Monotonous one-hour workouts in the gym are passé. People are tiring of pumping weights and sweating it out on the treadmill. The most satisfying fitness routines, they are discovering, work the mind as well as the body. Verve frontlines five new-age power workouts taught in Mumbai which promise to do just that. From the ancient capoeira to the exotic belly dance and krav maga, from the wild zumba to the rigorous boot-camp regimen, getting a fabulously toned body has never been so easy. Lets get physical!

CAPOEIRA: grace under pressure
Tribal beats resonate through the small studio as Reza Massah sways from left to right, crouching, flexing and lunging towards his opponent. I understand what he means when he says, “A Capoerista has the coordination of a dancer, the endurance of a runner and the beat of a drummer.” Fast, yet graceful, controlled, yet free, Massah aka Baba and his pupil indulge in a game of acrobatic play, the rules of which have not really been altered since their creation by enslaved Africans, way back during the 16th century. Only recently has this ancient Afro-Brazilian discipline caught the attention of popular culture. New rules have been added into its structure to accommodate the great responses it has received, making it a sport that is still evolving.
Proclaiming his life’s mission to spread Capoeira across his homeland, Massah, a chef by profession, shut shop in Israel and returned to India fully equipped to teach this martial art dance. Starting with just three people, his class has grown to over 40 regular students in about a year. They come together at the day’s end to spar and sing to the beat of an unusual instrument called the berimbau. Setting the tempo of the game, Baba believes, music is an integral part of the routine.
That Capoeira sculpts your body to perfection is quite evident, but what is more important is that it alerts your mind, leaving you in a state of constant awareness of your surroundings. Very intense, Capoeira teaches you to read your opponent and anticipate his every move. Be it at his class in Khar, or a studio in Japan or Brazil, the principles are the same, making the sport a unique international language by itself. Minor injuries, like any athlete will tell you, are common, but they ultimately help you understand your body and know your limits.

KRAV MAGA: fight or flight
In Hebrew, it means contact combat. And this system of self-defence and hand-to-hand combat is the newest among all forms of martial arts. Developed in Israel in the 20th century, Krav Maga is based on human reflexes and is the official system used by the Israeli defence forces. “In fact most SWAT teams and paramilitary forces all across the globe use Krav Maga. What’s interesting is that the Japanese SWAT team trains in this form as opposed to karate,” says instructor Mehul Vora who holds classes at the Mehul Vora Extreme Martial Arts Studio at Vile Parle. And when you consider that you can lose up to 700 calories per session, it’s easy to see why this has become popular among civilians as well. In addition to losing weight, increasing stamina and gaining muscle, you learn how to protect yourself and others around you if necessary.
“We teach you how to deal with the ‘fight or flight’ syndrome. Essentially you need to know how to judge whether you should flee or stay and fight when faced with an attack. And if you have to fight, you need to know how to get the better of your opponent,” says Vora. The course is modified for civilians. For instance, how to use a gun and detonators is not part of the training. But various attack sequences – protecting yourself from mob and knife attacks, how to be safe during the day or night, learning to fight in places usually targeted by attackers like parking lots – are part of the course.