KOCHI: With her one-year-old venture, Zwagg Fitness Studio, trainer Poornima Viswanathan has proved fitness and fun can indeed go hand in hand. Her sessions are tailor made for those who are averse to the monotony of gym workouts
If there is one change the fitness industry has witnessed over the past couple of years, it is that workouts have grown beyond gyms, treadmills and benches. Man-to-machine relationship is no more in vogue and Poornima Viswanathan is one of the few in Kochi who seem to have realised that. Naturally, in Zwagg Fitness Studio, her one-year-old venture, fitness and fun go hand in hand.Armed with her deep understanding and rich experience, this coach is reinventing fitness among Kochiites with her fun and intense group fitness sessions.
But, Poornima says the change she tried to bring in is against compartmentalising workouts. “There is absolutely no need to isolate yoga from aerobics, the same way Zumba from the gym. Why not bring all under the same roof? To be physically fit, all you need is some cardiovascular activities, strengthening and flexibility. This is the core idea of Zwagg Fitness Studio,” says Poornima.
The start
She has always been an active person, but a career in fitness came only after six years of corporate life. Says Poornima, “That was my initial plan when I relocated to Kochi. But, one day I happened to walk into a Zumba studio and was immediately impressed. Four months later, I was thinking about making a career out of it. Since I became a licenced instructed in 2013, I met thousands of people and realised that many had issues starting over their fitness. That’s when I thought of the fitness studio,” says Poornima on being an entrepreneurship. Today, she aggressively promotes Zumba as a fitness programme in schools, colleges and in corporates.
Group dynamics
Poornima believes working in a group does wonders. She attributes that to the popularity of Zumba. “Handling various groups at corporates, gyms and fitness studios gave me an understanding of how important and advantageous it is to workout consistently in a group. It creates a sense of community wherein friends motivate each other to hit the fitness centre which provides a good mix of fun and intense workouts.” Rightfully, Zwagg’s success over the last year proves that her ideas were right on point.
Today, Zwagg Fitness Studio might well be one of the few in the state which offers a revolutionary combination of workouts including weight training and bodyweight training, dance cardio, pilates and mobility drills. The mix, she believes, will get rid of monotony.“There needs to be the right balance of all kind of the workouts to remain physically fit. Its human to feel bored with one type of activity even if that promises all the physical fitness. We also do outdoor activities to keep up the momentum. We have completed group cycling, beach boot camp, football and outdoor training,” says Poornima. Zwagg also provides online sessions.
When to start?
According to Poornima, the best way to start physical fitness activity is to join a group fitness programme. “Man is a social animal and will surely realise working out in a group helps sustain for a longer period. Once people understand that being ‘physically fit’ is the primary step to holistic wellness, their fitness journey begin. Then it’s all about believing in the process of eating clean, sleeping right and prioritising your mental health,” she adds.