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.

BELLY DANCING: hips don’t lie
Shakira may have popularised the graceful hip rolls and sensual pivots of this dance recently but belly dancing is an ancient dance form that goes back more than 2000 years. From the gypsies in Rajasthan to the tribal childbirth rituals in the deserts of Morocco, where pelvic and belly rolls help during labour, this exotic dance style comprises several schools of thought and traditions and has various connotations in different countries. In Lebanon it’s used more as entertainment, where they focus on the commercial aspect of the dance while in Egypt, it has a more sacred focus, where it is the custom for a bride and groom to hire a belly dancer for their wedding, and to take a photograph with their hands on her stomach alluding to ancient fertility rites.
“Indian women are made for belly dancing. They have the waists and hips for it,” says Veronica Simas de Souza, who has been dancing since she was five and now hold classes at Zenzi at Bandra and the Arts in Motion Dance Studio at Sion. After learning about the history and origin of belly dancing, you start working on three main areas, the chest, the belly and the hips. “The challenge here is to learn how to control your movements. In the beginning, I teach my students how to move one body part at a time- for example, moving just one side of their hips while keeping the rest of the body absolutely still. After they have mastered this, we move on to the dance aspect,” she smiles. The benefits are plenty. From being a great stress reliever to toning and strengthening your abs, hips, arms, burning tons of calories, all that shimmy-shaking can leave you with a wonderfully toned body.

ZUMBA: into the Groove
What do you get when you take a bit of salsa, reggaeton, flamenco, hip hop and samba and give it a nice mix? You get an energetic, fun workout that combines interval and resistance training which ensures a complete body workout. One that is especially good for the legs, the hips and the abs. Zumba is a fusion of Latin and international dance steps put together in an aerobic workout that fluctuates between high and low-intensity moves accompanied by peppy Latin American music. “Anyone can take this class as the moves are simple. There are no high-impact steps but yes, it does help if you have a good sense of rhythm and beat. This will help you pick up the steps fast,” says Shalini Bhargava, owner of the JG’S Fitness centre, Santa Cruz.. In addition to increasing your stamina and toning your body, it’s a great stress reliever and you can lose 500 calories in an hour. “Also, I make sure the exercises are individualised for each student and we have people from ages eight to 60 coming for the class,” Bhargava says. “The fun aspect is what draws people to this dance form. It’s not a monotonous routine but an exhilarating one.”

BOOT-CAMP TRAINING: eyes right!
Every new recruit knows that rigorous programmes, hectic schedules and challenging exercises that test limits to the hilt are part of army training. But what started as hardcore military training has now become one of the most popular forms of exercise in recent times. There are modifications, of course. With no torture rituals and less stressful routines, this exercise style is perfect for those looking for an intense yet simple workout, where you don’t have to deal with any complicated choreography or moves. Though like in the army, you can’t escape a sergeant-like trainer yelling out instructions at the top of her voice. “I lose my voice whenever I take a boot-camp class,” laughs Shalini Bhargava.
Continuous movement is the most important aspect of this class- you are simply not given time to relax between exercises. So you switch from doing push-ups to jumping over hurdles, lifting weights, doing lunges, squats, crunches or jogging, all within a span of a few minutes, even seconds. All this is accompanied by fast energetic music to help you stay pumped. Often the class is divided into teams that then compete with each other to see who can finish the exercises in record time. “This work-out is very intense so you burn up to 400 calories per session. Plus, you work every single part of your body. It’s perfect for people who want to feel sweaty and tired after a great session and be assured they’ve had a strenuous workout,” sums up Bhargava.