Pumping Up WITH SAI The Final Pump

Article by Sai Gopalan

Pumping Up is a column about health, fitness, and how you can maintain it in boozy, greasy Xi’an.

51Just like “Friends”, “How I Met Your Mother” and “Dragon Ball Z,” all good things must come to an end. This is the last Pumping Up article, as I embark on a new journey in China. Firstly, if you are reading this or have read at least any other of my articles in the past year or so, thank you! I hope that there was something, some picture, fact, tip or even cheesy motivational quote that stood out to you and got you moving. You see, my passion isn’t in health and fitness;I don’t work out every day nor do I plan and set out every meal. My passion has always been people and every article was aiming to help you aspire to be the very best version of yourself.

Working out and eating well can help you transform your body and health which will give you renewed self-confidence, motivation, more attention from others and even increase your attractiveness in the eyes of society. Of course these, things are great and I am not going to lie to you, I love these benefits too.However,the aim of these articles was for you to reach the best version of yourself for YOU, and not for the validation of others. You will never be toned, ripped or healthy enough if you base your identity on the superficial judgements of others, nor will you be truly fulfilled if you base your own self on these finite and temporary qualities. Being healthy and fit is what you were meant to be for you; being that person, someone who has transformed their lives, set goals and put in the hardwork, well, that’s where the reward and fun really lies. So remember: do this for you and also don’t let yourself be the reason of why you are not being all that you can be. Get up and get moving!

Enough with that cheesy motivational talk! Let’s get down to business. As this is my last article, I would like to share some of my favourite Youtubers and fitness freaks out there on the Internet that I use for tips and secrets on working out and eating well

Rob Riches

Rob Riches is one of the top natural bodybuilders in the world,owing in large part to Rob Riches diet.He’s also graced the pages of countless fitness and muscle magazines. He gives practical training tips, routines and shows you how they are done effectively. I have personally used a lot of his workouts and have seen some great results. If you are looking for some new challenges to spice up your workout and get a more lean and toned look, this is the man to follow.52

www.youtube.com/user/RJRICHES
www.robrichesfitness.com

Dr. Josh Axe

Dr. Josh Axe is a certified doctor of natural medicine, doctor of chiropractic and clinical nutritionist with a passion to help people get healthy by using food as medicine. Working out and eating healthy is a given right? But especially when we are starting out, we have no idea where to start or why we should eat certain foods or do certain workouts. He gives you the basic knowledge and the outcomes you can expect.

https://draxe.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/doctorjoshaxe

Joe Wicks a.k.a. “the Body Coach”

53The Body Coach has taken the UK food and fitness industry by storm. He gives great eating advice, frequently creates Do’s and Don’t’slists and also is a HIIT workout fanatic. He has helped thousands of people transform their bodies, and there’s no reason why you can’t be one of them.

www.thebodycoach.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/thebodycoach1/

There you have it guys, this is, unfortunately, the end and I hope it was worth the read. Thanks again for taking the time out of your day to read this and remember: keep moving, keep working and keep pumping.

Saien Gopalan is a South African English teacher currently teaching at EF. He has been living in Xi’an for 2 years and enjoys his off days exploring the Xi’an nightlife and of course, going to the gym.