Fitness, First

The coolest fitness accessory to own right now is the FuelBand by Nike, a nondescript looking black rubber bracelet with a screen that tracks the exact number of steps you take daily, and gives you feedback on your activity levels throughout the day. How it works is, you set a target at midnight (called the NikeFuel Goal) and it counts all active movement in a 24-hour circle, whether you're playing tennis or football, or leisurely strolling towards your TV. A "normal day" is pegged at 2,000 NikeFuel (approx one mile covered walking and a mere 80 calories burned). For the more tech savvy among us, you can log into Nikeplus.com to get weekly or daily updates on calories burned and distance covered. It's wired into social media so you can share your graph and achievements on Facebook and Twitter. Once you've spent Rs 15,000 on the Nike pedometer, you'll be charged up and raring to log in as many steps as possible, at least initially. If it's staring at you from the wrist, the guilt factor will keep you moving. The FuelBand is seriously trendy right now. It comes in a couple of colours, goes well with light denims and somehow, you don't feel like lunging for cocktail snacks when you're wearing it.

Every decade has its fitness fashion fads — in the '80s, the look was Chris Evert headbands and neon or leopard skin leggings. The look was tight, shiny and bright, probably inspired by the queen of fitness, Jane Fonda, whose effortless leg lifts started the stay-at-home-and-workout craze. Choreographed cardio routines kicked off around this time, increasing the need for more fabulous fitness clothes and the truly fashionable started brandishing leg warmers, hairbands and big socks. The ghastly bicycle shorts made an appearance around then, and surprisingly, or thanks to spin cycling, are still around. The magic words "Just Do It" had infused a new determination towards fitness, and the '90s were more restrained and serious.

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