Mecca and Paradise

Mecca and Paradise

Fitness Down Under

Fitness First is not only the name of a fitness chain of gymnasiums in Oz, but also an Australian way of life. There is no gender bias in this matter and people of all ages, from all walks of life,  are into fitness or sports activities with religious fervour and it is widespread all over the place.

Right from an early age, the concept and practice of fitness and sports are ingrained into the child, by parents, who themselves are ardent and enthusiastic practitioners. Sports gear, gymnastic equipment, grounds and tracks and gymnasiums abound in plenty.

Call it whatever you may, but in this part of the world, fitness has been institutionalized. Fitness experts and trainers have a regular curriculum specified by the Australian Institute of Fitness (AIF).

  The AIF evaluates trainers according to laid down norms and certifies the trainer as being suitable  for different levels of training. The end requirement of the trainee is kept in mind, for eg. Is it for physical fitness or for body building or to play a particular sport. Here again there are different courses for cricketers, tennis players, cyclists, footballers and so on and the epitome of it all, to my mind is Rugby., which till date is still a male bastion. When you see a Rugby player, you might imagine that he has thighs where we all have arms and his legs are like sculptured pillars of monuments of  the Victorian era. They are indeed swift-footed mountains of athletic muscle

Lady trainer for a group- Chatswood Oval

Trainers are in good demand and some of them also enjoy celebrity status. The ripple effect has led to fitness having developed into an industry in its own right. Sports clothing and accessories, equipments, grounds and their maintenance, professional trainers, certifications. It is a holistic approach and is not a need thrust upon people as a marketing gimmick. People in groups and as individuals want it. In fact, in India, millions need it, but the driving want from within is seriously wanting.

Exercising at free public gym facility

For the average person, fitness exercises do not call for any capital investment, not even weights or membership to a gymnasium. The right shoes and clothing are a must. The rest of it has to come from within. Trainers  have different criteria to comply with for being certified for training individuals, families or a group of persons. If something goes wrong with the trainee and is traced to inadequacy in the training methods, the trainer is in for big trouble. There are men and women trainers and they could be training individuals of any gender and mixed groups. Appropriate certification is a must

Besides the early morning and evening jogging, exercising, cycling etc which is commonplace, there are many office goers who regularly jog, run or cycle for brief spells during their lunch hour. And mind you, lunch is generally a working lunch only.

Multiple exercising possible

It has been heartening to see that this wonderful aspect of Aussie life has rubbed on to most immigrants, be they Indian or Chinese. One can see the intensity of training effort in everyone's face and the Aussie never-say-die spirit manifests itself as competing to win all the time. This is where Australia becomes the Mecca for sports lovers, in terms of opportunities for practice of fitness and sports activities. I have come across two trainers one from each end of the spectrum of ages, here in Australia. One is Shiv, an Indian from TN, who is a certified trainer. He is conducting sessions for us and from the manner in which he explains the significance of each exercise, which he does himself for demonstration, vis-a-vis breathing, body muscles and the anatomy, one can gauge what the curriculum is like. The other person is a retired engineer, A Greek Aussie, who is a specialist in design and construction of swimming pools. At 72, he has won gold medals in triple jump and short sprints in International events. He too trains as a hobby and does it for free

Preethi about to bungy jump in New Zealand

New Zealand ! Ah! On the other hand, has everyone participating in such activities, in solo or in groups, more from enjoying the adrenaline pumping effort that from working to win. Boating cycling, swimming, kayaking, surfing, 

Radha in paragliding mode

Shanker paragliding

paragliding, skydiving, bungy-jumping, plain cross country running, all these are ingredients which make New Zee a thrill seekers' paradise

Rohita swings after bungy jump

And in both these countries, during the cooler climes, while other people are fighting the cold by tugging at their jackets over sweaters, these athletes of Australian and New Zealand origin sprint long and hard and have beads of perspiration dripping from their forehead and bare shoulders. I really envy them

This piece will not be complete without a mention of the other category of people in Australia, both Aussies and others of different ethnicity. Their state of physical presentation has regressed two vowels from fitness ( to fatness). Literally, the spread and number of the obese is sizable. With a bit of questioning I find that some of this is attributable to the Global Financial crisis (GFC). Most of them affected are the Polynesians, Samoans, Papua New Guineans, aborigines, Maoris etc.During the GFC, the business houses which made most money are the MacDonald's, KFCs and such food vendors. Reason: For less than 5 dollars, only these houses could provide a " Filling "meal (with fat and carbs). And that has stayed back within in an ever expanding mode. 

But a greater factor is genetic, arising from the diet of flour and sugar, reportedly given to the "Stolen Generations" of aborigines from 1869 to 1969, under the Protection law enacted by the Australian Governors during that era