Embrace fitness like ‘desi pehlwans’

The traditional workout at Mudgar Akhada includes yoga asanas, dands, baithaks, samptola, sapatey, mudgar, gada workouts and many more.

Hyderabad: Looking for new exercise equipment to start your fitness journey? How about working out like homegrown pehlwans do, with traditional fitness gear like mudgar, gada and samptola?

Fitness trainer Balveer Singh of Mudgar Akhada, who runs a desi fitness centre out of his home in Dhoolpet specialises in traditional workouts, swears by the advantages of desi exercise equipment, in developing core strength and even muscles.

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“Desi workout directly affects one’s core strength and stability. The traditional workout gear builds strength, improves flexibility and grip, and enhances overall fitness. For instance, mudgar exercises provide a good cardiovascular workout and help to improve heart health,” says Balveer Singh.

The traditional workout at Mudgar Akhada includes yoga asanas, dands, baithaks, samptola, sapatey, mudgar, gada workouts and many more.

When asked why one should choose traditional workout equipment over modern gyms, he says, “Unlike modern gym equipment, where the focus of lifting weights is only on muscles, the movement from lifting desi workout equipment improves both upper and lower body.”

The 38-year-old emphasises that his clients have a good lifestyle which includes a proper diet, adequate sleep and regular exercises, leading to improvements in weight loss, cholesterol and thyroid levels.

Reshma Neenambika, who trains at Mudgar Akhada, reveals improvement in her cholesterol level, “My cholesterol level dropped from 470 to 220 within a month after having started exercising at the akhada. Impressed with the positive development in my body, I aim to continue traditional workout routines throughout my life.”

R Sanjana, who also trains at the akhada, added, “I opted for traditional workout for weight loss and it was the best decision for my well-being.”

Balveer started with traditional workouts at home in 2002 and since then has been dedicated for the cause of raising awareness about traditional methods of training.

He has trained more than 2,000 people so far. Mudgar Akhada also runs a foundation that trains people from humble backgrounds for free. The foundation organises mudgar-friendly challenges in different parts of the city and the participant who swings a mudgar of 10-13 kg for 100 times wins a free mudgar. Balveer, who is not social media savvy, thanks the internet community for rediscovering traditional Indian workouts and the recent growing popularity among the youngsters.

Mudgar Akhada has 36k followers on Instagram and 18k subscribers on their YouTube channel. Moreover, the akhada takes mudgar orders and has been selling it since 2021.

Incorporating these tools into the fitness routine brings a refreshing change. Moreover, unlike gym equipment, they are not space intensive. “A mudgar doesn’t need much space, it is compact enough to store in one corner of the room and doesn’t need much room to use it,” he concluded