Fit and Fab
Pune offers a variety of activities to keep you fit and healthy.
WATER GAMES Finkick
TAKE TO THE WATERS TO PLAY A GAME and tone up your muscles. Octopush is a noncontact sport played in the swimming pool by six members on each side in which each player dons a fin, mask and snorkel to help them move in the water and push a ‘puck’ at the bottom of the pool. Besides being fun, the game is a good water exercise that tones up the muscles and increases stamina. Finkick Adventures also has professional scuba
diving classes right in the middle of the city.. PRICE Rs 2,500 for an eight session package of Octopush DETAILS finkick.com
UPSIDE DOWN Anti Gravity Yoga
A new take on traditional yoga, anti-gravity yoga is all about working out while suspended from the ceiling in a hammocklike apparatus. So, the workout, which was designed by former gymnast and Broadway choreographer Christopher Harrison, combines exercises like yoga, pilates, calisthenics and aerial acrobatics that offers a total-body workout. Nital Raval, founder and CEO of Biorhythm studio, says, “It is the ultimate cross training for athletic and artistic endeavours.. There are seven anti-gravity techniques that cater to yogis, athletes, dancers, children, and people who are suffering from back pain.” The technique is suitable for those who want to practice advanced yoga postures. AT 5th Floor, Ozone Mall, Plot No 92, Anand Park, Aundh DETAILS biorhythmindia.co.in
SCALING UP Rock Aliens Rock Climbing Gym
It was once the forte of mountaineers and adventure enthusiasts but rock climbing is now fast becoming a popular fitness activity among youngsters who don’t want to be holed up in a gymnasium. At Rock Aliens Sports Climbing Gym, the city’s private indoor bouldering gym, people ranging from seven to 45 years of age, troupe in every evening for sessions of scaling up walls to build endurance, muscle strength and develop a skill. Started by rock climbing enthusiasts Jay Shinde, 21 and Dhawal Sharma, 32, the gym has 1,300 square feet of climbing surface and walls that go up to 14 feet in height where people climb walls, scale the ceiling and draw up newer routes that prepare them for outdoor rock climbing. Rock climbing, says Shinde, teaches technical skills, spatial awareness, and interpersonal communication besides being a fun fitness form. PRICE Rs 1,000 a month AT Aun society No.2, 413, Shivaji Nagar DETAILS rockaliens.co.in
BOYS ONLY The Man Company
For men who complain that there aren’t ample boys-only grooming products in the market, The Man Company has launched a series of hair and skin care products made of natural ingredients and essential oils like argan, patchouli, almond, cedarwood and even charcoal. Take a look at the beard conditioning oils or the interestingly named Growth Mafia that comes with shampoo, hair oils. PRICE Starts at Rs 250 DETAILS themancompany.com
HAPPY FEET Zumba
Ever since it caught the attention of the city’s fitness seekers a few years ago, Zumba continues to be a popular workout regime for those who want to learn a few moves while shedding getting into shape. The fast paced steps are matched with foot tapping music, often a mix of Merengue, Cumbia, Salsa and Reggaeton rhythms, making the cardio workout, fun. Smeeta Shirole, the first licensed instructor to have the Zumba Gold license in Pune and founder of Smithes Breathe Fitness, adds a dose of innovation to the workout with the latest Bollywood dance number steps or lavani moves. PRICE Rs 1,500 for eight sessions AT Sukwani Prestige, Pashan Road, Bavdhan
MIND, BODY, WELLNESS Soham Yoga Studio
Be it a remedy for back pain or hormonal imbalances or sessions that aid overall well being and fitness, yoga is being increasingly recognised as the go-to wellness option. At Soham Yoga Studio, Dr Umesh Trivedi and
his wife Anuradha teach yoga asanas, breathing techniques and positive thinking to people coming for different reasons. “It is a myth that you cannot shed weight with yoga, Besides, the biggest benefit is psychological change that helps your hormones, sleep and mental make-up,” says Trivedi, who healed his severe slipped disc condition with yoga and then took to teaching others who had similar ailments. He stresses on the importance of a healthy diet to treat any disorder and draws up diet plans for every student after studying their medical history. In his six research papers, Trivedi has focussed on treating Poly Cystic Ovarian Disorder (PCOD) “a fast growing condition among young women”, hormonal disorders and behavioural patterns through yoga. “In India, we focus on cure rather than prevention. But regular yoga helps prevent a lot of disorders because it brings your body into the state it should normally be in,” says Trivedi. His holistic teachings have got him students from around the world who learn asanas from him over Skype. PRICE Rs 1000 for a group class AT Magarpatta City DETAILS Sohamyogastudio.org
