Make Fitness Your Habit

Dr Anil P Pandit emphasises the important role that diet and exercise plays in one's wellbeing, in conversation with the Diabetes Health Team.

- Dr Anil P Pandit

What motivates you to keep fit and work out every day?

I am a retired Army Officer. As is known to everyone, army life is very different from civilian life. We are ingrained with a time set routine, discipline, focus, and consistency in our daily life right from the beginning. Keeping the “self” fit is an individual's responsibility. When serving in the Armed Forces, a person may have to render his or her services in different terrains and weather conditions. We are trained to beat the varying temperatures. To be able to do that, physical fitness is indispensable. I used to get up at 4:30 in the morning, do static exercises such as static running, jogging, and stretching at one place, and would go for 5 Km of run every day. After the warm up session, we would go through a series of drills and exercises to improve our motor skills as wells as muscle strength. This used to be my routine even during my service at a sub-zero temperature at a high-altitude place. We were discouraged from talking while exercising and were encouraged to focus on our exercises and breathing.