You can easily spot Angad Manchanda in a crowd, for his striking muscular physique sets him apart from others. The entrepreneur from the USA has earned his envious brawn after years of dedication at the gym. He shares his journey in fitness...
Angad reflects on the reason he took to gymming, “I remember my first day in the gym. At the time, I started working out because I wanted to improve my physical appearance. My reasons are different as now why I continue to do it. I am glad that at one point in my life that was my motivation to do it in order to look better.” As years passed by, sweating it out at the gym for hours sculpted his body. But not just his fitness game, his definition of fitness began to change too, “Over the years, I realised that it's much more than just looking good, it has become a spiritual thing too. The definition of the term ‘physical’ has also shifted.” He agrees that being a fitter version of himself has turned around his life for the better, “I've learned the art of self discipline. I have applied this discipline in different areas of my life including in my software engineering career. Once I commit to a goal, I make sure I crush it. I am a very calm and patient person now because I have seen that results don't happen overnight and it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. All you need to do is trust the process. I have gained a lot of confidence and have inspired others to live a healthy and fit life.”
The fitness enthusiast has some valuable tips to offer, “Training and prepping meals take around 3-4 hours every day. Fitness is a pure combination of nutrition and training, so I make sure I have my meals packed with me even when I am going to work or travel for work.” As for his fitness regimen, it is extremely inspiring, “I usually spend around one and a half to two hours in the gym, which includes weight lifting and high intensity interval training for my cardio vascular workout and agility.”
He also stresses on the importance of nutrition when it comes to sculpting your physique. He reveals, “A good physique is a result of nutrition and training, so I spend an hour or two daily in the kitchen prepping my meals. I am a software engineer, so my working hours are a bit crazy, but I have set my priorities- get up early in the morning, make breakfast, pack my meals and snacks that I prepare a night before, which keeps me going throughout the day.” Angad’s nutrition is more planned than you think it is.
To begin with, Angad calls his nutrition game ‘pretty simple, calculative and strong.’ The fitness freak takes his nutrition rather seriously and even has a diet chart in place, “I actually call it a nutrition chart,” he corrects and goes on to point out the difference, “To me, the word ‘diet’ sounds more like a crash course and not planned for long term. Going on a diet is more like if you have a short term goal and just want to look good for a particular event or occasion.”
On the contrary, the muscle man eats 5 to 6 meals in a day, “I make sure I fill in my macro- nutrients (carbohydrates, fats, and protein) and micro-nutrients (vitamins, iron, potassium, minerals, zinc, magnesium, etc).”
His three-meal schedule is worth emulating. “For breakfast, I like to have oatmeal with whey protein, mixed with berries/ bananas and almonds followed by 7-8 egg whites a couple hours after the breakfast. For lunch, I grab a salad (lettuce, spinach / kale, nuts, carrots, cucumbers, beans, broccoli) with avocado, sweet potatoes, brown rice and a protein source (grilled chicken breast / ground turkey / salmon). I eat an apple with low fat Greek yogurt for my evening snack. Dinner, I go with steamed vegetables and a protein source. Before I go to bed, I drink a cup of hot almond milk (recipe shared at the end of the interview) that is high in magnesium and super important for improving sleep quality.”
“Inspiration comes from different places, but I have realised that my most ‘inspirational inspiration’ is myself. I encourage you all to get inspired from different people and ideas, but at the end of the day you are all what you have”
“I had been training for about 3-4 years now but the first year I didn't have any knowledge of nutrition. I was pushing myself hard in the gym but wasn't seeing results. The biggest mistake was not following a nutrition plan that would go with a training program.” Angad continues to enumerate other fitness mistakes that he made during the time, which deterred the results, “The second mistake I believe was training without knowledge and not adding compound movements such as squats and deadlifts in my workouts. The compound movements increases your overall strength and muscle building. The third mistake was just weight lifting and not performing any cardio vascular workouts like HIIT (high intensity interval training), MIIT(medium intensity interval training) to improve speed and agility but use a treadmill for cardio.” Whoever said that mistakes make you wiser was certainly right!
“I started to realise that fitness is a lifestyle and not a quick fix. Fitness and healthy lifestyle have poured over into every area of my life. The biggest reason of keeping this on has been the inspiration I’ve been to my family and friends. I feel more motivated now than ever knowing that my lifestyle makes a big difference to other people’s life and knowing that I can help others inspire,” shares Angad, who often uploads pictures or videos of his gym sessions on social media. Needless to say, they win a large number of comments!
“Inspiration comes from different places, but I have realised that my most ‘inspirational inspiration’ is myself. I encourage you all to get inspired from different people and ideas, but at the end of the day you are all what you have,” he provides some food for thought.
Angad, who can talk endlessly about fitness and how to achieve it, sums up the three most valuable pieces of advice that can prove to be life-changing for anyone, “One, train dirty and eat clean-always have a plan. Going to the gym and training for hours won't give you results if there is no nutrition plan that goes with it.” Here comes the second mantra that most fitness gurus swear by, “Stay hydrated! Drink lots of water! Drink at least one gallon of water every day. Drinking water boosts up your immune system, flushes out toxins, clears up skin and has tons of other benefits.” Lastly, but by no means any less important, Angad cautions against taking shortcuts, “The journey of fitness is not that easy and it requires a lot of patience and commitment. Don't take any kind of drugs or steroids because that defeats the purpose of having a fit body!”
Almond Milk has innumerable health benefits and is simple to make. Angad Manchanda tells how to whip it up for yourself:
By Namrata Gulati Sapra
