What are the new fitness options in Coimbatore?

Functional fitness, martial arts or sound healing. A look at some of the fitness options that the city offers

“Fitness is not weight loss,” personal fitness trainer V Manokaran busts the myth as we enter his training studio, Mind Muscle Connection in Avaramaplayam. One you walk past the gleaming rows of kettle bells and dumbbells, what greets you is an array of customised fitness equipment built from scratch by Manokaran, who is a mechanical engineer. For example, he customised the Reverse Hyper Extension equipment by mimicking the design invented by Louie Simmons, American powerlifter and strength coach.

“The advantage of the equipment is that it uses pendulum movement, a traction motion where it decompresses the spine and strengthens it at the same time. Lower back pain reduces greatly and almost instantly,”explains the specialist in corrective exercise, ante natal and post natal pilates, and also a rehab specialist. Manokaran’s fitness journey started in 2010 when he took part in Mr Coimbatore and Mr Tamil Nadu shows. “When I realised that body building is not the right way to correct human mechanics, I enrolled for courses, took exams and secured my license before starting out as a personal trainer in 2014,” he says adding that weight loss has been commercialised in a big way and he aims to change that. “ Educating people that fitness is good health from the core is a good start. The objective is creating a healthy human being,” he explains as he demonstrates an innovative way of using the rope climbing equipment.

His studio is chock-o-block with fitness bands, customised sliders that he designed for strengthening ham string muscles in supine position, fitness straps, wooden blocks, innovative tools for squats, flex bars besides suspension trainer, glute ham developer, different kinds of bar bells (Olympic bar bells with Olympic bar plates), bulk grip bar bells, and aqua bag (used like sand bag, but is instead filled with water and air) to use water dynamics as resistance. “In functional training, these tools help strengthen every small muscle. I worked for four years to set these tools in place to give modern training that will help correct the human body. We have taken into account all the safety precautions. The CPR/AED certification for cardio pulmonary resuscitation is also in place. Everything counts.”

City Police Commissioner V Balakrishnan IPS who has been training with Manokaran for four months says a scientific explanation to every movement starting with the muscles involved, how the workout impacts another muscle etc makes a difference to one’s fitness journey. “He adopts a scientific approach to fitness with a thorough knowledge of body physiology, anatomy, muscle system and tendons. His awareness on interconnectivity helps one understand how a single action can affect the rest of the body. My knee pain subsided once I realised that it’s from wrong posture while doing squats and lunges. His focus is on strengthening the body through resistance exercise, improve mobility of limbs and flexibility of muscles. I am using most of the equipment at his gym for the first time,” he says adding that the thrust on body and mind connection also helps one to be aware.”

Manokaran says one’s fitness journey begins with strength assessment of seven primal movements of the human body — push, pull, squat, gait, hinge, lunge, twist — posture, structural integrity, flexibility, strength and weakness of muscles and joints, alignment, and deformity. “We calculate the imbalances. We mimick a person’s everyday activities to strengthen those moments. If you are in a sedentary posture at work for a prolonged period, we train you to refute the imbalances. We also adopt the myofascial slings to hydrate the myofascia that wraps 700 muscles in the body. We take into account your lifestyle, diet, sleep and wake up pattern, family health history, ergonomics of seating at work, in the car you drive, and also at sofas at home before recommending a routine. For any fitness goal, for example, if you want to take up any sport, body mechanics correction is the first step, otherwise it can lead to injuries. We correct the fundamentals and then push them towards their goal. Without the basics, everything collapses.”

Located at 135 A, Elango Nagar, Avarampalayam, from 6am to 8pm. To know more, call 9597455167 or visit @coach_manoharan on Instagram or the website http://mindmuscleconnection.in

Both exercise and rest play equally vital roles in maintaining overall health and fitness, yet they are often lumped together. While many prioritise the enjoyable aspects of fitness, such as workouts, the essential yet less exciting aspects like rest and recovery are sometimes overlooked.