“I can climb this,” I scoffed, looking at a 10-feet tall metal slab in front of me, pockmarked by multicoloured holds. FitRock’s rock climbing session, one of the many at the Live Fit festival, seems a tad underwhelming. However in about 60 minutes, I would eat my words.
The two-day festival, organised by FitKits Gym at their new location in Adyar, had an array of fitness workshops to choose from: rock climbing, bodybuilding, animal flow, kickboxing, barbell and kettlebell training, HIIT, jiu jitsu, silambam, qigong and even dance.
As far as festivals go, this one was more linear than many others, with the organisers making the most of the limited space, and having participants choose which workshops they’d like to attend — a maximum of two were conducted at the same time.
Participant Rohini Manohar however, is impressed with the diverse set of workouts being offered. In between pants — after completing a handstand exercise — she remarked, “This is the first time I’ve attended an event where multiple skills are being taught, such as qigong, jiu jitsu, and a bit of yoga. It is a marriage of Chinese, Japanese and Indian arts. You could call it a ‘buffet of fitness’.”
Take your pick
“This is called bouldering. It’s climbing on a smaller scale, and on artificial walls. What I’m doing here is keeping my arms straight and my hips close to the wall,” said Sidharth Prasad from Team Fitrock as he swung from one of the holds on the metal wall. Leader of the rock climbing session on Day 1, he explained positions that would prevent the climber from tiring out.
“It’s a misconception that rock climbing depends heavily on upper body strength. To be efficient, you have to use your lower body and core just as much,” he informed the group of 20-odd participants. He went on to explain the different types of holds such as: pinches, crimps, jugs, underclings and climbs including dynamic and heel lock.
Soon after, in the arena next to the bouldering wall, an HIIT session had begun. Organiser and trainer Shivani Bajaj led the workout, spurring participants on with drill-master barks of encouragement, as they shifted from lunges, squats, and kicks, to moving sideways on planks like crabs. The venue — the terrace of the gym — overlooking the Adyar flyover on one side and untamed wilderness on the other, was windy enough to not feel sweaty.
If Day 1 was about sculpting the body, Day 2 was about headstands, nutrition and silambam .
“It’s all about learning to pick yourself up.” As Alfred once motivated Batman, so did Shivraj Kumar, at the handstand workshop during the fag end of the festival. A yoga teacher by profession, Shivraj doubles up as a trainer at Fitkits Gym.
According to Shivraj, handstands are a combination of arm balancing and inversions (an ‘inversion’ refers to the position where one’s hips are above one’s head).
“Every handstand is a journey,” said Shivraj, explaining that he tries his best to ease his students into their handstand, without hurrying them to chase perfection. “It’s all about inward correction and learning to tackle challenges.” Shivraj’s handstand workshop also invoked yogic asanas. “Yoga helps you engage more with yourself. Handstands, much like meditation, involve a lot of mental effort.”
In order to make the festival more holistic, a session on nutrition, led by Minacshi Pettukola was also held. She provided an extensive overview of healthy eating and talked about keto diets, negative calorie foods, whey proteins and the famed ABC (Apple Beetroot Carrot) detox.
The festival ended with a session on Obstacle Course Racing. Shivani emphasised that Fitkits Gym has always believed in the power of movement. “Our objective was to teach others what cannot be learnt at a mainstream gym,” explained Shivani. “We chose events that could cater to a diverse set of people across age groups. You pick up whichever skill you prefer.”
Whatever gets you moving.
