Yasmin Karchiwala’s Body Image fitness studio collaborated with fitness enthusiast Anjali Chandiramani to open a fitness center, A-Tone, in Dubai that offers a combination of workouts, ranging from Karchiwala’s famous Pilates to Chandiramani’s Cross-cuit and yoga.

Here’s how it all happened:

When asked, “Why Dubai?” Karchiwala said, “Why not Dubai?”

Chandiramani realized that Karchiwala had a fan-base in Dubai, so she suggested opening a studio here.

Chandiramani wanted to open a studio that has Yasmin’s body image, but also wanted to come up with a high-intensity workout: Cross-cuit.

What is Cross-cuit?

Chandiramani came up with a concept called cross-cuit, which is a combination of circuit-based training with cross-fit equipment. The workout is a hybrid of the two.

We don’t pressure the people in the studio to reach a certain target that feels unachievable to them.

Chadiramani has been doing cross-fit for a while and, as a beginner, she was very intimidated.

I remember during my first class, where the trainer said it was a beginner’s class and we are going to do 80 burpees and I thought she said 18, which was a lot for me back then.

The main concept of cross-fit is that they don’t give you a choice; you have to finish the number of reps no matter how long you take. So, even though Chandiramani finished the workout, she was not able to train for a while after that.

1. Cross-Cuit Is Great for Beginners

I didn’t want anybody to feel like that when the come to my studio, so what we do now is we time-lock it.

In Cross-Cuit, for example, the trainer sets 10 minutes of Burpees, where everybody does as many as they can.

“We encourage them to go faster and stronger, but we don’t scare them off.”

Karchiwala believes that anyone who makes a commitment to fitness has decided to take charge of their life.

2. Know Your Body

Her first advice to anyone is to know their body. Don’t start working out blindfolded because a friend suggested a type of a workout. Know why they did this workout and why you want to work out.

I think that’s the main mistake that people make. Why cross-fit? Why yoga? Why Pilates? I love Pilates, but I have to do cardio and yoga on the side. I’ll go with what my body can do.

3. Vary Your Workout

Chandiramani believes in varying her workout.

“I’ve been training for 25 years, from my personal experience, I’ve realized that varying my workout, following different routines, has kept my interest level high and it keeps me wanting to try different things all the time.”

Sometimes people are just interested in Pilates or just high-intensity workouts or yoga, but what Chadiramani and her team recommend is a combination workout. Do two days of hard-core and sweat it out then two days of core balancing, Pilates, and enjoy your two days of yoga, which will give you a full week without overdoing it.

4. Don’t Focus on Counting Calories – Change Your Go-To Options

Karchiwala doesn’t count calories. Instead, she focuses on eating healthy.

“I just know how to eat right. We are all smart and we all know the foods that are not good for us. I eat a lot, but I eat very healthy.”

Once you start eating unprocessed food, cut out sugar and dairy, you realize how much better you feel. If she’s hungry, she’ll eat a banana, some nuts or even a salad.

However, she knows when she’s going to feel hungry and plans her meals accordingly.

It is vital to understand and know your body to give it the best workout and diet routines.

A-Tone is on the 7th floor of Prime Tower in Dubai Business Bay. Yoga and Cross-cuit classes are AED 80 each and Yasmin’s Pilates class is AED 100 per session.

Unlimited access to classes and pool is AED 1,199 for a month. For more details, visit www.a-tone.ae

Do you think counting calories works in the long-run? Tell us in the comments below.

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