'A' for ...

... and if you answered 'Apple', you won't be too far off the mark, functionally speaking. Don't get it? Well, read on ...

Since the beginning of 2007, the first letter of the English alphabet has changed from being 'A' for 'Apple' to being 'A' for 'AEROBICS' to me. It was Sam who dragged a very unwilling me to the aerobics classes at IISc in mid-January one day, and I haven't stopped since. I'm enjoying every moment of it and have only Sam to thank for it :)

For the first 4 months, it was only 'Dance Aerobics', the more enjoyable form of aerobics. We danced to songs from the latest Bollywood pot boilers as well as to English Pop n Hip Hop, with equal aplomb. To add the regional flavour, we had Kannada, Telugu and Tamil songs, and of course, the evergreen Punjabi Bhangra. For a hint of sepia with a modern touch, we even had the remixed versions of old Hindi songs. And boy, did we dance like mad! I was even happier 'cause I suddenly discovered that although no Aishwarya Rai or Bipasha Basu with the matka-jhatkas, I could still do a decent job inspite of my two left feet :)

It was a grand day for us all when the IISc Aerobics Club celebrated its centenary. We had a '100 Days' celebration (although the club was much older than that) by inviting none other than Radio City RJ Vasanthi Hariprakash as our guest of honour. Vasanthi is a fitness freak and has hosted several fitness-related talk shows on the radio. She seemed quite impressed with our Aerobics hall, complete with wooden flooring and huge Saint Gobain mirrors on the walls, nothing less than a professional studio! (She was also pretty much impressed with the T-shirts we had designed specially for the occasion). Due credit must go to our aerobics convenors then, Shantha Parthan and Celia Fernandes, for running around and getting things done.

Happy Times: IISc Aerobics Committee before the Great Divide

And so, all was hunky-dory or so it seemed...until ... the instructor asked for a salary hike... With us, IISc students tiding over each month with our meagerly stipend, that was simply unaffordable and unfeasible. There was a great divide among the committee members over this issue, and shortly after the 100 days celebration, which acted as an ill omen, classes ground to a halt. But not for long...

With the untiring efforts of the present co-convenor Sudarshan Iyengar, ably supported in his efforts by present convenor Sameera P, and other equally responsible committee members Shriprakash B and Adarsha Rao, classes began in less than 15 days after they stopped. The chief aim of this group was, and still is, to provide IIScians with an aerobics facility that is second to none; which is on par with those that are professionally run. Sudarshan invested a lot of his time (and money!) calling up and meeting qualified aerobics instructors in Bangalore. The aerobics committee arranged for 'Demo sessions', wherein all past and present members of the aerobics club were invited to attend a class by prospective instructors, question them on various aspects of aerobics and then give the committee their feedback as to which instructor was better. The new instructor was to be the one whose workout session was liked by most students, was found to be scientifically sound and of course, one who agreed to the salary that we could afford to pay without us feeling the pinch on our pockets. It was a decision that all aerobics enthusiasts at IISc would take collectively, and was not to be the diktat of a chosen few, to be followed by all others unquestioningly. But one thing was clear - We would settle for nothing but THE BEST. And by the grace of God and of course the unceasing efforts of the Aerobics Committee, we have found one such instructor.

At first sight, Dr. Swamy does not look one bit like an aerobics instructor - no flashy clothes, no swaggering walk, no prominent body piercings, no 'airs', nothing at all. He has this totally unassuming personality, with a firmly set but forever smiling face and looks every bit of what he really is - a Martial Arts expert, a 6th degree Black belt, in not one, but three different schools of karate, ji jitsu n I-forget-what! He even fights with Samurai swords n daggers! Whoha! or should it be Hie Ya!

Besides that, Dr. Swamy is a certified aerobics trainer and is the proprietor of 'Authentic Xpressions', the most popular and expensive gymnasium and fitness centre in Bangalore. To boot, he is a qualified medical practioner who specializes in sports medicine. He has trained several famous sportspersons in and around Bangalore, and takes an active interest in designing ergonomically right sports equipment. It's almost too good to be true to have him teach us at the IISc Aerobics Club! We posed him the question that was upmost in our mind, "Why did you choose to teach us at IISc, when you could have earned oodles of money in those 2 hours training people outside?" Guess what he had to say... "I'm an academician by passion. It feels good to train you bright young minds and help you develop not only physically, but also mentally." Quite flattering, coming from the general Secretary of the Basaveswara Educational Trust, whose dream it is to open a school where education would not only include bookish knowledge, but lay equal emphasis on music and sports as well.

So, a weekly schedule of the workout, under the able eye of Dr.Swamy, runs as follows: Mondays: Dance aerobics & Ab workout Tuesdays: Circuit & weight training (Dumbells) Wednesdays: Cardio Kick-boxing Thursdays: Circuit & weight training (Dumbells) Fridays: Step aerobics All this is of course peppered with a generous dose of Pilates, Stretches, Power Yoga and not to forget Endurance Training - the Push-Ups! (these are my favourites btw - I aim to get them right, all 150 different types ;)).

They say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll let this poster designed by Sameera do all the talking...

But the best part (what I personally like about these workout sessions) is the amazing way in which our new instructor handles the classes. He is ever-smiling and makes us smile too, by cracking PJs that no one understands, but everyone laughs at none-the-less :) His high energy levels throughout class inspire one and all to keep going right till the end, till 'the globe is held' and the class is formally done for the day. It's nice to feel the 'pleasure' in our muscles as they 'work', (I've stopped calling it 'pain', again on Doc's orders :) Besides, its not really 'pain', never felt any pain yet, its just the stretch in the muscles). Gives one a real high, and a great sense of satisfaction too.

Besides all the exercising, Dr.Swamy plans to give regular talks on 'Eating Right' and 'Exercise for Researchers', which the aerobics committee plans to keep open for all IISc students and faculty, not just members of the aerobics club. Plans are on to have seminars on 'Striking a balance between body and mind'... as Dr. Swamy is prone to say, and we all agree wholeheartedly, "It's all in the mind" :)

No wonder then, with such an excellent fitness programme, registrations in the past month crossed 75! It had never been more than 55 previously. This month, the number has been fixed at 25 students per batch so that all members can have a comfortable and spacious workout area in the hall. But with requests for registrations still flooding in, not only from within campus, but also without (NCBS, JNC), the Committee might have to start at least 2 more batches, in addition to the existing 2!

With the money earned, the Committee now plans to buy and provide all members with good quality dumbells, exercise mats, medicine balls ans steps. Plans are on to have a rubber padding under the wooden floor to give that extra cushioning effect for a high intensity workout like aerobics. With the tireless efforts of the IISc Aerobics Committee, all these will soon see the light of day... the dumbells already have! :)

So, that's the story of Aerobics @ IISc till date. I wish the IISc Aerobics Committee all the very best for all their future endeavours. U Guys Absolutely Rock !!! :)))

And coming back to where I began... I say 'A' for 'Apple' and 'A' for 'Aerobics' functionally imply the same thing 'cause - both keep the Doctor away! Dr. Swamy is an exception though, and we sure hope he isn't going away anywhere in a hurry :)

Happy Exercising! Enjoy the Workouts! :)