Some more of ‘You say, I say…..’

“I want a personal trainer by my side to make me workout.”
- This one truly foxes me. What does one really mean when they say that? Do you want a ‘personal trainer’ standing by your side counting the reps, changing the weight, telling you (more often than not) from the top of his head what you should do when you walk in today and keep praising you about what a good job you are doing?

To me personal training is about being scientific, specific and specialized (yes, those terms do apply to exercising too).
Can this ‘personal trainer’ tell you how much you were able to run or bench press six months ago? Can he show you your graph of progress in your weight loss or strength goals? Does he have a specific plan with break-ups of cardio workouts, muscle groups, exercises, reps and weights that you have been working with; along with what you will be doing in the next few weeks? Is he able to correct and ensure good form along with precise, systematic lift and drop time in each rep you do?

I ask all this because at The Zone we do have such a precise, “intelligent” system that takes care of all the above and more. It’s called Fitlinxx. Oh, and by the way to achieve all this we do not need to ensure that you have a “personal trainer” constantly standing by your side, being more of an assistant rather than a professional and scientific fitness instructor.

And, if the above sounds somewhat strongly worded…well that’s the way I feel about it. Because I do feel the term ‘personal training’ is far too over-used, and most times definitely not in the right context!



“I love my Pilates workouts, they are so good and effective and I really don’t think I need to do any other exercise. Just doing Pilates is enough.”
- Hey, I love Pilates too; but that doesn’t mean I can get away with doing only that the entire week and still expect to achieve all my fitness goals!

Pilates is an excellent exercise system for a whole range of reasons but building cardiovascular strength and efficiency, and weight-loss are not amongst its main benefits. Pilates can take care of your toning, strength and flexibility needs but to cover the cardiovascular component of your workout plan you need to get in some cardio exercise.


“This is such a wonderful place to come to and workout, but why do you have all these rules for gym etiquette and membership plans?”
- Well the reason you find The Zone a wonderful studio that gives you your private and personal space to workout and enjoy is because of that very reason!

It’s those guidelines that do ensure you will not turn around to find someone breathing down your back, trying to edge you off that strength machine or someone jostling to get past you to get on the treadmill.

Talking about treadmills…..you’re requested to carry in your workout shoes separately because if you are going to get on to the treadmill wearing shoes you walked in with; you’re going to get a lot of dirt getting under the belt and also into the motor of the machine leading to unnecessary breakdowns. And lets face it we want to workout in a clean environment not one that’s got dirt and whatever else off the road all over the gym floor. Oh and by the way coming in a car doesn’t mean your shoes are clean!?

And if we ask for mobile phones to be kept off the gym floor it’s so that you and others are not subjected to constant intrusive rings and incessant chatter when you are working out. In any case, when you come to the studio isn’t that meant to be your time-out, just for you, to de-stress and energize yourself?