Slimming vacations

An expensive weight loss holiday may not be your cup of tea. But that doesn't mean you can't lose weight. Prepare an itinerary for your own workout vacation! India has a lot to offer.

NORDIC WALKING IN LANDOUR

The cobbled pathways of the quaint cantonment of Landour, flanked by giant deodars above Mussoorie make for beautiful long walks. A trek further up to Nag Tibba (a place often romanticised in Ruskin Bond books) simply magnifies the wandering experience. Turn your hillside holiday into sporty fun with pole walking! While trekkers, backpackers and skiers have been using the concept of Nordic walking for decades, it has only recently become popular as a full body health workout around the world. Nordic walking is fitness walking with specially designed poles. Compared to regular walking, it involves applying force to the poles with each stride. Nordic walkers use more of their entire body (with greater intensity) and receive fitness building stimulation for the chest, triceps, biceps, shoulder, abdominals, spinal and other core muscles. You could take up Nordic walking classes at a good gym in town prior to the vacation ­ these range from gentle walks for people with health concerns or the elderly and workout walks to improve fitness, lose weight and tone the whole body.

SURFING IN PUDUCHERRY

Always fancied getting in surfing shape?

Ditch those videos and go for the real thing. Auroville Beach is one of the best beaches in India for surfing with many hardcore European surfers living there permanently. A surfing school managed by two Spanish brothers, who have been riding these waves since the mid 90s, is the right place to learn the nuances of this sport. Apart from being a great adrenaline boost, surfing is one of the most physically intense and demanding sports involving a variety of squats, pushups and planks. It requires physical and mental focus at all times.

BEACH BOOT CAMP IN GOKARNA

Most people's idea of a perfect fitness break would be to sweat it out on a beach. But beaches can get overbearing with their pack of vendors and oglers interfering with your yoga routine. That's why a sunset yoga session at Gokarna would be ideal. Tucked between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, Gokarna is a bewitching blend of sun, sand and sea. Its beaches are charming and not even half as crowd ed as its famous neighbourhood. The famed Om Beach, the lesser-known Ku dle Beach, the quiet Half Moon Beach and the pristine Paradise Beach are four scenic, popular strips of sand wedged be tween the hills. There is also the Gokar na Yoga School for travellers passing through Gokarna for a specific period.The idea of the school is to create a meeting place for teachers and practitioners of Iyengar Yoga. For other forms of yoga, like Hatha, Sivananda, Kriya, Kundalini, check out other retreats in Gokarna...the list is quite exhausting!

`FATPACKING' IN DAYARA BUGYAL

Those who trek frequently in India, wouldn't contest the fact that Uttarak d hand has some of the most beautiful high-altitude meadows in the country. And amongst them is the famed Dayara Bugyal (Hindi for meadow).

Now imagine backpacking your way through the vast stretches and rugged trails of this meadow for days, with all necessary food and gear strapped on your backs, till you make it to the top! It is guar anteed you'll come back having shed quite a few inches. In other words, you would have `fatpacked'.

MOUNTAIN BIKING TO SPITI

Not sharing your ride with CO2-emitting vehicles is a lot better for your lungs. Plus, riding on the road improves your cardiovascular fitness since you are spinning at high tempo for a long time. Mountain biking is a great outdoor workout, the real version of the monotonous cross-training indoors. Cycling increases your daily calorie burn. It burns calories -hundreds of them -while you're out there turning the pedals. One of the best routes to mountain bike in India is, without much delibera tion, Kulu-Spiti-Kinnaur. From the green valleys, deep forests and fertile meadows of Kinnaur, to the arid and desert plateaus of Spiti Valley, this route has it all. Get your biking shoes, helmet, knee guard, insulated gloves and sunglasses in order and you are ready for an exclu sive rendezvous with nature.

WHAT'S FATPACKING?

Fatpacking, a programme founded by US-based MIT grad Steve Silberberg, is for moderately overweight people who don't mind some outdoor adventure. Today, Fatpacking leads groups of 12 or fewer people on one or two-week backpacking trips to fun places like Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks, the Great Smoky Mountains, and even Patagonia in Chile. Most Fatpackers lose about five pounds per week while increasing muscle mass.

BENEFITS

You can only eat what you carry in backpacking. Plus, since you're away from civilisation, the chances of emotional or binge eating are less. Then there is physical exertion that spikes your metabolism. All this combined is sure to trim your waistline.....Article by Supriya.S