Rally Raid
We speak with the Indian rally raid champion about the exercises he likes to perform when he doesn’t have any equipment.
CS Santosh is the fastest Indian on two wheels.
As the first Indian to successfully complete the great Dakar Rally, Santosh has his name in the history books, and continues to build on his achievements by improving his performances each year.
Part of his secret to success has been his focus on fitness as part of his training programme when he prepares for cross country rally raids.
Even when he isn’t training for competition, he maintains his performance by doing lifts, mobility exercises and cardio activities, so he does not lose form.
While staying at home, he usually yearns to be able to train, but he is currently glad to be spending his time at Big Rock DirtPark, his motocross circuit on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The biggest downfall for him is that he does not have the constant support of his trainer to push him, but on the bright side he has been enjoying going through his workout routine regularly, and sometimes even twice a day.
He says he is currently working on building a beach body that he always wanted and finds that it is easy to do core and cardio exercises while at home. Here are his five suggestions for anyone that wants to follow his home workout routine.
Push-ups
One of the simplest exercises to practice, as long as you have the correct form. Start with your body parallel to the floor, with arms at full extension, balancing only on your palms and toes. Slowly lower your body so your chest is four-five inches above the ground and your elbows tucked comfortably into your body. Lift back up and repeat. Santosh says push-ups are a great overall workout for the upper body and core.
Lateral split squat jumps
Start in a lunge position – your right leg should be forward, left leg behind and body low so your left knee is a few inches above the ground. Quickly leap five feet to your left, also jumping upward as much as possible. When you land, interchange your leg positions so your left leg is forward and right leg behind; your right knee should be low to the floor. Again jump and return to the starting position. Santosh loves doing this exercise on leg day and for a cardio workout that gets his heart pacing.
Bear crawl
For the starting position, you should be crouched down with your hands in front of you at shoulder-width, your knees bent and low to the ground, but only your palms and toes should be in contact with the ground. Try to keep your hips at the same level as your shoulders at all times so your core is parallel to the ground. Start walking forward with your alternate hand and leg moving half a foot forward each time; so you could start with right hand and left foot, followed by left hand and right foot. Keep walking forward till you run out of space and then walk backwards in the same motion of alternate limbs. Santosh loves the bear crawl because it is a great drill to build core stability.
Lizard walks
Santosh says that the lizard walk exercise is really tough and you need to be very strong to perform it correctly. He says he is currently in a work-in-progress stage with perfecting the lizard walk. This exercise is one of the toughest variations of the push-up. You start in the push-up position and while moving down, you also walk forward with one hand and opposite foot; so if you move your right hand forward, you also move your left foot ahead. Push back up and when lowering down, walk ahead with the other hand and foot. Keep walking until you run out of space and then turn and around and continue for as many repetitions as you are comfortable with.
Planks
A simple, static exercise that is performed by elevating your body off the ground so you are only balancing on your palms and toes. Hold the position for as long as possible while keeping your core braced. Santosh loves this exercise because it helps build a super strong core and some endurance as well.
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