 minutes every day sitting cross-legged on the floor.”
“This simple act can change your health and mobility. Improving these aspects enhances the quality of your life. For me, quality of life matters way more than how long I live,” he said.
Reiterating the importance of fitness in everyday life, Sohrab claims that quality of life is paramount.
“I want to address a question I hear often as a coach: What’s your purpose? Why do you train if you’re not an athlete?” he said.
He said that in his opinion, life itself is the biggest athletic event.
“You have to look at things differently. Many people tell me, ‘I’m not training for the Olympics, so why push myself?’ My response is, you’re training for life. It’s essential to have a purpose in everything you do—work, life, training, fitness, longevity. Having a purpose gives you something to look forward to and helps you achieve your goals,” said Sohrab.
Sharing his idea and purpose of fitness, Sohrab said, “For me, fitness is the ability to do what you want to do when you want to do it without second-guessing yourself. When fitness becomes your purpose, life changes. You start working on yourself a lot more.”
Sohrab also addressed several myths about fitness:
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula)
