Alpha Fitness

Alpha Fitness is tucked away in Jayanagar 4th Block East, right on 11th Main. We are on the floor above Beijing Bites, so if you’re lifting weights, you might hear the kitchen noise from downstairs. It’s a busy part of Bangalore, and finding parking for a scooter around here can be a real headache most evenings. The gym itself is pretty straightforward. We have the usual machines and some free weights that have seen better days. The floor is that hard rubber stuff that smells a bit when it’s hot outside. There’s a big mirror along one wall that’s got a crack in the corner, but it’s fine for checking your form. Most of the people who come here live in the surrounding lanes and have been coming for years. It’s the kind of place where everyone knows which fan makes the clicking noise and which treadmill is the most reliable. We keep the windows open to get some air in, but you mostly just get the smell of the city and the sound of the auto-rickshaws. It’s not a place where you come to take photos; it’s just a place where you come to move some iron and go home. We keep things simple because that’s all anyone really needs. The lights stay on late and the door is usually propped open with a brick when it gets too stuffy.