Our city is known for its cosmopolitan crowd going all out to mix a wee bit of fun into their fitness. Reaching new heights are eager fitness enthusiasts who are making a beeline to Bengaluru’s first indoor wall climbing and bouldering arena Equilibrium. And that’s not all, there are more such new places in the city. Another adventure and sports destination spread across 4 acres is PLaY which offers unconventional sports like archery, laser tag and over 30 different activities that helps boost that adrenaline rush and keeps you smiling.

Model Arry Dabas who shuttles between Mumbai, Bengaluru and other cities and is walking the ramp at the Lakme Fashion Week this month, shares, “I get bored of the same fitness routines and like to keep changing them to make it exciting.

I went wall climbing with a group of model friends and all of us had a blast. Some of them got hooked to it and try to go whenever they get time. One has to have a strong core and needs good stamina to do wall climbing. We went up and down the walls with support and were very comfortable as the place is safe. Once you do it for a stretch of 45 minutes with a break in between you feel completely energised.”

Agrees Roshan, another model, who shares how it is a physically and mentally demanding sport. He says, “It improves flexibility, endurance, coordination, balance and also helps burns calories. When you do it with friends with music playing, it’s good fun.”

Besides a fun spot, it’s also a training hotspot for national climbers from across India, who come here to train. Fitness enthusiast Keerthi Pais, the current wall climbing coach of the Indian national team says, “There are national level coaches who guide the trainees at various levels. So even if one falls, you land on specially-designed crash-pads. Also due to the fitness enthusiasts in the city scouting for new indoor locations to move their workouts from outdoor locations due to the monsoon, indoor climbing helps those who want to avoid roughing it out in the rains. But if you want the real thrill of feeling the raw edge of a rock you can try the outdoor climbing programmes once every month. But first, one needs to learn in an indoor environment and then go outdoors. I’m currently training a climbing national team in Badami.”

Another fitness simulator in our hip city is PLaY, where you can experience full swing golf simulators and a skating park with a zip line, climbing wall and segway track.

Thirty-year-old Sharath Reddy shares, “Besides fitness and fun, it’s also a great stress buster and weekend activity. One can even try gaming and flight simulators and shooting in a 10m shooting range. And if one wants to really live up the adventure, there’s dirt tracks and paintball.”

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Lifestyle> Health & Fitness / by Namita Gupta, DC / August 13th, 2013