OK, so over the past series of posts (the last one was Level 3 – Part 3), I’ve detailed the exercises you could try if you wanted to tuck in your tummy and build a little muscle mass in its stead.

Just one thing, due to the lack of comments in the previous post, I have come to the conclusion that no one is really interested in following this routine. But, nevertheless, I will toil on for the benefit of someone tripping along the World Wide Web, and for my own benefit.

Now one thing a shrewd reader would have noticed, is the rather glaring omission of the word ‘gym’ from this entire series, despite the presence of the word ‘workout’. The reason for this is very simple. I’ve never been to a gym. Reason being simple : lack of funds. My parents are not likely to fund an enterprise which they consider a waste of time anyway. As a result, I don’t quite know if I will be able to bring myself to join a gym in the future. But why bother about that now? Despite the presence of a few gyms nearby, I’ve never been to them, despite my friend, Rishabh, telling me that one particular gym, The Indian Gym, was rather good.

Now, if you’re lucky and live in a residential complex in Gurgaon or NOIDA, it’s possible that along with the yearly membership you pay to the association/society/whatever, you will also have free access to a gym. If this is the case, I leave the choice up to you. You can either enrol yourself in the gym, and get in shape with the guidance of a trainer, or you can follow my path, brave the elements, and use a park. Needless to say, these posts will cease to be useful once you adopt the first path.

I know little about gyms, so I won’t say much. All I can say is that before you put down the cash for a month’s membership, try out the place for a day or two. Make sure the ventilation works well, because I, for one, would hate to workout in a room reeking of somebody else’s sweat. There should be a trained and qualified trainer, and optionally, a dietician, who can help you out.

Again, there is little advice I can offer on bench presses and deadlifts, assuming you choose to build mass in that way. But I can tell you this, deadlifts (where you stand and lift a pair of barbells above your shoulders) can adversely affect your height, especially if you’re still in the growing phase.

I do not claim to be an expert on the subject of fitness. I have neither the stamina of a marathon runner, nor a ripped body, and I can only share my experiences. If you wish to learn from my experiences, be my guest. If not, why are you reading this?

The next post, I’ll post about how to ramp things up…

Again, I put the facts in front of you – would you rather fork out a couple of thousand bucks for something, for which exists a viable, adequate, cost-free solution?