Bhubaneswar, Nov. 3: For most fitness freaks in town, the dream now is to do a Shah Rukh Khan. His latest eight pack abs in the film Happy New Year has become a rage.

Cashing in on the demand, high-end fitness centres are making brisk business promising celebrity-like abs and hourglass figures. From expert advise to personalised supervision, they are offering a whole range of services, including gym, spa, yoga, aerobics and health counselling.

“After Happy New Year released, six clients dropped in to ask if we could give them the eight pack abs that Shah Rukh Khan flaunted in the movie,” said gym manager Asish Rout of the Bhubaneswar Health Club, a high-end fitness centre at Patia.

“It’s our job to help people attain whatever they wish for, but very often they fail to stick to the exercise regime and diet chart. This causes a lot of problem,” said Rout.

The swanky interior of this 10-month-old gym also scores over the otherwise overcrowded centres struggling for space.

However, there are others, too, who hit the gym just to stay fit.

“Earlier I used to run and jog early in the morning, but then there were days when I just didn’t feel like leaving the bed. However, now, when I have enrolled myself in a gym, I think about how much money I’d waste if I miss a session,” said 30-year-old Dinesh Mahapatra.

“Most of the youth in my age group love to work out everyday, but Bhubaneswar is yet to have the right number of health clubs at the right locations,” said Anurag Singh, another regular gym goer.

At least six sophisticated health clubs have come up in the city in the past four years and are doing good business.

On an average, gym membership in the city generally ranges from Rs 1,100 per month for students to Rs 1,300 for adults.

“There are all kinds of gyms or fitness centres in the city. However, with more options in hand, people nowadays prefer to go to a swanky gym rather than an old ramshackle centre which doesn’t have enough space to accommodate the members. People are ready to pay more to go to an air-conditioned unit that has the latest equipment, maintains hygiene and cleanliness,” said Rout.

At Bhubaneswar Health Club, 25 per cent of the clients are students, 25 per cent homemakers, 20 per cent IT professionals and 15 per cent doctors.

“Most doctors are health conscious. They are not only more disciplined and regular, but religiously follow the prescribed workout regime and stick to the diet,” said Rout.

However, not all of the clients are regular. “There are many who pay up but stop coming after four or five days. Either they do not have time or they are too lazy to wake up early in the morning,” said gym manager Sudeep Mallik.

“We try to persuade them to continue, but some are very irregular. Again there are people who wish to own a six pack abs, but hardly stick to the diet plan,” said he Mallik.

While men prefer exercise using equipment, women prefer aerobics. And those above 35 years like yoga.

Demand for personal trainers is also on a rise. People prefer having a dedicated personal trainer. Despite being a costly affair, many clients are opting for a personal guide, said Mallick.

Talwalkers, another popular gym, which started in 2010, at Saheed Nagar boasts of having high-end clients, including politicians, businessmen and celebrities.

“Ollywood actor Sabya-sachi, actor-turned politician Akash Dash, businessmen Sunjoy Hans and the family of senior politician K.V. Singh Deo are our members,” said Dildar Khan, owner of the Bhubaneswar wing of Talwalkers.

“It’s a good thing that the number of health conscious individuals are growing. Even four years ago, the number of clients in our organisation was not more than 50. Now, it has reached around 400,” said Khan.

“However, even this is barely five per cent of the total crowd. A lot of awareness is still required,” he said.

Modern fitness centres have a wide range of sophisticated machines such as abductor and adductor, cable crossover, multi hip, abdominal and back extension, lateral rise and glute machines in single and dual exercise stations as well as spa and cardio fitness equipment.

“These are all modern machines that help people exercise in a better way,” said Khan of Talwalkers.

However, managing an ultra modern gym in a city like Bhubaneswar also has a lot of problem.

Khan said that in Bhuba-neswar, a good gym would require an investment of Rs 1-5 crore depending upon the space and equipment it has. Moreover, there is an acute shortage of professional trainers, especially women. Repairing equipment is yet another problem since finding trained mechanic is a daunting task. Finding the right location and getting bank loans are also huge problems. Banks are often reluctant to finance such ventures.

Despite the hurdles, the existing health centres are doing decent business. At least five major health club chains are conducting market study to set up centres in Bhubaneswar. These include brands such as Gold Gym, Snap Fitness, Fitness one and Cross Fit.