I HAVE BUILT A TENNIS COURT NEXT TO MY TWO-STOREY SPA
INDIrAA BATrA, 62, is a singer and songwriter and lives near London with her husband rajiv, 59, an entrepreneur who owns several sportswear companies. She says: LOCKDOWN is the perfect time to shake things up, so that’s what I’m doing with my home gym.
My gym is second only to the kitchen in terms of being the space that gets the most use at home. Built in a two-storey converted barn in the grounds of our 42-acre farm, upstairs there’s a full-size boxing ring with punchbags that cost £10,000.
Alongside it are ergonomically-designed machines just like the ones you get in commercial gyms, which target specific muscles such as the triceps and biceps. On the upper-level there are also cardio machines, including two treadmills, a cross trainer, ski machine and rower.
The lower-level is home to all sorts of heavy weights. There is also a spa area with sauna and steam room, plus an ‘endless pool’ where you swim against the current of the water.
I’m having the pool rebuilt as part of the renovation and moving things around to make way for a yoga and meditation area on the upper-level. The possibilities are endless.
We have spent approximately £250,000 on the gym because exercise is extremely important to us. It’s worth every penny — I use it every day for both my physical and mental wellbeing.
Every day I run about five miles on the treadmill and then do some weights. Although Rajiv threatens to use the gym, he moans about it and prefers to play tennis — we both used to play professionally, which is how we met.
My husband is a member of four tennis clubs and we would have liked to play a lot during the pandemic but haven’t been able to. Lockdown has inspired us to build an indoor tennis court in the garden at home so that we can play when we want in any weather.
We are hoping it will renew my interest in playing tennis, which has waned, and will be a leisure activity we can enjoy together because Rajiv certainly doesn’t share my love of cooking.
The gym was originally built about 18 years ago, two years after we bought the farm, and it still looks very modern. But, as you get older, you have to rethink your training regime. I will continue to train hard five days a week, but renovating and reorganising the gym will enable me to adapt to my needs.