Find out what Jyotika Saravanan gifted herself on her birthday

Tamil actor Jyotika Saravanan, who turned 44 recently, penned a heartwarming note on staying active and fit

Jyotika shared a glimpse of her workout (Source: Jyotika/Instagram)

Tamil actor Jyotika Saravanan, or Jo, as she is fondly called by her fans and family, penned a heartwarming note on her 44th birthday. “Gifting myself this birthday with strength and health,” she captioned a montage video that showed her working out at the gym.

The actor-producer, who recently received the National Award for husband and actor Suriya’s film Soorarai Pottru, shared that she had been doing functional training with coach Mahesh Ghanekar from Mahesh Fitness Club in the run-up to her birthday, which was on October 18.

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“I will not let age change me, I will change the way I age,” the Raatchasi actor wrote. In the video, she can be seen doing a mix of bodyweight training moves as well as strength and High-Intensity Interval Training.

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What is functional training?

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Consisting of compound exercises like squats, lunges, burpees, and deadlifts, functional training requires more than one muscle group to work together to mimic everyday movement patterns. This requires a good core strength (core is a group of muscles that stabilises and controls the pelvis and spine), experts say.

“People with good core strength learn to identify and activate the muscles needed to accomplish a task. Learning to activate the core requires concentration, and leads to being more in-tune with the body,” said Dr Prashant Mistry, celebrity physiotherapist, in an earlier interaction with indianexpress.com.

“Core strength is less about power and more about being able to maintain the body in ideal postures to unload the joints and promote ease of movement,” added Dr Mistry.

Everyone should and can perform functional movements, regardless of age and gender. For an eighty-year-old, balance training is functional. For a college-level athlete, agility drills are useful, said Varun Rattan, Co-founder of The Body Science Academy.

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However, just like any other activity, functional training should also be done gradually and under guidance. “If a client has to wear a knee brace to the gym (considering risk of injury), it might be a good idea to focus on strengthening gluteal muscles, hamstrings, and improving hip and ankle mobility rather than having them scramble around,” said Rattan.

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