Updated: July 4, 2020 4:53:47 pm

Rohan Vora

The lockdown is truly a pain for me. Its like an injection, something that gets under my skin, and pricks or pokes my very conscience. Even though I understand the necessity of it, its truly painful and exhausting, as I think it is for most teenagers there are assignment deadlines to deal with, essays to work on, and family to deal with. Our parents incessantly lecture us on finding our inner selves and being productive, but at the end of the day, after completing our school work, lets be honest, were sitting in front of a laptop or television screen watching Big Bang Theory or The Office. Our parents also tell us to go out into nature to run, jog, jump, do acrobatics, whatever! But again, after that one run in the week, were back to our snuggly habitat, the sofa or bed, watching the latest episode of Space Force.

I feel that parents ought to just relax a bit at times. Its a global pandemic were experiencing, guys, not a productivity contest. Nevertheless, being productive can be made entertaining and fun. Exercising for one can be a family rendered programme. Laps around the building or if one is daunting enough, the nearby park, can be a competitive sport between family members with a timer in hand, see who runs, leaps or walks the fastest. Mothers or fathers can also compete with their children at home, maybe do a squash or push up or even an abs competition! Another great way of staying healthy can be trying out various diets together. If the family is extremely health conscious, try out the Keto diet and if the family is not dedicated to such an extreme, maybe try out the Paleo diet. If someone breaks these diets, there can be consequences which can be dictated to them and if theyre able to triumphantly succeed, there can be rewards too.

Read| Lockdown parenting: On weekends, my son is a rebel, says actor Juuhi Babbar Soni

To understand us better, parents can also, sometimes, partake in the latest Instagram viral challenge. You all can create a #quarantine bingo challenge. Using a piece of paper just make four rows and columns and voila you have boxes in which you can write down things you have experienced in life, it can be funny or otherwise. The new bingo card can then be sent to family and friends, and everyone can partake in some pastime joviality. Also, especially for the mother and daughters out there, there is the very popular Instagram Dalgona challenge, where using the Instagram recipe a unique, refreshing beverage can be made. Another favourite is the Ludo King application, where one can win virtual coins based on their winning streak a super competitive game that will be great fun with a child who loves online games. These various viral challenges and apps in the lockdown will not only be super entertaining but strengthen familial ties between child and parent, making the lockdown productive after all.

Read| Lockdown and kids with special needs: Create routines and their own happy place

Recently, I was re-watching the hilarious Big Bang Theory and Sheldon Cooper said a phrase that resonated with me. No, it wasnt Bazinga. Instead, it was something rather simple and yet somewhat forgotten today YOLO! (for all the adults out there, this means You Only Live Once). The phrase got me riled up and that day, I went for a run to the garden with my father, helped my mom bake a lemon cake in the kitchen and played a Nerf gunfight with my sister. Spend time with your kids and partake in all these crazy challenges and kids likewise, have fun with your parents and place the laptop screen down once in a while. There can be some sense of fun even in these frustrating and sometimes, excruciating times. I think Professor Dumbledore said it best Happiness can be found in the darkest of times when only one remembers to turn on the light.

Rohan Vora is a student at UWCSEA in Singapore.

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A teenager tells parents how to turn on the light - The Indian Express

Eddie Hall has shown off his fitness routine as he prepares to face Hafthor The Mountain Bjornsson in a boxing fight.

Hall is losing weight in preparation for the bout, recently losing 8kg by performing 100 sit ups a day for 30 days.

The 2017 Worlds Strongest Man is now down to 162.5kg, in thanks to a strict regime designed to help him when he squares off against Thor.

The two will settle their fierce rivalry in Las Vegas next year.

Hall is certainly putting the work in. Hes cut 33kg in three years and appears to be very focused on getting in shape.

In a video posted on YouTube on Friday, The Beast showed off footage of his workout, which was a 32-minute HITT session.

HITT stands for high-intensity interval training, and Hall was aiming to keep his heart rate high.

There were eight exercises in total, including kettlebell swings, burpees and hitting a boxing bag with a bat.

Hall was drenched in sweat by the end of the workout. Anyone fancy giving it a go?

It's clear just how serious Hall is taking this.

And for anyone that is sceptical about the scale of his rivalry with The Mountain, just read what he recently told The Mac Life about his opponent.

