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A racy routine

Photo: K. Murali Kumar

Carry on Treadmill jogs are a part of the training regime at the gym

At Leena Mogre’s Gym on the tree-less CMH Road, there is just the pace of racy, techno beats challenging treadmill users. There is a difference. Only this time, they are not mindless zombies looking blankly and aimlessly at Flat screen TVs perc hed on top and changing channels in between. There are no TVs. So you either look with concentration and purpose or know what you’re doing, or this is not the place for you.

Ramkiran Ballal, director — fitness says clients who wish to join need to go through their fitness assessment programme, which touches upon everything from your BP, lung capacity to cardio-vascular endurance. And based on your level of fitness, a programme will be designed for you. And since most gyms claim to work on this process, Leena Mogre’s insists that they strictly stick to it. And so, I decide to try the first step myself. A polar electro OY belt is tied around my waist and I mount the treadmill for a 12-minute assessment. My maximum heart limit is set to 156 and I can already feel my heart doing leaps and bounds. My aerobic fitness classes are failing me, I mutter to myself silently. And I feel like kicking myself for not attending regularly. So now, the treadmill is moving at snail’s pace and I breathe normally. My aerobics seem to be working. The treadmill slowly tilts up and I hold on to the handle bars for support.

Priya, the physio-therapist asks if I exercise. I am wearing a loose salwar-kameez to conceal all evidence that I am not a regular exerciser. And suddenly, it speeds and I brace, looking at the two-digit alarmingly bordering on three. I’ve passed level two. Now it’s a steep recline and moving fast, and I am breathless, talking nervously. Just a few minutes more, and those dreaded three-digits loom large — 156-157-158. That’s it — that’s how much my body can take.

There’s a row of strength machines that have safety locks and even a boxing programme. And to do that, you’ll need the red, blue, white or yellow card to see where you fit and begin your journey of fitness. Call 41732828.

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