I made a deal with myself: I would only work out if I actually enjoyed it. I tried five different fitness classes in Chennai. Here's the honest version of how it went.
I've had a complicated relationship with the gym for most of my adult life. I go. I feel obligated. I leave wondering why I did that to myself.
So six months ago I made a deal with myself: I would only work out if I actually enjoyed it. That sounded suspiciously like a plan to not work out at all. But I figured I'd give it a shot.
I tried five things. Here's the honest version of how it went.
I started here because it's where everyone starts. A decent gym near my house. AC, treadmills, the whole setup. My problem: the moment I'm in there with earphones on and no real plan, I stop caring. I did three weeks and quietly let the membership lapse. Not bad — just boring.
I genuinely wanted to love this. There's something very appealing about the idea of becoming calm and flexible and somehow spiritual about movement. But every class I tried moved too slowly for what I needed. By week two I was fine-tuning my ceiling inspection skills during Savasana. Not for me, at least not now.
This was genuinely fun for the first three sessions. After that, the repetition got to me. The same choreography, the same instructor energy, the same playlist. I liked it — but I didn't love it enough to keep going. Consistency requires more than likability.
Actually great. Fresh air, conversation, the satisfaction of covering real distance. But it's once a week, entirely weather-dependent in Chennai, and 6 AM is a brutal ask when you've had a rough Friday. I still do this occasionally, but it can't be my only thing.
I came in with low expectations and left completely caught off guard.
Tribe Fortis runs game-based group fitness sessions — relays, team challenges, competitive rounds built around movement. The coach knew my name by the second session. The group was made up of people who showed up every week, not people performing for each other. Nobody was there to be seen. They were there to work.
The sessions are intense in a way that sneaks up on you. I'd be mid-relay thinking about keeping up with my team and only realize afterward that I'd been moving for 45 minutes straight without once wishing it was over.
That, for me, is the real test. When you're not watching the clock, something has gone right.
Here's the honest answer: the one you actually show up for.
A technically superior gym does nothing for you if you're avoiding it. A class you love — even if it's unconventional — will do more for your fitness than the most optimised programme you never follow.
For me, that's Tribe Fortis. The group fitness format keeps me accountable in a way nothing else has. The game-based structure makes the sessions feel completely unlike exercise even when they're harder than anything I've done. And the community — the actual people who show up every week — that's the part I didn't expect.
If you're somewhere between bored of the gym and not ready to commit to anything new, I'd say: try one session. See how it feels. The best workout is the one that earns the next one.
For me, Tribe Fortis earned about twelve in a row.