Me and Hafthor have been big-time competitors for a long time," Hall said.

Weve got a hell of a history competing against one another.

"We absolutely f***ing despise each other beyond belief. If he was on fire I wouldnt p*** on him.

The hatred is 100 per cent real. If I saw Thor face-to-face it would take a lot for me not to punch him in the face."

This really is two guys who hate each other squaring off in the ring.

Bjornsson himself is putting in the work. The Iceland native, who starred in the hit series 'Game of Thrones', recently shared footage of him working the pads.

Click HERE to watch that.

He looked pretty slow, but nobody's expected Thor to base his game on speed and agility.

He's tall and powerful, and he'll be looking to use those attributes when he faces Hall.

GIVEMESPORTs Scott Wilson says

Fair play, Eddie.

Hes drastically overhauling his figure in order to be ready to fight Thor next year and its definitely worth keeping an eye on his Instagram account to track his progress.

The work that hes currently doing in the gym is different to his workouts during his strongman days, but hes going all in on this.

The weight loss, the improved diet, the work ethic... for Hall, this is huge.

What he'd give to defeat his main strongman rival in the ring.

Both 'fighters' deserve a lot of credit for the work they're putting in and we can't wait to see the fight.

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Eddie Hall shows off his workout to get fitter for fight against Hafthor Bjornsson - GIVEMESPORT

Andrew Thomas says his roommates understand the deal: For multiple hours a day, hes going to be posted up in the dining room area of their apartment, doing Zoom calls with teammates and coaches on the New York Giants.

In April, Thomas was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, and the Giants are hoping their highly-rated rookie will anchor their offensive line for a decade or more. But Thomas, like many other recent draftees, hasnt even signed a contracta side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic that has disrupted the traditional NFL offseason schedule. For now hes working out and studying the playbook in Athens, Georgia, where he played for the Georgia Bulldogs, though hes begun checking out some spots in New Jersey that arent too far from MetLife Stadium.

Thomass schedule is largely dictated by the aforementioned Zoom calls: He plans his day around them, and gets his meals and workouts in accordingly. In his limited downtime, he says he actually doesnt obsessively play video games; his stress-reliever is the piano.

In an interview with GQ, Thomas discussed how he altered his NFL Draft preparations and training, why hes on a carb-heavy diet at the moment, and how his interest in music has helped him absorb the Giants playbook.

GQ: Before the NFL Draft, when the pandemic really arrived in the United States, how did your day-to-day change?

Andrew Thomas: When the pandemic happened, Pro Day and all those events were cancelled. I had about 10 visits scheduled with different teams. That was the first big differenceinstead of going to the facilities to have my workouts, I started having lots of Zoom calls. Id wake up and have two or three Zoom calls with different coaches and members of their staff. And then Id drive 50 minutes to this place called DASH Performance in Gwinnett County. It was shut down to the general public, but I had a relationship with the owner, so he let me come in there with my personal trainer to do some social distanced workouts. It was very different to not be able to come as you please; we had to come at a certain time, and avoid working out in a group. I adjusted and made it work.

What kind of workouts were you doing in the leadup to the NFL Draft?

After the NFL Combine, my workouts switched to more football-specific stuff. Before the Combine was more speed training. But after that, it reverted more to conditioning and strength training to be in better shape. Lots of position-specific drills that work your lower body and your hips. So, squats, power cleans, any explosive movements that you do when youre making a block. And then there are some run-block drills, different techniques with different weights, working your hands, stuff like that.

What does your diet look like lately?

Im not a huge breakfast person. Usually Ill just eat something quick on the way out of the apartment. I dont like to work out with a lot of food in my stomach. After I got drafted and we started having Zoom meetings that are pretty long, I had to adjust what times I work out. Ive been planning my meals more than I used to so I can make sure Im not running on fumes.

For lunch, I like some type of Mexican food, like a burrito, nachos, something like that. Lots of carbs. Usually theres brown rice, chicken, or ground turkey. Dinner is where I really sit down and eat. Thats steak and potatoes, maybe more chicken, maybe spaghetti and meat; thats my biggest meal of the day.

Are you cooking any of that up yourself?

