Why Are Indians Lazier When it Comes to Fitness? The perspective of an Indian Fitness Coach

Let me start with this: I'm Indian. I grew up in an Indian household. I love our food, our culture, and our values. But after coaching hundreds of South Asians across the world, I’ve noticed a trend, and it needs to stop.

We’re Lazy.

Not lazy in the sense of being unproductive, we're incredibly smart, driven in academics, and often work the most complex jobs. But when it comes to taking care of our bodies, we lag behind. Badly. This needs to be brought to light

1. We Were Never Taught That Our Health Matters

Our parents drilled school, grades, and success into our heads, but exercise? Nope. That was for people who had “too much time.” Many of us grew up thinking going to the gym would “stunt your growth” and protein powder was “steroids.” So we study, work, get stressed, and let our bodies decay.

2. Getting to comfortable

Let’s be honest. Most Indian households are centered around comfort. We eat the heaviest foods, sit a LOT, and rest wayyy more than we need. Everything revolves around food: celebrations, stress relief, boredom, hospitality. The basics of movement and health just don’t exist in our culture yet.

We’d rather debate on what to eat for dinner tomorrow than dedicate the time to exercise.

3. We make too many excuses

"I have no time."
"Gym is not for me."
"It’s in my genes."
"I’ll start after the wedding/holiday/trip."

Sound familiar? We are great at justifying inaction. We internalize everything, but rarely take action. We know what we should be doing, but we never do it.

Yet we glorify struggle and sacrifice in all areas, except the gym.

4. We only take action when its too late

It’s incredible how many of my clients come to me after experiencing health issues such as diabetes scares, high LDL cholesterol, or even letting their weight get to a point where its hurting their day to day lives. Indians are reactive, not proactive about health. But the truth is: our bodies will fall apart if we ignore this long enough.

So What’s the Fix?

• Wake up. You can change. You just have to stop lying to yourself.

• Start small. A walk, 1 day in the gym, better portions.

• Invest in your health now, or pay for it later.

• Stop hiding behind culture. Indian food can be healthy. Your schedule isn’t that unique. You just haven’t made fitness a priority.

  As an Indian fitness coach, I’ve made it my goal to change this. We can be fit, educated and healthy without giving up our culture. But we have to stop being soft.

Laziness isn’t our identity. It’s just a bad habit.

And it’s time to break it.