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METRO WORKOUT

‘Nach le’ to fitness

Photo: R. Ashok

Stretching hard Sway to stay fit

I never thought the Bollywood bug would ever strike me. Well, to explain, it is ‘Bolly Aerobics’, one of the many forms of dance aerobics, where one gyrates and sways to Bollywood songs and music.

The place that helps you to do so in the city is “Rhythmic Beats” and there I am in a dash one evening speaking to Yuvraj, the man who calls the shots there.

First he gives me an overview: “Aerobics is a type of physical exercise that integrates rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the objective of improving all elements of fitness (flexibility, muscular strength, and cardio-vascular fitness). It is generally performed in a group with background music. There is an instructor who directs and guides. It can also be practiced solo and without musical accompaniment. Aerobic exercise is energetic and vigorous, lasts long enough and is done regularly to keep the heart and lungs in good conditions. Also, it burns fat faster than any other type of exercise.”

Undoubtedly, the music playing inside the dancing hall is infectious and definitely it is fun to watch people waltz their way to merriment. Before I kicked off my session, I told Yuvraj that I have two left feet and that he should really bear with my wrong moves. He was kind enough to egg me on, asking me to forego my inhibitions as a thumb rule and simply follow the instructions, relax and enjoy.

The first 5 minutes were spent in relaxing the joints from head to toe, a preparatory process called ‘mobilisation’ which helps the body feel lighter.

Once that was achieved, the instructor asked me to sway my body to his steps that is choreographed to the music sequence based on rate per minute (RPM).

I loved the song sequence arranged on different tempos. It started off with the remix song “Hare Ram, hare Ram” from the Hindi film ‘Bhool Bhulaiya’.

It was pretty easy to get set to the mood and I began to march according to the rhythm and then pushed myself to get the moves right, known as the basic tracks.

I took my first step opening with my right feet, closing with my left feet and then vice-versa. The same was done in the diagonal directions. Also, all the steps involved the opening and closing of hands in several directions according to the rhythm. Twenty minutes into it, I thanked the instructor whose constant motivation helped the class going.

Then, we moved on to the next level, the lunges, a great way to power and condition the lower body. The upper body is also slowly moved to the choreographed rhythm. The stretch involves the entire body and is performed to give a flexibility routine.

Time is also slated for a ‘cool down’ after the workout as the music slowly fades away. I lay back soaking in the surroundings for a minute before taking leave.

The feel-good factor has already put me on a high and I recommend to all just “nach le” and feel like a la Madhuri Dixit!

For further information, please contact: Mr. Yuvraj: 94431-91910.

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