As outdoor activities around the world came to a standstill in March last year, home became one’s playground. With gyms shut, the fit turned towards at-home workouts, and many who weren’t as invested in fitness pre-lockdown jumped right into it. With responses from over 50,000 participants, a leading Indian fitness platform revealed that 84 per cent opted for live-streaming classes at least thrice during the lockdown as compared to a mere 29 per cent in 2019.
 
Perhaps, it’s this newfound enthusiasm for fitness that has put the spotlight on AMRAP or As Many Rounds/Reps Possible. Though the routine has been around for years, AMRAP is the acronym of the moment in the fitness world, and you’ll see challenges and lists floating on social media that state a time, say, five minutes, followed by a sequence such as 12 push-ups, 50 jump ropes, 40 bicycle crunches, 20 mountain climbers, 25 Russian twists, and so on. The task then, is to complete the repetitions or reps, in that specific amount of time. But like all workouts, AMRAP has its advantages and disadvantages. We invited Mallika Tarkas Parekh, owner of city-based Physique 57, India’s first boutique barre fitness studio, to shed light on that before you hop on to the trend.

Mallika Tarkas Parekh