Devrath Vijay, Huzefa Talib and Kris Ebenezer quit their high-paying jobs to set up The Outfit ( >https://www.facebook.com/theoutfitbangalore ), a facility that believes in a holistic approach to fitness.
At The Outfit, where functional fitness is the core, the prescribed regimen includes training in strength (power lifting), endurance (metabolic conditioning/outdoor running), power (Olympic lifting), speed (outdoor sprinting), mobility (gymnastics) and flexibility (monitored stretching).
According to Huzefa, “Fitness has always been associated with bodybuilding targeting superficial muscular growth or cardio on the treadmill to lose those extra pounds. Sitting on a chest press machine and moving your arms in a single plane of motion is not going to help you, neither is spending hours on a treadmill or a cross-trainer. These machines are doing more work than the muscles that they claim to be working.”
Devrath adds: “The human body is designed to move and the functional movement patterns that we can perform are endless. This functional training concept is what we are trying to showcase and thus bring about a fitness revolution in the city.”
The boys understand the importance of coaching and certified trainers with excellent communication skills.
Introducing a new concept, hasn’t been easy but Huzefa says: “The fact that we share the same passion and love for fitness, definitely makes it easier. Making that initial decision to quit our well-paying jobs to start something by ourselves was the only initial hiccup but since then work has been enjoyably busy.”
That said, Kris points out: “Considering that our USP is our coaching, the main challenge is to maintain the quality even when we have multiple facilities in the city/country. Hiring, grooming, educating, and finally retaining coaches, is not an easy job.”
In the future, the trio plan to launch at least four functional fitness facilities in the city then move into Pune and Chennai.
This column features those who choose to veer off the beaten track.
