Fitness Bar: Raising the bar for a fitness & health revolution across Goa

| JULY 16, 2018, 08:03 PM IST

BHARATI PAWASKAR  


It took him some years before he realised that he was slowly getting richer by pounds. Each time he popped in something in his mouth or sipped some drink, he was amassing wealth – with few pounds added each time - not in his bank account, but his body mass. The moment it dawned upon him, Felipe Alvares made a wise choice and a brilliant decision – to shed those extra pounds before it became unmanageable. Once the decision was taken, he carefully worked out his plan and sticking to a strict timetable and menu, he soon turned himself into what he always dreamed of becoming – a Ninja Warrior.  

This is his story in his own words, “My foray into the exciting world of fitness began in the year 2013, when I woke up the morning after the Carnival festivities with a promise to trim the unseemly ‘wealth’ that was beginning to remind me of my family heirloom! Always a keen sportsperson, my active participation in adult basketball did not stop the kilos from piling on – all thanks to my equally measurable love for food and drinks. However, once I got on to a structured exercise and dietary regimen, there was no looking back for me as one successful target achievement led to the next, and I was soon fixated with not only achieving the most desirable body fat percentage but also reaching a level of fitness comparable to a Ninja Warrior.” And thankfully, he managed to do that.  

Believing that fitness is for everybody – ages, professions, gender notwithstanding – Felipe then decided to raise the bar of fitness expectations of the Goan populace. Partnering with Goodlife, a company headed by the enterprising trio of Amit Bakhale, Gregg Furtado, and Gautam Bakhale, Felipe set up Fitness Bar this year, in January 2018, in Panaji.  

Felipe describes Fitness Bar as ‘not your mundane gym’ as everything is different here. Being decked with USA’s premier quality life fitness equipment, Fitness Bar boasts of knowledgeable, approachable, and competent fitness trainers, in addition to an array of personalised fitness programmes designed by ACE-certified personal fitness trainer Felipe himself. Armed with a qualification that spells serious business, Felipe keeps himself in the loop of the latest in fitness by way of reading updates and articles, whilst also practically experimenting on himself the feasibility and effects of varied exercise routines.  

“With interiors that make exercising comfortable and fun, Fitness Bar also provides the expertise of a qualified nutritionist and cosmetologist (Kaasha by Vallari Shah), a physiotherapist (Dr Chintan), and a culinary expert (Sunita Rodrigues) who pampers your taste buds whilst ensuring dietary adherence,” boasts Felipe, who recently collaborated with Marc Brown, making his gym the only outlet that retails quality whole grain and multi-grain bread. “This bread is especially developed with ingredient content and nutritional values to match the ideals of Fitness Bar,” he adds.

With his heart set on raising the bar of fitness achievements of all categories of individuals and his mind set on contributing positively to the health quotient of Goa, Felipe believes that the State is ready for a fitness revolution. Felipe’s guiding line is – ‘Strive for progress: one day at a time creates a lifestyle, and a habit is formed, never to be broken.’ “We provide you the platform to form your habits and create your lifestyle – one that will keep you hopping well into your nineties,” he promises.  

Revealing his own experience how he had topped the scales at 90-plus kilos in February 2012, and although he could still play an excellent game of basketball and outrun most others his age and half his size, the double chin and the rounded look was not something Felipe was proud of. “I don’t really remember what triggered the decision. It may have been the disgust expressed by one of my friends about my over-indulgent food habits and lifestyle. On February 18, 2012, I found myself enrolling for a weight loss programme. I was handed a diet plan, which left me gaping! I looked at all the small measures of food I was allowed to eat, and some of the items there – vegetables, sprouts, and pulses – were things I had maybe never touched in my 30-odd years of existence. But since I had made the choice and shelled out money for my personal good, I decided that I needed to stick to the regimen.”  

It was absolutely ‘mind over tummy’ for Felipe who had to constantly remind himself to limit his meal portions and reach out for the healthier options at a buffet. His family began to cook differently to support his new lifestyle. He admits, “It was pure torture in the beginning, but I gradually got the hang of it. I began to enjoy the 90 minutes I spent at the gym, and was amazed at the results. Even more shocked were my family and friends – and that sort of goaded me to go even further. It tickled me a little to see their jaws drop every time they saw me because they were so sure that I wouldn’t last without food and drinks.”  

When Felipe was certain that his mind had taken over his body, that’s when he realized that the sky was the limit as far as his fitness endeavours were concerned. “My fortieth birthday was coming up, and I decided to set myself a personal fitness goal. I read all there was about fitness, subscribed online to globally-endorsed magazines, and began to experiment on my body with varied exercise and dietary routines. I saw the results, and then went a step further enrolling myself for an American Council on Exercise (ACE) Personal Fitness Trainer programme. I learnt the science of the body, and exercise modifications to reach varied goals. I got an opportunity to debate and discuss with the big names in international fitness. And I was now convinced that I had to share all of this knowledge with everybody back home in Goa. That’s how the seed of Fitness Bar was planted,” reveals Felipe.  

Fitness Bar runs from 6 am to 1 pm and then again from 4 pm to 11 pm. 

“To keep the gym alive, we have DJ nights to keep you grooving while moving at the gym. The pulse at Fitness Bar is always positively volatile, with no two days being the same in terms of workouts, diets, and vibes too. 

Fitness is to be enjoyed. And we make sure that our floor is always open 

for result-oriented fitness fun,” concludes Felipe.  

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