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Money for MUSCLE
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Boss, Military, Macho, Hercules, Rambo... a clutch of economy gyms has mushroomed in the city providing value for money, write SHONALI MUTHALALY and SUDHISH KAMATH
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ARE YOU the type who cracks an egg even before the rooster wakes up and gulps it down before it crows - taking deep healthy breaths all the while, as you flex your billowing biceps lifting dumb bells? Do you listen to `Manmatha Rasa' as you begin your daily workout amid greasy machinery and sweaty banian-clad bodies? Do you glug down glass after glass of protein drinks as you huff and puff your way through fifty push-ups?
And do you smile down at your muscles happily at the end of the month as you pay for thirty days of fitness with just 200 rupees or less?
OR
Are you the type who spends half your morning accessorising for the gym - matching your pink leotards with your Reebok water bottle and your Nike tracksuit with your designer headband? Do you carefully position the latest business magazine on your hi-tech treadmill as you elegantly sip Evian mineral water and jog in air-conditioned comfort? And do you enthusiastically balance exotic massage schedules with sauna sessions?
If you're a `gymmer' of the second category, get back to your Evian now. (And don't forget to carry the pink velvet covered dumb bells to the gym tomorrow. They'll go brilliantly with the new upholstery at the salad bar.)
You probably spend about Rs. 15,000 a year at the gym (a conservative estimate that doesn't include the massages and vegetable juices). So, realising that every Dom, Tick and Hari pay just Rs. 200 a month for pretty much the same privileges (perhaps without the carrot juice spiked with celery) might hurt almost as much as a 30 sit-up session.
Yes, it's finally the era of the Economy Gyms as more Chennai-ites wake up to the new found `need' to look `good'. `Good', these days, is a variable measured by body mass index, weighing scales and measuring tapes.
And what was once an indulgence of the rich, today, has become popular culture. A luxury, today, has changed into a necessity. The unaffordable, today, has come within the reach of the common man. At an irresistible price tag - provided you are not looking for frills and fancies. For, functionality is the buzzword today.
The huge hue and cry about fancy fitness centres offering personal trainers and dieticians, state-of-the-art machinery and diet food counters, had an unexpected effect. Not only did they get the rich, famous and health conscious flocking to five star gyms, boosting the gym accessory and apparel market and introducing highly trained instructors to the city, they also made big muscles big business.
However, not everyone jumped into the fitness arena armed with spacious saunas and subtly perfumed air-conditioning. Small gyms grandiosely calling themselves Boss, Military, Macho, Hercules and Rambo Vimal Gym also mushroomed all over the city, grabbing a remarkably large slice of the fitness pie.
Globe, one of the earliest players in the market, grew from 50 members in its first month to 900 members in three years in its Anna Nagar branch. So what if there are a dozen other gyms around the two square kilometre area? The gym trainers aren't worked up yet. There's room for more, they say. "Things have changed with the common man making his way into gyms. I've been in the fitness industry for 13 years," says S. Shakir Hussain, senior coach. "Nowadays, people have less of a physical workload. They work on computers, sitting inside cabins. Their body hardly gets any exercise. Earlier, only people who wanted to build body mass used to come to us. Now, we have more people coming here for weight reduction," he adds. The gym charges Rs. 300 for the first month and Rs. 200 per month thereafter (inclusive of steam bath once a week).
If you thought it doesn't get any cheaper, you thought wrong.
Almost every colony of houses these days has a local gym that charges anywhere between Rs.75 to Rs.150 per month. But with low charges, negligence creeps in. "We have over 500 members registered. But only one-tenth of the members come everyday. People want to be fit, but are not willing to give it the attention that it deserves," says Pandian, a gym-instructor at Power Gym, Mogappair.
A good number of Chennai's slums have gyms too. They generally have just heavy metal plates, which they use for weight training, for equipment. Then they build a thatched roof, stick up a glossy picture of some American body builder for inspiration, and put up a board proclaiming `gym.'
These gyms sure are value for money, all right. But are they adequate? "These kinds of gyms are more than sufficient. They are affordable to the middle class. There were body builders even a hundred years ago, no one used air conditioning then. You really don't need the frills if all you want is just keep fit," says R. Sridhar, a regular gymmer for the last five years.
Yes, only that you probably have `Oorvasi, Oorvasi, Take it easy policy' constantly playing in the background, cleaner boys doubling as gym instructors, ancient machinery, sweaty carpets, torn cushions and a queue for your turn at the weights.
"The trainers also tell us what to eat for a diet. So you basically get everything here that you would otherwise get at a hi-fi snob joint. Yes, you always don't get your choice of music or smart looking trainers and dieticians, but if you are looking at functionality, these places more than serve the purpose," says a three-week-old member at the Jeevan gym. "Next door, there's also a Jeevitha gym for women, but that's yet to pick up," he adds.
"It is a risk of sorts because without proper supervision, you might jeopardise your health. Knees and back are very sensitive - people push themselves. Besides, a lot of these places don't tell you what to eat," says S. Prasad, who gave up on his economy gym and took up yoga instead.
"First, they tried hard-selling something called `Amino Mass' to me. It costs some 400 bucks. And the master also said I could take a dose of injections after the first three months. He said there won't be any side-effects. But that kind of thing is dangerous. God knows what steroids he's talking about," he adds.
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