While top gym chains in India are shuttered over the coronavirus pandemic, many workout dens are defying government orders of a lockdown by staying open for their muscle-bound customers.

Exercise fanatics say their need to pump iron is worth the risk, and the gyms’ owners keep opening up despite facing police action, meaning the dumbbells carry on being lifted and the treadmills stay turning.

In one cramped gym in a crowded Delhi backstreet, around 20 people are waiting for a turn on one of the 10 machines.

“There is fear because every action or government circular comes down to how good the police are,” says the owner, who gives only his first name, Rajeev. “It is also a matter of our livelihood.”