Badrul Ahsan :
Commercial fitness centres are sprouting up in the capital, as health conscious city dwellers splurge lavishly to keep them physically fit, said a number of owners of such clubs.
Many local corporate houses and multinationals have set up their own fitness corners in their offices and factories to help time-poor executives fight off the bad effects of sedentary lifestyle.
BATBC, Paragon Group, Unilever, RANGS Group, Envoy Group, Well Group, Grameen Phone, Airtel, Beximco Group, Incepta Pharmaceuticals, Bank Asia and Dhaka Bank are among the corporate biggies that have installed fitness corners in their corporate offices or on factory premises.
Besides the growing commercial fitness centres and installation of such corners by big corporate houses, many multi-storied apartment owners are also setting up such centres to ensure physical fitness of their family members.
“People are now taking physical exercise as an alternative to medication, which has emerged as a boon for the commercial fitness centres,” Ahmed Reja, owner of Body Style at city’s Dhanmondi area, told The New Nation on Sunday.
“Physical exercise can give people some comfort from diseases. But there is a shortage of open space in the city to do exercise, so the city dwellers are choosing fitness centres as an alternative,” he added.
A person can prevent or get relief from diseases like migraine pain, heart disease, stroke, spinal cord pain, back pain, any joint pain, muscle pain, high blood pressure, kidney disease, different types of cancer and lower obesity through physical exercise, Reja said.
He said the number of clients in his fitness centre has almost tripled in the last three to four years.
Disposable income of city dwellers has also supported the growth of the costly and luxurious fitness centres, he added.
While there is no statistics on the number of commercial fitness clubs, an owner said the number could be between 430 and 500 in the city alone.
According to commercial fitness centre owners, it requires around Tk 0.5 million to 5.0 million to establish a commercial gym or fitness centre depending on size and machineries of the centres.
Managing Director of Envoy Group Abdus Salam Murshedy said it is his responsibility to help keep all officers and staff of his company physically fit, for which he has set up fitness corners in his head office and factories.
“Being a sportsman, I can realise the necessity of physical fitness. Poor people cannot manage to go for gym or other exercise after reaching office. So we have set up a fitness corner at our office,” he added.
Owners at the city’s Stadium Market said the number of shops selling fitness items has increased more than ten times in the last few years.
“Just a decade back, there were only 30 to 35 shops in the city that sold sports and fitness items. Now there are more than 400 such shops in the city,” showroom manager of Nababpur Sports at the market Abdul Malek said.
“This business is spreading across the country. Almost 20 per cent of our total sales go outside the city,” he said.
According to businessmen, there are more than a thousand types of instruments in the market whose prices range from Tk 30 to 1.2 million depending on technology, origin and model.
Bangladesh mostly imports instruments from Taiwan, China and the USA.
Sabina Mustafa, who runs Sliming Zone at Mohammadpur, said majority of her clients are students and housewives.
“Service holders also want this service, but they can’t manage to get time to reach the centre. In government holidays, gathering of service holders increase significantly,” she said.
“Demand for fitness clubs has increased significantly, but we’ve a few trainers,” Amina Iqbal, owner of a fitness corner at Mohammadpur area said.
Only Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan (BKSP) provides training to a limited number of students, which is inadequate, she added.
Professor and head of the Department of Physical Medicine at BSMMU Dr Abu Salek said physical exercise helps people to prevent and be cured from many diseases.
“If a person exercises regularly, then expenditure for medication would come down by at least 70 per cent and the person will be physically fit,” he added.
He, however, suggested everybody to do exercise according to scientific ways to avoid unwanted diseases.
Commercial fitness centres are sprouting up in the capital, as health conscious city dwellers splurge lavishly to keep them physically fit, said a number of owners of such clubs.
Many local corporate houses and multinationals have set up their own fitness corners in their offices and factories to help time-poor executives fight off the bad effects of sedentary lifestyle.
BATBC, Paragon Group, Unilever, RANGS Group, Envoy Group, Well Group, Grameen Phone, Airtel, Beximco Group, Incepta Pharmaceuticals, Bank Asia and Dhaka Bank are among the corporate biggies that have installed fitness corners in their corporate offices or on factory premises.
Besides the growing commercial fitness centres and installation of such corners by big corporate houses, many multi-storied apartment owners are also setting up such centres to ensure physical fitness of their family members.
“People are now taking physical exercise as an alternative to medication, which has emerged as a boon for the commercial fitness centres,” Ahmed Reja, owner of Body Style at city’s Dhanmondi area, told The New Nation on Sunday.
“Physical exercise can give people some comfort from diseases. But there is a shortage of open space in the city to do exercise, so the city dwellers are choosing fitness centres as an alternative,” he added.
A person can prevent or get relief from diseases like migraine pain, heart disease, stroke, spinal cord pain, back pain, any joint pain, muscle pain, high blood pressure, kidney disease, different types of cancer and lower obesity through physical exercise, Reja said.
He said the number of clients in his fitness centre has almost tripled in the last three to four years.
Disposable income of city dwellers has also supported the growth of the costly and luxurious fitness centres, he added.
While there is no statistics on the number of commercial fitness clubs, an owner said the number could be between 430 and 500 in the city alone.
According to commercial fitness centre owners, it requires around Tk 0.5 million to 5.0 million to establish a commercial gym or fitness centre depending on size and machineries of the centres.
Managing Director of Envoy Group Abdus Salam Murshedy said it is his responsibility to help keep all officers and staff of his company physically fit, for which he has set up fitness corners in his head office and factories.
“Being a sportsman, I can realise the necessity of physical fitness. Poor people cannot manage to go for gym or other exercise after reaching office. So we have set up a fitness corner at our office,” he added.
Owners at the city’s Stadium Market said the number of shops selling fitness items has increased more than ten times in the last few years.
“Just a decade back, there were only 30 to 35 shops in the city that sold sports and fitness items. Now there are more than 400 such shops in the city,” showroom manager of Nababpur Sports at the market Abdul Malek said.
“This business is spreading across the country. Almost 20 per cent of our total sales go outside the city,” he said.
According to businessmen, there are more than a thousand types of instruments in the market whose prices range from Tk 30 to 1.2 million depending on technology, origin and model.
Bangladesh mostly imports instruments from Taiwan, China and the USA.
Sabina Mustafa, who runs Sliming Zone at Mohammadpur, said majority of her clients are students and housewives.
“Service holders also want this service, but they can’t manage to get time to reach the centre. In government holidays, gathering of service holders increase significantly,” she said.
“Demand for fitness clubs has increased significantly, but we’ve a few trainers,” Amina Iqbal, owner of a fitness corner at Mohammadpur area said.
Only Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan (BKSP) provides training to a limited number of students, which is inadequate, she added.
Professor and head of the Department of Physical Medicine at BSMMU Dr Abu Salek said physical exercise helps people to prevent and be cured from many diseases.
“If a person exercises regularly, then expenditure for medication would come down by at least 70 per cent and the person will be physically fit,” he added.
He, however, suggested everybody to do exercise according to scientific ways to avoid unwanted diseases.
