As difficult as it may be, picture this. A group of adults feverishly doing chin-up’s and squats, with fancy-looking weight equipment in the middle of the vivid playground at a nursery school (Yes, complete with multi-coloured slides, swing sets and merry-go-rounds). Say hello to The Quad, founded by the duo Raj Ganpath and Arvind Ashok, who are conducting the city's first professional fitness bootcamp. Over a period of 10 weeks, they are hoping to achieve overall good health for their clients through optimal training and by helping them eat real foods.
Raj and Arvind met at California, where both their fitness journeys began and got redefined, after having suffered unhealthy childhoods. “The training and diet methods here in India are completely flawed and out-of-touch with research. We figured we can make a difference and help people,” says Raj. It is about doing the minimum to get the most out of it; we are all not body builders and have day-jobs, we all want to put in smart-time to get the best out of it,” he says, explaining that their work-out patters keep changing each session and are tailor-made to suit the needs of their clients.
“We believe that fitness results from training in strength, speed, endurance mobility. Aesthetics will automatically follow and be a part of the results”, says Arvind. After weighing out the strengths and weaknesses of their clients in these areas, the duo comes up with a plan where at the end of the day, all of them are equally worked-out and feel good about themselves at the same level. “We also have one-on-one nutrition consulting with all the clients before they start out,” says Arvind.
Using non-conventional training methods such as sand bags, water-pipes, ropes, tires, and of course, swing sets, the clients are first made to understand and establish what their short-term and long-term goals are. “If you don’t know where you want to go, there is no real progress,” says Raj. The clients are then made to come up with their own diet plans, with a little tweaking from the coaches, before the workout sessions begin. “We want them to take responsibility for what they are doing and make them self-sufficient,” explains Arvind. As the 10-weeks progress, the clients are also made to track their own progress so that they know what they are heading toward.
“If you have the motivation and the drive, we will take the guess work out of getting fit and help you,” says Arvind, explaining that most of their clients have progressed in their own ways, despite having injuries and pains.
The next bootcamp will begin in January at two locations. The Quad can be contacted at 9884011213/ 9600096575.