A fitness freak at a health club in Patna. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, June 30: The Eves have wrested yet another turf from clutches of the Adams.

Gyms in the state capital, which mainly used to be the domain of men till recently, have been taken over by women of all ages, courtesy to the growing consciousness about health and the craze of staying slim and trim.

The popularity of gyms has scaled such heights that women, be it students, homemakers or service-holders, now squeeze time out of their hectic daily schedule and troop in to gyms in droves for their daily dose of workout.

Gone are the days when gyms would be associated with youths and men sweating it out to develop muscles and brawn. Gyms in the state capital have now been taken over by the women who love working out at gyms, talking to neighbours and exchanging notes on ways to keep the flab away.

Women are as familiar with the wide array of fitness equipment such as the treadmill, twister, massager chair, morning walker, indoor-skipping, as they are with the different types of cosmetics and hair styles.

The demand for exercising has grown by such proportions that most fitness centres are furnished with all types of equipment to woo the clientele and command a good monthly fee between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.

Satish Kumar, the owner of Forum Health Club, said: “Our club has around 290 members among which 20-25 are women in the age bracket of 18-25. A special time slot of 9.30am to 1pm is slotted for them. One has to join for a minimum of five months at a monthly charge of Rs 500.”

He added: “We advise a balanced diet chart for weight loss. We suggest them to avoid oily food and rice. Sprouts, salad, bread and vegetables are recommended. Supplements such as Fat Cutter of Prolabs and Coch Formula help to lose the extra bulge fast. These supplements are available in form of tablets.”

Neelam Singh, a resident of Boring Road, said: “Exercise has made my body flexible. Now, I feel more energetic doing my work. My weight has not increased after I joined this club.”

Aasha Sinha, 40, another member, said: “I avoid spicy and oily food as much as I can. I joined this club three months back.”

Dr BPN Sinha, a dietician, said: “Our body needs different types of nutrients. Everyone must have a proper diet chart. A balanced diet contains a reasonable amount of food items comprising protein, minerals, calcium and iron. Apart from workouts, they must eat nutritious food also.”

Shobha Jaiswal, a trainer at Trim & Slim Centre, a women’s only gym on Boring Road, said: “Girls and women mostly turn up at our door wanting to look slim and gorgeous within a short period of time. So we lay emphasis on consumption of a limited amount of nutritious food rather than spicy ones. A workout of 45 minutes on a daily average is sufficient for a woman but at times, it tends to vary depending on specific cases.”

She added: “Our centre has around 60-70 clients and we stay open from 7am to 6pm. We have the latest fitness equipment at our centre.”

“We use the Crazy Massager to help loosen muscles, increase blood circulation in the body and cut down on fat, whereas Ruler is used for overall body toning. Cross Trainer is used for back and thigh exercises. Lympho machine is the most unique machine as it burns the calories by heating up the body without any type of workout. It is also called a slimming machine. And the most important feature of this equipment is that it has no side-effects. Lying on the bed, one has to roll his/her back with the belt to heat up the body in 20 minutes,” elaborated the trainer.

Lubna, a trainee at the gym, said: “Exercise has made my body more flexible and beautiful. I notice a significant change in my body structure after I joined the centre.”

Kanak, a homemaker residing in Patliputra, said: “After joining the Trim & Slim centre, I have lost 7-8kg by exercising for around two-and-a-half hours daily.”

The boom in demand for the fitness equipment has translated into brisk business for shop owners. “Yes, the demand for fitness equipment among girls and women has gone up,” said Surendra Chhabra, the proprietor of Chhabra Sports on Frazer Road.

He added: “Treadmill, gym ball, massager chair, cycling and skipping rope are mostly in demand. Excel is the leading brand for almost all fitness equipment.”