I cannot cook. I can do breakfast, but my girlfriend helps with cooking, and other times I go get stuff from different restaurants. If I had to cook something up, itd be some type of chicken alfredo.

Have you always been eating lots of carbs and protein?

I used to be on more of a cut diet. I wasnt really eating as many carbs because I was trying to lose weight. Now Im trying to maintain, so Im eating more carbs. I want to get a little stronger too, build some more body muscle, which is why Im eating more protein.

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Andrew Thomas is Prepping for His First NFL Season with Burritos, Zoom Meetings, and Piano Breaks. - GQ

Think youre one of the lucky people who never gets hangovers? You might want to think again. In all likelihood, most people who claim theyre immune to post-partying symptoms, such as headaches, nausea, stomach pains, and vomiting, probably just arent drinking enough to feel hungover the next day, suggests a review published in January 2018 in the journal Current Drug Abuse Reviews.

It proves the point that drinking in moderation or abstaining altogether is the best way to avoid a hangover. In fact, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), theres no proven way to cure a hangover; it just takes time for the body to recover.

Still, that hasnt stopped researchers and everyday imbibers from trying to learn how to lessen the effects of a night of too much drinking. Shaunessy Bishop-Stall, author of Hungover: The Morning After and One Mans Quest for the Cure, spent more than 10 years researching ways to prevent the aftereffects of overindulging in alcohol and trying them out himself.

Heres what science has to say about what might help ease the severity of a hangoverand what definitely wont work, no matter what your perceived propensity for hangovers.

Had a little too much to drink? Theres one concoction you might want to add to your post-party plan. A study published in April 2020 in the journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health found that people who took a combination of plant extracts such as prickly pear, ginkgo biloba, and gingerroot reported less severe hangover headaches and nausea than those who took a placebo or a supplement with nutrients such as magnesium and potassium. Remember to talk to your doctor before taking any kind of supplement.

Compared with lighter spirits, such as vodka, darker alcohol contains more compounds called congeners, which are produced during the fermentation process and can worsen the severity of a hangover, according to research published in November 2013 in the journal Current Drug Abuse Reviews. The study authors note that congener content can vary from spirit to spirit, but bourbon tends to contain particularly higher amounts.

Celebrating with some bubbly? You might want to sip that champagne slowly and in moderation. Two small studies, published in July 2003 and October 2007, found that carbonation may increase the rate of alcohol absorption, which could cause some people to become more intoxicated more quickly.

When it comes to supplements that have been shown to be effective in helping hangovers, vitamins B3 and zinc top the list. A small study published in August 2019 in the Journal of Clinical Medicine found that nicotinic acid (vitamin B3) and zinc significantly reduced hangover severity in 23 healthy social drinkers.

You may want to rethink that diet soda and rum and opt for regular cola instead. Thats because one small study published in April 2013 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Researchfound that people who downed vodka mixed with an artificially sweetened soft drink registered higher blood alcohol levels than those who had the same cocktail with sugar-sweetened soda. The theory is that because the body treats sugar as food, drinking a diet beverage is similar to drinking on an empty stomach.

Not only will this be ineffective in preventing a hangover, but it may also be harmful. According to the NIAAA, taking acetaminophen with alcohol can cause liver damage. If you need to take something for your hangover headache, you can try aspirin or ibuprofen, but keep in mind that they can increase the amount of acid in your stomach and irritate the lining. Just dont make it a regular practice, and dont take it preventively.

Some people believe downing an electrolyte-infused sports drink before bed can prevent a hangover, says Bishop-Stall. The NIAAA says theres little evidence that this is effective.

Electrolytes sodium, calcium, potassium, chloride, phosphate, magnesium are minerals in your blood, urine, tissues, and other bodily fluids that have an electric charge. They help move nutrients into and waste out of your cells and ensure your nerves, muscles, heart, and brain work properly. Dehydration, which can happen when you drink alcohol, can throw the levels of electrolytes out of whack.

Contrary to the commonly held belief that drinking electrolytes may help reduce the severity of hangovers, research has increasingly shown thats not the case. The BMJ Nutrition, Prevention, and Health article found that drinking a supplement of vitamins and minerals, including magnesium and potassium, was not effective in improving peoples hangover symptoms.

Additional reporting by Katherine Lee

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7 Myths and Facts About Hangovers - Everyday Health