It's raining, it's pouring and if you'd really rather be snoring, just like the much maligned bus conductor, I don't blame you. Pounding the tar for your daily walk or run, loses a lot of its Nike-soft-focus lustre when you're actually sludging through remnants of the 14 cms of rain that folks down near Vaitarna are celebrating. Staying fit isn't as much fun when you're trying to swim your mandatory 25 laps in a blinding deluge because the weather bureau didn't see Thursday's downpour coming till early Friday morning. Toning your muscles slips down the priority list when your gym is on the other side of the traffic jam that is as much a part of the wet season as the bhuttawala with his roasted corn-on-the-cob smeared with chilli powder and lime. As if fighting fat wasn't bad enough, now you have to take on the elements too!

So what's a girl to do to stay in shape in these oh-so-romantic but impossible-to-get-out-and-just-do-it monsoon months? When even the heavens seem to be conspiring against you (or so it would appear) battling your bulge? And especially when everyone around you is succumbing to the pleasures of garam chai and crisp, hot pakodas and tempting you to indulge too?

If you've come back home all drenched and despondent from yet another rained-out walk, take heart. Wipe yourself dry, by all means, but don't throw in the towel just yet. I've yet to meet a room I couldn't turn into a gym and here's how you can do the same. All you really need is enough space to move around in (say, 6 feet by 6 feet), some fast music and loads of determination.

Change into your exercise gear, all the way down to your shoes - this is really important to get you in the mood to burn calories - plug in your favourite CD and just start walking in place. That's it, just step in time to the music. In-home walking, as it's called here in America, is probably the easiest and cheapest way to get in your 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise each day without getting an eyelash wet. Even when it goes under the guise of 'marching on the spot', as my PT teacher Mr Hodiwalla used to call it, it's still as effective as the sleekly packaged Leslie Sansone 'Walk Away The Pounds' programme that sells for around $15 on the Internet.

Having done the one-mile, two-mile and three-mile walk with the equally sleekly packaged Ms Sansone, I can vouch for the efficacy of the workout. The only drawback: being constantly egged on by an ever-smiling, gung-ho Sansone to, that's right, "just keep walking!" Her one-mile walk comprises of four basic steps:

• Walk in place. Keep the arms pumping as you would if you were running, to add intensity to the workout and that's the power walk component.
• Side steps. Starting with the left foot, take one step away to your left, bring the right foot to meet it and then step back to the right. For a more intense variation, add a leg curl to the move instead of joining the feet.
• Kicks. Just raise one foot at a time and kick out in front, not too high so you don't overbalance.
• Knee lifts. Raise your knees up, bringing them to hip level, alternating between left and right.
• The first step - that is the marching in place - precedes and follows each of the other steps. There is no rule as to how many times you do any step, just make sure you get them all in. In this, as in any other exercise, posture is all-important. Make sure your back is straight, butt tucked in, chest out and shoulders back. Once you get the rhythm and pace right (you should be averaging a mile in about 14 minutes, which a pedometer can help you track), you can switch to watching TV and you'll be surprised at how fast the time goes by.

If you're an exercise junkie (confession: I am), the walking in place should more than make up for an outdoor jaunt. However, if you are part of the saner, larger chunk of humanity (90 per cent of the population sounds about right, though my husband insists it's closer to 99.98 per cent!), you're going to want something less monotonous. No problem there either. Take your shoes off and simply slide into dance mode. Don't worry if you have two left feet; remember, no one's watching!

The Latin dances (salsa, merengue, cha-cha), urban hip-hop, contemporary jazz, belly dancing…the list is limited only by your imagination. You could join a class or bring an e-teacher into the convenience of your living room. Having tried both-taking a belly dance class as well as following a DIY belly dance fitness instructional DVD-I would obviously give higher points to the class for intensity and accuracy.

At a calmer pace, though equally effective in keeping you fit and toned, opt for the yoga mat. Despite the seemingly hundreds of variations of yoga poses that abound, the most complete and beneficial one still remains the Surya Namaskar or Sun Salutation. A fluid series of poses, it works every part of your body to tone your muscles as well as your internal organs. Make sure you learn it correctly from a qualified teacher and adjust the pace and number of repetitions to suit your needs and requirements.

For those who absolutely, definitely, need to get out of the house, running up and down the stairs of your apartment complex provides an excellent aerobic alternative while helping sculpt your legs and butt. Beware of wet stairs, though, especially when the stairwell is exposed to the elements.

So don't let the weather be an excuse for packing on the pounds. Get up and get moving, even if it's to just walk to the window again and again to check if the rain's stopped. A study of 20 self-confessed couch potatoes (10 lean, 10 mildly obese) at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, USA, found that the lean people stood, paced, fidgeted and wriggled, while the obese sat an average 164 more minutes daily. Pace around the house while you talk on the phone, hide the TV remote and do 10 squats while brushing your teeth. Oh and please pass on the second round of bhajiyas; batter-fried spinach doesn't really count as a vegetable serving!