Physique transformation
Helna Apte is a nutritionist and physique transformation coach. Helna said, “People come to me with all kinds of requests. Some want a six pack, others want to work on their legs or their shoulders. But you cannot gain a six pack by just working out, you have to be on a certain diet. Nutrition is very important.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
People who are very lean come to me saying they want to bulk up. That requires a certain kind of diet. It also requires a lot of discipline. It is very hard work.”
Women, she said, wanted to tone up and
many women had problems like diabetes which they needed to manage. She helped them lose weight while men wanted to build muscles. The number she said was increasing every year and now she had around 45-50 clients every month either online or in a personal training session.
Aerial Yoga
A trend that has caught on in the State and is growing in popularity is Aerial Yoga. It is a form of yoga that utilizes a hammock or sling suspended from the ceiling to perform traditional yoga poses, Pilates, and dance movements, enhancing flexibility, strength, and a sense of weightlessness. Vera Aavikko, a Finnish national based in Goa for several years, is an exponent of aerial yoga. Her interest in yoga started in Finland and then went up a notch when she shifted to Goa. She did her training course during Covid in Goa and over a period of time things fell into place and she started teaching. Veera said, “The interest and the understanding is increasing. Earlier, awareness spread through word of mouth but now people are aware and search online and come over.
People know that it exists. I don’t use the word yoga. Many of the poses are from yoga. We also have circus moves and acrobatic moves. We are about mobility, stretching and strength.” With the exception of Friday, classes are conducted for an hour every day. On weekends, however, it will last an hour and a half. The classes were usually mixed with both sexes. She said majority of her students were women. Her youngest student was a 7 year old
and the oldest was 50 years old.
She said we wanted people to get inspired and not compare and get competitive. Veera said that there was a maximum of ten people who did aerial yoga in Goa.
Animal Flow
One of the more interesting trends in Goa is the growing popularity of Animal Flow. It is a quadruped movement training which improves one’s mobility, strength and coordination. It is a ground-based movement and there are travelling forms and postures which mimic animal movement. For anyone who practices Animal Flow, they will see improvement in their joint mobility, push based strength, and coordination as it is very Dynamic and primal.
Princy Mehta is the first certified animal flow instructor in the State. She was certified in 2019. She said over a period of time the message of animal flow is picking up in Goa and there are now over 100 people who would join her every Saturday at the
Miramar beach.
Numbers she said were on the rise and this community was made up of all Goans only. It was done on the sand because it gives resistance and it is really great on the joints. The session would last an hour and the person would not have to bring anything extra like a mat or shoes.
Pilates
Anisha Singh who runs Pilates studios in the State said it was getting popular due to the participation of celebrities. It was popular in metro cities in Goa. She started in 2018 when very few people knew about it in Goa. Anisha said, “I had to explain it then but now it is different. They know about it. The foreigners who come to us used to do it in their country. They come here to continue their fitness routine. Pilates is great for strength and general fitness. We have locals and settlers who come to us. In our studio in Taleigao locals are present, in Parra it is all foreigners and in Kadamba it is a mixed crowd.” Her youngest student is 17 years old and her oldest is 88. It is a full body workout over 55 minutes. She said one sweats and cleans out the system. It was intense and impactful and was ideal for the busy corporate executive.
Mixed Martial arts
Suresh Madkodli offers mixed martial arts which is growing popular in Goa and the rest of the country. Suresh said, “Some people don’t want to go to the gym to work out. They prefer activities like kickboxing. Then there are those who are overweight and they do these activities to lose fat.” When asked who came for his classes, he said there were a lot of advocates, doctors and other professionals. He has been conducting these classes for over 15 years in Panjim. He said some people wanted to get fit and they would be offered cross fit training and others wanted to get strong and kickboxing would be offered. Suresh said they had around 30 students in every batch and the numbers were increasing continuously. Each session was an hour long and was conducted with great enthusiasm.
When it comes to fitness, innovation is the name of the game and people not only want to get the best results but also want to enjoy the process.
