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Flipping for fitness

From wanting to fit into a pair of jeans to shaping up for a wedding, there are reasons galore why the fitness bug has bitten Coimbatoreans, writes ANIMA BALAKRISHNAN

STRETCHING IN STYLE At an upmarket fitness centre Photo: K. ANANTHAN

Can't blame Raji if she felt out of place on Day One. At 68, she was the oldest at FitnessOne. With PYTs warming up in style and sweating it out while watching Darius croon, she sure did not make a pleasant sight being "airlifted" to the cycle by the trainers.

But a month into the tough fitness regimen — cycling, treadmill and the rest — Raji says confidently, "I have pushed osteoporosis further away."

She pins it down to her determination, making certain younger ones trying to ignore their unholy flab squirm.

Turning savvy

Raji is among the increasing number of Coimbatoreans turning fitness savvy.

With state-of-the-art fitness clubs mushrooming across the city, more people are beginning to give staying fit a fighting chance.

Misconceptions are many and fitness is still struggling to shrug off the weight loss clinic tag. Nevertheless, a beginning has been made and the industry hopes to make its presence felt in a big way here soon.

"Coimbatore is a budding city when it comes to fitness," says R. Ganesh Prabhu, President, Flex Fitness Club.

The industry is picking up as the conservative, unseen section of the society, including women, is beginning to give fitness a thought, he observes.

Dr. Shilpa of Tejas Women's Rejuvenation Centre believes there is tremendous awareness about fitness lately. A new set of lifestyle problems has emerged with the new eating habits and work culture, she notes. "People with cholesterol and obesity are on the rise," she says.

Not just weight loss

But fitness clubs vouch that Coimbatoreans primarily flock fitness centres to shed excess adipose tissue.

"Nearly, half the clientele is here to lose weight," says Neetu Puran, Manager, FitnessOne (Ph: 0422-2551222). "What is yet to catch on is the concept of sweating it out just to remain fit," says Neetu.

The trainers point out the emphasis should be on increasing basic fitness — flexibility, agility and endurance.

"Clients, including students, come with occupation-related problems," says Nadeem Rehman, physiotherapist at FitnessOne.

From posture-related problems to various aches and pains, to absolute lack of flexibility, thanks to sedentary work, they have it all. "The idea is to educate them on basic fitness," says Nadeem.

So, newcomers are given a report card on their state of the health, often enough to shock them out of slumber.

There are dieticians, trainers and physiotherapists who look into your health condition, medical history and the rest to work out a chart.

It is the physical condition of the individual that decides the kind of exercises the body can endure.

So, at the gym and the strength zone, from logbook to daily charts to schedule to BMI and fat percentage, they are all there to scare the living hell out of you. Numbers sure work wonders, as far as fitness goes.

Gymming 's in

"It is the gyms that are the biggest attraction," says Prabhu (Flex: Ph — 0422-4369984).

"There should be a wider approach to fitness. Gyms are more in demand as the stress is on slimming and beauty rather than health and fitness," he says.

Since, `slimming' and `beauty' is the key, the trainers also get to hear the weirdest reasons for getting down to shape.

"Here, we have had people who wanted to lose weight so that they fit into their jeans before their trip abroad or had to trim down before their wedding at the end of the month," says Nadeem. But, we keep realistic targets and do not promise them weight loss of more than two or three kilos, he adds.

Being a fledgling industry, the misconceptions too are many.

"Women tend to believe that if they work out, they tend to gain muscles which is not true," clarifies Neetu.

Apart from the gyms, the fitness centres now offer a range of studio programmes. So, from aerobics, dancercise, salsa, Tai-chi, Pilates, massages, yoga to meditation, they have it all.

What could be a fun way for the young to remain fit is yet to become a fad here. "It is the concept of `working-out friends' that has to catch on," says Neetu.

At Tejas, a fitness centre exclusively for women, yoga and therapy for stress relief and pain management is also available.

"We also have fitness programmes during pregnancy," says Dr Shilpa (Ph: 0422-2214693).

Of course, all this comes at a price.

A monthly schedule can cost anywhere between Rs. 1,000 and 3,000.

But the root of the matter is to instil the idea of fitness.

"As in other cities like Chennai, youngsters should flock fitness centres. The ideal time to start a fitness regimen is between 20 and 30 years," concludes Prabhu.

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