Enjoyment guaranteed

Manpriya Singh

There’s a reason why bhangra has made its way pretty much to every gym in tricity. No, not just in terms of peppy background music, but as a form of workout. Thereby joining the likes of increasingly ever-popular dance-based workouts, zumba, bokwa…

“What is fitness anyway? For majority of the people exercise is something that helps lose weight, burn a few calories and a feel good factor. Bhangra not just scored high on all the benefits of a routine cardio workout but much more,” Deep Birla, bhangra coach, from The Dance Mafia, shares how a significant number of his students are people who left the gym because it got boring along the way.

Since the dance form is also categorized as one of the intense forms of aerobics, it also helps build stamina and endurance. As for calorie count, he adds, “One hour session of bhangra, if done properly, can easily burn up to even 800 calories and that’s quite a number and significantly higher than a session of low intensity aerobics. But that’s not where the advantages of following the dance-based workout stop.”

Bring on the common orthopaedic problems, along with lack of stamina, he says, “Barring a few steps, most of the people with lower back issues, or even cervical, can easily do bhangra. In fact, it is often recommended for fifty plus, who are losing agility and stamina. Since it’s the biggest stress-buster, it improves overall mental health and well-being, which is what holistic fitness is about anyway.”

Popular? Oh yes!

Thanks to the peppy beats, we have right from music to movies to dance moves dedicated to bhangra. While there’s no denying its popularity, there can be a little debating as to its biggest takers. Tough as it may be, he shares, the break-up of a typical bhangra class. “Children are really keen on it, people above the age of 50 in a bhangra class are again a common sight, but I’d say the biggest takers are those in the age group of 30 plus.”

Dos and don’ts

While salsa involves being in sync with the partner, bokwa making alphabets on the floor with footwork, bhangra surprisingly entails the most basic thing—giving into the beats and music. “You cannot do or even attempt a bhangra unless one is enjoying both the moves and the music. In fact, there are hardly any technicalities involved, like step count or foot work, all you are required to do is start enjoying the music,” he repeats the instruction he often finds himself dishing out to beginners in any batch. The moves, the fat loss and improved stamina will all follow.

manpriya@tribunemail.com