For anyone starting their fitness journey, there is tons of information out there to get you the body you want. With most new age fitness regimes originating from the west, most have forgotten that India also has age old fitness techniques and natural nutrition diets that place greater emphasis on mobility and three dimensional movements.
In this exclusive interview with SPOGO, Nithin Jayaraj, a traditional workout tools trainer speaks about making bodybuilding a profession, selling traditional fitness tools and their benefits, popularizing traditional Indian techniques amongst the younger generation and much more!
Q1) How did you get into bodybuilding and what made you choose it as a profession?
At a young age, watching all the Hollywood movies and looking at the physiques of all the action stars, I got into bodybuilding. I then switched to traditional Indian fitness because my mobility was reduced in body building and I suffered injuries as well because of having bigger muscles and due to the fact that my joints weren't getting worked out. Traditional Indian fitness has 3 dimensional movements whereas bodybuilding has only 2 dimensional motion where it's only push and pull along with lifting. In traditional Indian fitness there is swinging which works on your joints and your mobility. People need awareness about traditional Indian fitness and its benefits.
Q2) How did shredded farmers take its shape and what inspired you to come up with the idea of making and selling traditional tools?
I was born here but raised in Dubai since my schooling and college life was there. That was all city life and in 2018 when I came back to India I really wanted to pursue traditional fitness. It is much easier to pursue here, my house is situated on a farm and I grow my own food so it is healthy nutrition wise. In this kind of fitness, we do need a lifestyle like this to see the difference between diets in bodybuilding. Here we just have to eat what grows around you, we cannot have the same type of diet as the westerners while living in India.
I want to show people that we can eat normal healthy food but have to work out. We have to burn what we eat and then take equal rest. It is possible to get fit through by eating home food instead of supplements or lifting heavy or having a strict diet.
I started making tools when the pandemic started and I started experimenting with wooden logs in the carpenting shop. It came out really well, I only make them on an order basis and don't keep any stock. Whenever a client wants a particular Mudgar, Sumtola or a Gada, I build these tools through mahogany wood.
Q3) Can you explain the benefits of using these tools over the currently used gym equipment? Are these used for specific exercise or for overall body building?
This is called traditional Indian workout, bodybuilding mostly focuses on your muscles where you lift iron weights in a gym. In traditional fitness, it is more about swinging where the movement is different since it's rotational. When swinging these tools, your arm, joints, core and the whole body gets affected in just one swing. Let’s say if you weigh 80 kgs, you divide the weight by 8 then divide by 2 which gives you 5 kg and you start with a 5kg Mudgar. Every single wood has its own medicinal value which is the oil and when you lift them it goes into the bare hands which is good for the body.
These rotational movements help you with your body balance. The joints get pulled and pushed and keeps it stretched. Your muscle gains won’t be as much as bodybuilding but it will grow according to your height and it will look aesthetic. The muscles will be proportional to your height and you will have good mobility. In bodybuilding, you keep growing your muscles and you become rigid which affects your movement which reduces body balance.
Q4) How do Gada, Mudgar, Indian clubs, Persian meels and Sumtola help in improving body strengths?
In traditional tools, the common thing is the rotation and the weight distribution of the tool is different from a dumbbell. A 4kg dumbbell will look much lighter than a 4kg Mudgar because of the shape and weight distribution of the tool. A Gada will be harder than a Mudgar because the further away the weight is away from your grip it gets harder to swing. Indian club is the western name for a Mudgar, it is cone shaped and Sumtola is an Indian version of a barbell. All of these are used in the same technique which is the rotational movement as these movements help in your joint strength as it also increases the mobility in the body so the more you do it the more muscles you will get according to your height.
Q5) As these are traditional formats of yesteryears, how do you intend to popularize these amongst the youth of today?
The only way we can popularize this method is through social media and my clients. My main platform is Instagram. My perception is that you reach the youth you need to interact with them through social media.
