Fitness columnists-and Muscles Mani is no exception-are often obsessed with telling you how to lose weight, become lean, ripped and be able to fit into a pair of jeans that is two, or three, waist sizes smaller. Well, you can't blame them; after all, most of us want to do just that, don't we? But what of those of us who want (or need) to gain weight?

Recently, Rajendra Nayak, a reader, e-mailed me his predicament. Nayak, 26, is 1.85 metres (6 ft.) tall and weighs 67 kilograms. And he wants to put on at least 5-7 kilograms in muscle mass. But although he has been exercising for the past four-to-five months (four or five times a week for an hour each time), he has not reached his goal. What should he do?

Gaining good weight (muscle mass as opposed to fat) is not easy. It not only depends on diet and exercise, but also on genetics, which can dictate your physical structure, and lifestyle. But diet and exercise can help. The key to building muscle mass is two-pronged: an exercise regime that strengthens and grows your muscles, and a diet that fuels that growth.

When embarking on an exercise regime, many of us neglect our diets. It is important to realise that exercise burns calories and it is only through proper calorific intake (read a good diet) that we can build muscle mass. But first, are you really underweight? For an answer, calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI)-a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of his height in metres (BMI=kg/m2)-a contemporary measure for obesity. If your BMI is less than or equal to 18.5, you are underweight; if it is between 18.5 and 24.9, it is normal; if it is between 25 and 29.9, you are overweight; and if it is over 35, you're classified as obese. There's a caveat, though. BMI is not always a good indicator of physical health because it makes no distinction between muscle mass and fat. A bodybuilder with kilograms of muscle mass could have a high BMI and yet be healthy.

Which brings me back to Rajendra Nayak, a lanky six-footer, but with a BMI of 19.58, he's not underweight. Yet, to put on healthy weight, in addition to exercising, he has to eat well. It's a simple zero-sum game: to gain weight, you need to take in more calories than you burn. And the best way to get extra calories is through carbohydrates, the food group with the highest calorific content. So my advice is simple: hit the gym or the jogging track regularly but tank up on food. Here's a thumb-rule: get 70 per cent of your calories from carbohydrates like rice, cereals and potatoes, 15 per cent from protein and 15 per cent from fat. Eat four or five small meals a day instead of gorging on one or two. And keep hopping on to that weighing scale to see yourself get bigger.

-Muscles Mani
-Write to musclesmani@intoday.com

TACKLING CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME

Dropped that hot cup of tea again? If gripping a cup or ringing the doorbell is painful, don't disregard it. For all you know, it could be the onset of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). And if you ignore it for too long, you could end up having surgery.

The tunnel: The carpal tunnel is a narrow passage in your wrist made of bones and ligaments through which the median nerve-responsible for providing sensation to the thumb, index and middle fingers, and half the ring finger-passes from the forearm to the hand. The tunnel also contains tendons that connect muscles to bones and help bend your fingers and thumb.

The syndrome: CTS happens when the ligaments or tendons get inflamed or enlarged and compress the median nerve. This results in pain, numbness or a tingling sensation in your hand, inability to pinch and grip objects, and in extreme cases, weakness.

Who's at risk: According to Dr A.V. Sharma, Orthopaedic Consultant at New Delhi's Max Healthcare, people who use their wrists a lot are most prone to CTS. Also, if you're suffering from diabetes, obesity, arthritis, connective tissue disorders or nerve diseases, you're a likely candidate.

The treatment: Mild cases can be treated by resting or immobilising the wrist in a splint or brace. "However, severe CTS may require physiotherapy, injecting anti-inflammatory drugs, and surgical decompression," says Sharma.

You wouldn't want to reach that stage.

-Payal Sethi