Arnold Schwarzenegger: Fitness regimen

This summer, pump iron like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Walk into a cardio theatre fit for Sylvester Stallone. Do your strength/resistance training the way Wesley Snipes goes about it. Or wade into a spinning routine a la Janet Jackson?

Gold?s Gym, which kicked off its serious fitness regimen in Venice (California) way back in 1965 and is now the ?world?s largest chain of gyms?, with 650-plus facilities and 2.5 million members, is coming to Calcutta, after Mumbai and Chennai.

The ?Mecca of Bodybuilding? and the hotbed for development of training techniques, equipment and nutritional concepts, that formed the foundation of the modern fitness revolution, is setting up shop at 57, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, near the Exide crossing. The 8,000-sq-ft facility will open its doors in the first week of May.

?We are targeting the youth, professionals and people with a yen for serious fitness with our customised packages internationally benchmarked at the Gold?s Gym headquarters. Even our back-office software is coming from California,? says Divya Himatsingka, director, Ideal Gymnasium Pvt Ltd, a licensee of Gold?s Gym Franchising Inc.

Gold?s, first made famous in the 1977 motion picture Pumping Iron starring Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno, now has half of Hollywood swearing by its basket of exercise options. Bollywood ? in the shape of Sunjay Dutt and Salman Khan, John Abraham and Bipasha Basu ? too is hooked on to the state-of-the-art circuits and cardiovascular equipment, free weights and cutting-edge group classes in spinning, aerobics and kick-boxing.

Pre-sale of membership schemes starts on April 10, when the gym embarks on a vigorous sales-and-marketing initiative. ?As is the international norm for Gold?s Gym, we will arrange for a virtual walk-through for all potential members,? says Himatsingka.

Fitness consultants trained under the rigorous roster drawn up in Venice (California) and committed to the chain?s focus on results, will assess and prescribe exercise routines.

The management promises to keep membership rates and walk-ins ?affordable to even a Class XI student? through a clutch of aggressive schemes.

No matter what the body goal is, be it to burn fat, tone or add muscle, build strength, increase flexibility or improve cardiovascular health, Gold?s Gym, the ?strongest network in the $13-billion fitness industry?, will address it, promises the management.

?All employees of Gold?s are trained according to international standards and hence, have a very scientific approach,? says Himatsingka.

Every year, Gold?s Gym franchisees from around the world attend a convention in Las Vegas to interact and exchange ideas.

An international Gold?s Gym university in California regularly updates technology and passes it on to the franchisees.