Fun, fitness, and fulfillment =
Fitness Thursday

We are proud 90s kids. We grew up in an environment where playtime meant going out on the ground and playing whatever games we could with our friends - cricket, hide and seek, tag, and many many more games that were our own inventions.

Hauling our sweaty bodies home felt like an achievement at the end of every playtime. We did this our entire childhood. And then we grew up. So did the world around us. The definition of playtime changed. Instead of playing cricket on the field, people started playing it on their mobile phones. As much as we loved this innovation, as experience designers, we couldn’t help but think, “This generation is missing out on the real experience of the game.”

So we decided to do something about it, and Fitness Thursday (FT) was born. Every Thursday, we take our Lemons and just play. It started with cricket because we love it. But eventually, as the team grew and bought their favorite games into the mix, we started expanding the games. Football, throwball, badminton - now we play whatever suits our fancy.

Fitness Thursday: A day of sports & strategy

Apart from reliving our nostalgia, there’s another angle to FTs. Nothing teaches you strategic planning & teamwork as a match does. When you are playing to win, you need to know your own and your team’s strengths and weaknesses. You need to know how you function together, so you can leverage the good and the bad for the win.

You also need to do the same for the opposite team. Sports is strategic - it involves you to think. Before, during, and after the game. Your strategies can change in the blink of an eye because of the opponent’s play, and you need to have the ability to think quick on your feet. As our Founder and the orchestrator of FTs, Sameer Bhambere says, “When you learn to play the game of ground, you can play the game of life.”

Because isn’t everything in life a game? You are out there to win. It can be you giving an interview or getting your designs approved, everything is about winning.

And when it’s not about winning, it’s about losing. And losses are nothing but learnings. Learnings that teach you what you can do better next time to win. Losses that teach you how to take them well.

For us, FTs are our midweek stress-busters. It’s the one day where, for 2 hours straight, we play like kids. We laugh and fight and win and lose, coming out stronger as a team. Some of our best memories are made on the ground.

Because we work hard, and we play harder.

That’s just how things work at LY!