Yuppies swarm to expensive gyms, while the older generation spends millions on medical treatment. But does staying healthy have to be that expensive? Perhaps we've only been looking in the wrong places.

Going to the gym has been a trend among Jakartans for quite some time now; reasons cited range from losing weight to staying healthy. But, aren't there alternatives when going to the gym sounds so boring?

If fitness centers are not your cup of tea, you might want to give futsal a try.

A modification of its older brother soccer, the sport, which derives its name from the Spanish term futbol sala, is exactly that: "indoor soccer".

Soccer, which has a long history in Indonesia, was given a boost with legendary player Ronny Pattinasarany, and names like Andi Lala or Herry Kiswanto. When those players reached the limelight, people started to spend more time watching soccer on TV, buying their favorite teams' uniform and playing soccer on various game consoles.

The sport has also been adopted as an extracurricular activity in schools, campuses and even in the corporate world. However, soccer fanatics might find it difficult to track down or afford a large soccer field to play in.

This is where futsal comes in, its growing popularity noticeable with the sprouting of futsal centers around town.

It needs a relatively small field, 15 by 27 meters, according to Parjo, an operator working for Indofutsal center in Palmerah. Because the field is so small, the number of players is limited to five per team.

Most people will still find it cheaper to pay Rp 100,000 (US$10) to Rp 250,000 to rent a center's synthetic-grass field, than join a gym charging between Rp 400,000 to Rp 500,000 per month for an unlimited-entrance membership.

Even more convenient is the free wireless internet connection, internet caf* and small cafeteria Indofutsal provides.

"Many students come here after school or college hours," said Parjo.

"I think it is far better for them to play futsal here than to roam around doing nothing."

As an incentive, Indofutsal only charges students Rp 99,000 per hour to rent a field, making it more affordable for them to play sports and have some fun.

Besides students, the place is also crowded with market vendors and office workers until midnight.

"Because this place is quite near from a traditional market and several office buildings, it attracts a lot of blue and white collar workers who come here straight after work."

This place does not even need to advertise, as people are already coming from every corner of Jakarta, keeping the place buzzing every night. No doubt this is the result of Indofutsal's efforts to make the place more convenient for visitors.

"We offer visitors safety, cleanliness and convenience," said Mega, another operator in the same place.

And as the futsal business is growing, so are the number of players entering the market.

"There are two other futsal centers around the area," said Mega.

Another futsal center worth mentioning is Gudang Futsal in Kalimalang, Jakarta Timur, which regularly organizes competitions, one of them called the "Gudang Futsal Open Cup". The futsal center has been welcoming futsal fans for almost two years, comprising three fields, showers, a caf* and a more-than-adequate parking lot.

When asked about the customers' age range, the center's representative, 22-year-old Yoyo, said, "A neighboring elementary school plays futsal here. Sometimes, we even have 50-year-old players."

Gudang Futsal also has a female team named after the cartoon character Popeye, highlighting futsal is not only played by males.

"It looks fun and I don't feel awkward at all playing futsal although I'm a woman," said 20-year-old Desi.

"There are also other female futsal teams who come here to play."

Opinions differ on whether playing futsal is better than going to the gym. In a discussion forum in answers.yahoo.com, an Internet surfer said she was afraid she would get fat again once she quit the gym.

Some people with weight problems may also have self-esteem issues when surrounded by other people at the gym with more ideal weights. And in some cases, people have to sign-up for a fixed-term contract preventing them from leaving the club for at least one year. Futsal, on the other hand, is not encumbered by any of those issues.

According to others, comparing working out in a gym and playing futsal is like comparing apples with oranges.

"I think they can not be compared. I play futsal for fun. It's my hobby," said college student Steven.

However, he also said playing futsal is much more fun.

"Most of my friends also prefer playing futsal than going to the gym," he said. Interestingly, most people interviewed thought of gyms as a place to build muscles while playing futsal was seen as more conducive to building stamina.

Another futsal player, Wilmar, 27, a trading company employee who plays futsal with his colleagues, said the sport was a great teamwork exercise, helping develop relationships between supervisors and their subordinates. When kicking the ball around, work hierarchies disappeared as all players became team mates with equal responsibilities.

Sports scientist Peter Krustrup and his colleagues observed 14 amateur soccer players aged between 20 to 40 years old. Their research, quoted by medicalnewstoday.com, revealed that training for two or three one-hour games a week for a period of three months provided greater health benefits than jogging for the same amount of time.

Not only did they burn fat, but they also gained a significant amount of muscle. Given futsal is not much different from soccer except for the smaller field and number of players as well as the faster game pace, the benefits are most likely the same for futsal players.

So if you want to build muscles while having fun, why don't you give futsal a go?

Where to go

Some futsal centers:

Gudang Futsal

Jl. Inspeksi Saluran no. 3A

Gudang Seng, Kalimalang.

Phone: (021) 8509394

IndoFutsal

Jl. Palmerah Barat no. 4

Gelora, Jakarta Pusat 10270

Phone: (021) 5483311

(021) 5481437

The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post

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