No excuses now: Top hacks to go from lazy to fitness crazy

It’s exactly how gyms snare us. Signing-up is most expensive in January, when resolutions are still fresh. Annual plans are cheaper than monthly fees. But the average Indian works out only 4-6 times a month as against the global average of 12-18 times, says a 2021 study by Fitternity. It means that he or she invariably ends up overpaying or under-utilising the service. Pick short-term plans even if they appear more expensive. Start with a pay-per-use option across a variety of sessions if that’s offered. “Hefty gym fees are a total waste if you’re only going to go as New Year’s Eve approaches,” says Goa-based yoga instructor Varuna Shunglu.

Or you’ll run out of enthusiasm, says Sohrab Khushrushahi, a Mumbai-based lawyer-turned-fitness coach, who has trained actors Alia Bhatt and Kiara Advani. “Don’t begin by working out an hour a day, seven days a week,” he says. “Start with 15 to 20 minutes a day, maybe three or four times a week.” Don’t set goals immediately, either. Focus on what feels comfortable, what comes naturally to the body. “Once you start loving the process and what it’s doing to you, build that up to 30 minutes a day,” he suggests.

It sounds counterproductive, but it’s more effective. Long-term fitness isn’t about scaling it up, it’s about doing the same things over and over so that the body stops thinking of it as exercise. Shunglu says that small habits, which trick the brain into exercising more regularly are better than grand motivations. “Those weights and resistance bands inside your cupboard? Keep them out in the open so you use them more often than if they were out of sight.”

Dudes grunting at the weight machines. Women sweating on the treadmills. Gyms tend to look like places where a villain might prep before a showdown against Batman. It puts off newbies. So, find a friendly alternative to start with. “Dance gets people to want to work out, without making them feel like they’re exercising,” says Vijaya Aswani, a Bengaluru-based dance instructor. The big trend in the city at the moment: Punjabi music. “It does get us more students,” she admits. Life is overwhelming enough, she says. A fitness routine does not have to be.

Why else does everyone make their workout Reels public? Before and After pics are a great way to get started and keep going. Rope in friends and family to applaud your consistency (even before progress kicks in). Ready the gym bag or home workout zone the night before, so there’s one less hurdle to cross the next day. Wear sneakers more often, so that walking unplanned extra steps is easier. Save a new Spotify playlist for the next workout, so there’s a fun reason to keep at it. Sign up with a friend, if that’s what boosts motivation.

It’s not to build abs in 30 days and ignore exercising immediately the day after. It’s about fitness becoming such a part of life that it doesn’t feel like a chore and the body craves the activity too. Kolkata-based market researcher Sourya Chakraborty, 26, has been playing competitive sports since he was seven years old and has never seen fitness as separate from his life. He trains twice a day, six times a week. “Going off track with your diet for a day or two at times,” then, doesn’t come with pangs of guilt or anxiety. The idea of a fit life alone is enough to get the body and mind to jump back into workout mode.