With mudgar, gada and sumtola, Bengaluru's Tagda Raho brings OG Indian workout to the forefront

What you do between your 5 to 9 before or after your 9 to 5, in this day and age, carries utmost importance and one thing that holds a significant spot in this aforementioned time frame happens to be working out. With people going above and beyond to focus on their physical health, it almost feels strange to not have a workout routine yourself.

In the last two years, we have seen a significant number of workout regimes from pilates and aqua yoga to biohacking and indoor cycling unfurls on our social media handles. And while the obsession with these alongside the 75-hard challenge does not seem to die down soon, there is one space in Bengaluru that is discovering effective workouts by going back to its Indian roots.

Tagda Raho, one of the world's first fitness centres that use traditional Indian training equipment such as the mudgar, gada and sumtola and apply it to modern-day bodily concerns born out of our redundant desk jobs, is bringing South Asia’s traditional akhada-style training to the forefront. 

We, at Indulge, were amongst the first ones to attend one of their early morning classes and the adrenaline rush after the session lasted all week, to say the least. Our class, on a regular Saturday morning when the likes you would have chosen to overslept, started with a general introduction to workout regimen.

All you need to think of before showing up to the class is Dangal starring Aamir Khan. Back in the day, as shown in this highly acclaimed film, this traditional outdoor Indian workout style was used to build muscle and gain strength. At Tagda Raho, while strength training lies at the heart of all exercises, the idea is to focus on the most compromised muscles of the modern day, activate them and make them work in synergy with others.

During our session, we used three wooden equipment and each one of them focused on a different muscle. We began with some warm-up exercises to bring about some awareness and presence in our bodies.

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Using the mudgar (a wooden club), we started with some overhead movements and performed shoulder front and back swings followed by pendulum swings for 10-15 repetitions. For those who are new to the scene, starting our workout without joint warmups is almost like a canon event in the making. You need to make sure you do not end up with sore muscles and severe injuries by the end of the workout.

Another preparatory exercise we performed featured grip shifting. In this traditional style of workout, grip is everything. Your hand-eye coordination needs to be just as strong as your mind and muscles for best results.

Moving further, our workout that day included a range of exercises. For the unversed, the circuit changes with each session. Our session focused on full body strengthening. We first started by performing single-arm pullbacks using a mudgar to get a range of movement in our upper body.

We then moved to Parikrama, an exercise best known for working all muscles, especially the core. We followed this up with a cross-body movement called Chakravayuha, which works deltoids, traps and again core muscles. We also performed push jacks, an exhilarating twist to the signature jumping jack exercise. In this one, we used the mudgar for upper body conditioning.

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Next, we moved to lower body exercises and shifted to sumtola; a traditional Indian equipment made using Sheesham wood. Using the equipment, we performed walking lunges, an exercise the group agreed was extremely wearisome but equally effective. After a little break in between, we moved to one of the most exciting spaces of Tagda Raho, the sand pit.

In the sand pit, using our sumtola, we performed sand levelling, a full-body movement that our muscles loathed but our minds loved. In this never-done-before exercise, we found ourselves performing a mix of exercises like the squats and burpees, all while working our hamstring, calves, glutes, the core and building balance.

However, being in the sand left us so excited that we may have lost track of time but that did not mean we got to skip our excellent down exercises. At Tagda Raho, the cool-down stretches are performed by everyone at the same time and it’s an unparalleled community-building experience. Trust us as we say this, you want to be a part of it and everything this fitness rejuvenation centre has to offer.

INR 699 onwards. 6.30 am to 10 am and 5 pm to 9 pm. Training dugouts at Ulsoor and HSR layout. 

Email: muskankhullar@newindianexpress.com
Twitter: @Muskankhullar03