Huntsman Corporation MD's fitness mantra: Running 6-7 kms, 4 days a week

For Rahul Tikoo, Managing Director – India Sub-continent & Polyurethanes South Asia Business, Huntsman Corporation, a healthy body comprises two aspects, inner as well as outer health.

"Inner health is more about focusing on mental peace and finding the time to calm your mind and soul, irrespective of the situation or circumstances one is in. The second aspect, the outer health is more about physical exercise in different forms. I have been a marathon runner and used to participate in few marathons a year. Also, being able to run such long distances requires consistent conditioning and functional training. While marathons are not possible in the current scheme of things, I make it a point to keep myself fit by walking and running six to seven kilometers, four times a week," he says.

Fitness
Tikoo is a morning person and wakes up around 6 am daily. He explains, "I feel mornings are the best time to work out as breathing in fresh air gives me the requisite energy to do more and be focused throughout the day. I was part of a trek last week post which, I understood that it is important to reset myself and think through the differentiated things that I should work on in the coming days. I feel that self-reflection is important, and one should find the time to think things through in whatever way possible. For me it was this trek, for someone else, it could be some other avenue to explore. If one is on a nine-to-nine schedule, it becomes difficult to find the time to devote to exercise, but I feel it is essential to do so for the overall development of the mind and body."

Food
Diet is an important part of any fitness regime. Tikoo has done a lot of experiments with his diet but at the end of the day he realised one very basic principle of eating which is – one should not overeat, and should listen to the body and stop when the body tells you so.

"I think this has worked wonders for me. Also, I have been off sugar for the longest time now, even all my hot beverages are without sugar. A lot of people recommend abstaining from consuming what you like, but I do indulge in a couple of cups of coffee or tea during the day as it refreshes me. I also feel that whatever we have grown up eating is the best diet and we should not experiment around it. There are a lot of fad diet plans these days that people recommend and follow. However, I firmly believe that one needs to have their portion of upbringing dietwhich could be idli, chapatis, some lentils or some vegetables in their daily meals. If one feels the need to experiment, then I would suggest trying out different forms of workouts instead of diets. I believe that we should not torture our body and that we should eat what’s available seasonably and enjoy the food we eat," he says.

Mental
Tikoo has his early morning meditation sessions which gives him a lot of peace and puts him at ease. "I also believe that we need to be grounded in life and should be grateful to God for all that we have received and achieved. For mental peace, I would recommend guided meditation. I do make it a point to meditate at least four to five times a week, but I wish I could do it every day. My sessions focus mainly on timed breathing sessions for 30 minutes. It does wonders," he says.

For his mind, Tikoo regularly consume soaked almonds and walnuts early in the morning. "While I don’t know if these foods help sharpen one’s mind, but I prefer going with grandma’s wisdom in this case," he says.

Soul
Visiting any place of worship gives Tikoo a sense of peace, be it a temple, mosque, or church. "In fact, I used to regularly visit the Golden Temple before the pandemic. I am also a regular at Mount Mary’s, Bandra. For me, it is not about the place, it is about the calm and the solace that I find in these places," he ends.