PESHAWAR, Oct 29: Despite shortage of qualified trainers and other facilities at the gymnasiums in provincial capital, the trend of joining gyms for fitness is on the rise among youth.

“My cousin suffered a leg injury when he went to a gym with no trainer,” said Maaz Khan, who lives in Hayatabad, a posh residential area of Peshawar.

A student of fourth year, Maaz Khan said that he himself went regularly to gym although there was no state-of-the-art machinery or trainer at the gym. He said that he went there because he wanted to do exercise in a safe environment.

“With the deteriorating security situation in the provincial capital, Hayatabad is now crowded with people displaced from different parts of the province and tribal areas,” said Maaz Khan.

He said that one couldn’t interact with a person whom he didn’t know. “So, I prefer to go to a gym for exercise,” he added.

The young people are of the view that trend of joining gyms is on the rise owing to shortage of playgrounds in Peshawar.

“It is also difficult to gather friends to hold a football or cricket match so gym is a better option in such a situation,” said Kashif Khan, a young doctor, who feels that going to gym is also a better way to relax one’s body and mind after a day’s hard work or tough job.

Aizaz Shah, a student of Gomal Medical College in Dera Ismail Khan, said that he had seen that the trend of going to gym for fitness, relaxation and muscle-building was on the rise among youth.

“I myself used to go to gym as I was overweight. However, there are only few gyms where a trainer is available along with good machines to guide and help the members,” he said.

There are a number of gyms in Peshawar where usually Rs500 per month is charged from the members but usually there are no trainers or state-of-the-art machinery available at such gyms.

“The expensive gyms charge more, usually starting from Rs2000. It is out of the reach of youth, who are mostly students,” said a number of youth going to gyms for exercise or fitness.

Haroon Khan, who hails from Peshawar but studies in Islamabad, said that there was dearth of standard gyms in Peshawar as compared to that of Islamabad.

He said that there were good gyms with state-of-the-art machines and qualified foreigner trainers but they charged high fees.

“The monthly charges start from Rs7,000 and some gyms are so expensive that a youth from middle class can hardly afford going there,” he said.

Interestingly, some of the beauty parlours in the provincial capital also offer gym facility but dearth of qualified female trainers at such gyms usually results in waste of money.