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METROWORKOUT

No haul and heft, this

PHOTO: P.V. SIVAKUMAR

Way to go In Seating Leg Press

Weight training is a no-no for women. It is precisely this myth that scores of women in gyms across Hyderabad are intent on busting as they get going on a weight training workout.

With my Scarlett O’Hara-like waist graduating to the status of a constantly expanding girth, tough action is solicited. Hence, time to drive gymwards for a moderate bout of weight training.

Sharan Bhavnani, a trainer at Talwalkars in Banjara Hills, with international accreditation in personal training from the American Council on Exercise (ACE), has the onerous job of orienting me to weights. She is also a yoga teacher.

“First of all, weight training is not just okay for women, it’s important for them,” she expounds. With women being prone to osteoporosis (weakening of bones), weight training diminishes their chances of falling prey to it. Sharan’s oldest patient, she reveals, is a 61-year-old lady who’s got both her kneecaps replaced and is struck by severe neck and shoulder arthritis.

The orientation to weights involves testing one’s endurance (through push-ups and squats), flexibility (through toe touching) and strength (muscle memory).

Sharan steers me through an invigorating neck-to-toe warm-up. Then follow wall push-ups and squats. It’s time for the real deal. We head towards a seated chest press. Comfortably seated, my trainer makes me go for two sets of 15 reps each with 5 kg weight. The weight should be not be so heavy that you can’t complete a full range of motion (lowering back down to chest level and pushing until your arms are fully extended but not locked).

We go on to the shoulder press with dumb-bells. The dumb-bells are not to be swung up as this can cause an injury. As a beginner, it is not how much weight one can lift but the right technique, stresses Sharan. What follows is two sets of 15 reps with three pound of weight. The dumbbells should be held at ear level. A push to the dumbbells over the head until the arms are almost completely extended and the dumbbells are touching.

The seated leg press gets our attention. As the muscles from the thighs to the calves get worked on, it seems like immediate therapy to ease out those unexplainable aches and pains in the entire lower body. It’s two sets of 15 reps each with 15 kg weight this time.

The abdominals are the next target. We go through three styles of exercises to target the upper, mid and lower abdomen on an ab crunch bench. It is great for burning the ab fat. I, for one, can already feel someone’s lit a bonfire in my stomach.

Earnings time after the workout, Sharan laughs. On a mat, she makes me do a cool-down and yoga stretches. A cool-down is as essential as a warm-up. The stretches ease out the body parts from the tension and stress of the workout and help in elongation of muscles. What relief! Sharan’s a magician.

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