Are Jennifer Lopez’s abs fake?

While pilates has been a celebrity-endorsed method of working out ever since we gained our collective social media consciousness, equipment based pilates is taking off this year, especially in India. “Out here, there’s a big misconception that pilates is very close to yoga. But there’s a huge difference between the two,” says Purohit.  People are now beginning to understand this and are really taking to pilates equipment. While it’s slowly catching up in India, equipment-based pilates has been a mainstay with celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Sofia Vergara since a long time. 

Athletes have been known to adopt this method to improve their endurance levels. As the name suggests, it’s basically working out in conditions where the oxygen levels are lower than when on the sea level. “At sea level, your oxygen levels are 20%, but when you’re training on a higher altitude, your oxygen levels can go down to 17 or 15% or even 11%,” Purohit explains, “In cities, there are chambers in which you can work out in low oxygen level environment. It helps increase your metabolic rate and you burn calories a lot faster. It’s great for weight loss, improving the elasticity of skin, improving heart condition.” 

You read that right. You might have associate trampolines with kids and cheerleaders up till now, but Namrata Purohit is here to change your mind. “You’re going to be doing different kinds of jumps and exercises on the trampoline. It’s an exercise regime that aids a high calorie burn. It’s also known to increase immunity and improve the lymph system in the body. It also has a very low impact on the joints, so it’s a fun way to burn calories and do your cardio.” Plus, it’s a super fun way to exercise, and you know it. 

Bodyweight exercises have been around for ages, but are getting a revival in 2017, with more and more people opting for simpler ways to get fit.  “It’s not new, but we’re going back towards it. It’s a great way of exercising. All you need is you and your body. You can do it anywhere and anytime,” says Purohit. Think squats, lunges push-ups and planks.

Fitness experts really want us to start acting like kids again. Crawling on all fours is apparently a great way to build core stability. Like planking, crawling on your fours works as you’re holding a position under repeated tension for a long period of time. The trend was popularised by training system Original Strength that believed that crawling like a baby will ‘press reset’ on your central nervous system and you can ‘revisit mobility patterns you learned as a baby’. 

Discovered by Japanese scientist Dr. Izumi Tabata, as a method to train Olympic athletes, this method has made a comeback in 2017. “It’s similar to HIIT, but people understand the method a lot better,” says Purohit. In Tabata training, you perform a high intensity exercise for four minutes: you work out for 20 seconds, rest for 10 and then complete 8 rounds like this.  

The pole like equipment you might have seen in a lot of fitness gurus’ Instagram posts is actually more than just a rad fitness accessory. “It’s a motion bar. It recruits the whole body when you work out, even though you’ll be using just your arms to move the bar,” says Purohit. The movement of the bar burns more calories than usual. It also improves the engagement of the deep core muscles. It’s also a great way to target the pelvic floor muscles as well. It strengthens connective tissue and helps improve your posture.

Like bodyweight training, HIIT has been around for some time. It involves changing the tempo of your workout. You perform a high intensity exercise for a short period of time and follow it up with a brief low-intensity activity (like alternating between running and walking). According to Purohit, this is an extremely time efficient method and is a great way to burn fat and build strength.