FARM FRESH VTP Earth Food
Farm to table is a movement that’s taking over the kitchens of the health conscious who want to avoid pesticideladen vegetables. But if growing your very own kitchen garden isn’t an option, check out the shelves at supermarkets that stock organically-grown, pesticide-free produce. A new brand that’s made an appearance in the city is VTP Earth Food that grows residue-free vegetables and fruits at its Malthan farm. Vegetables like the iceberg lettuce, zucchini, beans and broccoli are packaged without any human intervention which, they say, reduces chance of contamination until it reaches the consumer’s kitchen. The packaged produce doesn’t have any preservatives or synthetic food enhancers to increase its shelf life, thereby cutting down on the chemicals on your plate. It’s available at stores like Dorabjee and Food Plus. DETAILS theearthfood.com
VEGAN WAYS The Real Green Cafe
Wouldn’t it be perfect if you could eat cheese-laden pizzas without piling on the calories? At The Real Green Café, Pune’s foremost vegan café, founder Aishwarya Vishwanath serves burgers in whole wheat buns and air-fried patties, frankies are rolled in healthy glutenfree wholemeal rotis and cheese made of plant-based milks. “Plant based sources of food have zero cholesterol; we want to make people aware of the benefits of a vegan lifestyle," she says. So, she uses flax seeds as a replacer for eggs in her baked desserts which "help in binding and bringing puffiness to cakes" and make healthy milkshakes and coffees from almond milk. The cheeses on the pizzas and sandwiches are dairy-free and made of cashews and plant based milks. PRICE Rs 120 upwards
AT The Hub, Above Subway, Lane No. 6, North Main Road, Koregaon Park
A PINCH OF SALT Salt Cave Asia
Remember your grandmother’s remedy of salt water soaks to alleviate pain? Using research that salt is an effective anti-inflammatory healing substance, Dr Pradeep Waghmare, 30, has set up the first medical salt therapy centre in Pune. All you do is sit in a room made of purified salt sourced from Germany and breathe in salt-laden oxygenated air that is closely regulated to ensure the right dose. While experts say that it is an effective non-invasive treatment to cure persistent respiratory troubles like rhinitis, sinusitis and bronchitis and skin disorders, halotherapy, or salt treatment, is used even to boost immunity and general wellness. An hour in the salt room dimmed with a soothing blue light leaves you feeling refreshed thanks to the generous dose of pure oxygen in the room. The therapy, first developed in the UK, is believed to boost general wellbeing because of the anti microbial properties of pure salt. “Allopathy is most effective in emergencies but this works for a long term sustainable treatment for ENT, skin and respiratory troubles. A few sessions have made people get off the asthma inhaler; general visitors come for glowing clear skin,” says Waghmare. The therapy may take from five to up to 60 sessions. PRICE Rs 1,500 for a single session AT Opposite Lane 5, Koregaon Park.
FITNESS FIRST Body Power
BodyPower, the popular United Kingdom-based fitness brand that’s known for its spectacular expos that talk about everything to do with fitness and nutrition, came to Pune last month with a swanky new gym in Salunke Vihar. While the opening saw international fitness faces such as Hollywood actor and body builder Martyn Ford, calisthenics expert Jase Robinson and Matty Alwell, a world champion in body building, instructors at the BodyPower gym are trained to draw up individualised workout sessions to suit your needs. Every workout, they claim, is evidence-based. So, be it for body building, shedding calories or simply toning up, the trainers will give you a personalsied routine. AT 103/104, Girme Heights, Opp Green Acres, Salunke Vihar DETAILS bodypower.com
WORK AND PLAY Fitonautics at On 8 Inc
Staying Have fun as you shed extra calories with dance workouts that help increase your cardiovascular functioning and tone muscles. “The first thing that dance does is that it pumps happy hormones called endorphins that make you feel good and entirely relaxed after a class,” says Nupur Gandhekar, 27, a former journalist who partnered with software engineer Sagar Girme, 31, to start On 8 Inc, a dance and fitness studio in 2014. While all dance forms, from bachata to zumba, are effective workouts, On 8 Inc has a special programme called Fitonautics, designed to incorporate the workout regimes of professional dancers that ensure strength, flexibility, weight management and muscle conditioning. PRICE Starts at 1,600 AT 2A, 2nd floor, Sunshree Woods Commercial Complex, Next To RIMS School, NIBM Post Office Road DETAILS on8.in