Turn barbaric for fitness

MYSTERY GUEST

Our reporter goes undercover only to be impressed by a new gym chain.

"That is a swinging machine ma'am," said the personal trainer with much conviction. After killing the laugh threatening to burst out of my mouth, I asked him if he was actually referring to a "spin cycle"? "Yes, yes," he exclaimed with equal conviction.

Luckily, I've done a bit of spinning myself and am relatively well versed with the machine. So, when on closer inspection I realised the machine was broken, it was time to raise another eyebrow.

Round one: Trainer: "No, no, it's not broken. See, you put your foot here and then get on to the bike." Me: "I know that but show me how the knob works." Trainer: (Fiddling with the broken knob) "Yes, ma'am it is broken. It must have broken last evening."

Round one won!

I was checking out the Barbarian gym that's just opened in Delhi. The gym claims to have given those fab abs to some of our Hindi film stars. Fitness fanatics can be quite an obsessed lot.

For us, a trainer is like an art guru or like a music or dance teacher. We can come up with the weirdest demands. And so began round two "" after I had been patiently shown around the gym, I decided to try my luck with getting a fitness guarantee.

None of the fitness trainers have a degree or even a certificate that justifies their teachings and suggestions, I was informed. Which meant that I would be putting my health and fitness into grave danger by allowing them to recommend exercises and diets.

Could they guarantee complete health and fitness to me? A short denial-doused laugh was followed by the reasoning that even a certified trainer could not guarantee the same to me. How would I know if a certified trainer was teaching me all the right moves?

As the uncertified trainer and I continued our war of words and guarantee, I waited for him to lose his patience even as my voice got increasingly insistent and loud.

Alas! It was not to be. Like a true teacher he remained calm and respectful. By the time I finally walked out of the gym, it occurred to me that I might have lost round two, for, the thought of turning 'barbaric' suddenly seemed quite pleasant.

Score: 8/10 "" the broken spin cycle notwithstanding, good ambience won me over.