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Abhinav Ramnarayan

Chennai , Feb. 17

AN 11,000 sq ft area, a four-floor building, the ground floor devoted entirely for parking, a swimming pool and Jacuzzi — you'd be excused for thinking this a mall or a small hotel. However, this is what Fitness One's new centre in Kilpauk, an upmarket are in the city, will look like.

To be inaugurated in April, the fitness centre will include facilities for aerobics, yoga, a gymnasium, a sports academy and a jogging track, said Mr Vivek Anand, Managing Director, Fitness One India.

He said the centre's unique selling proposition is the sports academy. The academy will have testing and evaluation classrooms, wherein athletes can check their fitness levels, and a sports clinic.

These facilities will not only help athletes gain strength, quickness and agility, but will also assist them in injury management.

The testing and evaluation classrooms will test the various attributes of the athletes, and reports will be generated by computer software. "The academy will cater to all sports, from cricket to tennis to golf," said Mr Anand.

The in-house trainers include fitness consultants, personal trainers, a sports medicine consultant, a nutrition consultant, an aerobics instructor, a naturopath, a yoga expert, and a stress management and stress relief expert. "And we will also have people from outside, working with us on a consultancy basis - about 20 odd people from different fields such as orthopaedics, dentistry and psychology," he added.

Mr Anand said the ultimate aim was to make Fitness One the premier fitness centre in Asia, like what the MRF Pace Foundation in the city is to cricket, attracting fast bowlers from all over the world.

He said India was far behind the West in fitness. Fitness One will have sessions for children at around the age of 12, to encourage them to develop international-standard fitness levels from a young age.

Asked about the pricing, Mr Anand said the pricing mechanism had not yet been worked out. "This is a new concept, and there is a mindset against spending on fitness," he said. "But we have spoken to some corporates about sponsorship, and we do have special quotas," he added.

The fitness centre hopes to have 200-300 athletes working with them every year, said Mr Anand.

More Stories on : New Products & Services | Sports | Health | Tamil Nadu

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