There's a price to pay if you want a physique like Gurmeet Choudhary.
TV actor Gurmeet Choudhary, protagonist in hit TV soap Punar Vivaah and winner of Indian dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5, hasn't tasted fried foods and sweets ever since he turned professional. "It's been eight years since I had a samosa. Rasgullas were my favourite mid-night snack. Now, I am ridden with guilt if I eat them," he says.
Choudhary works out six days a week — alternating weight training with jogging and kick boxing. So dedicated is to he to being fit, if long shooting hours disrupt his evening exercise sessions, he jumps out of the car to jog by the road, while his driver tails him.
Fitness is...
Everything. My dad was in the Army, so I moved cities and schools from Srinagar to Chennai. I was always part of NCC, and active in sports. I captained the hockey, volleyball and soccer teams while at school. I have grown to realise that anything is possible if you are fit — from wearing clothes of your choice to thinking positive. An unfit body means a depressed mind.
My hero...
Bruce Lee has fascinated me since childhood. I was in the third standard, and we were living in Assam then. Every morning at 6 am, a bunch of youngsters practiced martial arts near the bus stop I stood at. I'd get there half an hour early just to watch them train.
I'd imitate their moves in my free time. I formally began to train in mixed martial arts in 2005 when I met stunt directors Kaushal-Moses.
My regime
I exercise every evening after 7 pm. I weight train separately on chest-shoulder-triceps, backbiceps and legs on three days of a week. I usually do three sets of 15 repetitions for each body section. I do not lift more than 30 to 45 kg of weight. For the legs, I don't use weights. Free-style exercises such as squats, lateral squats, quadriceps flex, glute kickback and lunges work better. I spend a total of 45 minutes at the gym. On the other three days, I warm up with half an hour of jogging or arching and stretching my body, followed by kick boxing for 45 minutes. I train with a group of five fitness enthusiasts in the compound of my residential colony in Goregaon. Else, I head to Juhu beach.
The exercise set includes performing the 360 kick (jumping in the air and executing a 360 degree turn while keeping the body perpendicular to the ground), 180 kick, side kick, front kick, spinning back kick, forward jab (punching forward with the fist while twisting the arm so that the knuckles go forward to hit the target. The elbow is kept close to the body, to add force to the punch).
My diet
I start my day with a cup of green tea at 6 am. A glass of mixed fruit juice and another of coconut water come next. I get to the set by 8 am, and have a bowl of oats with milk. Oats have fibre and keep me full for a long time. When I was playing Ram, I was required to look bulky, so I was eating close to 20 egg whites a day. For my current role in Punar Vivaah, I have a lean look. Ten egg whites a day is routine.
We have an at-home cook but Debina (wife) likes cooking for me. Although she is shooting most days, she plans what she'd like to make me the night before, and we carry the meal in our tiffins. Lunch is usually brown rice with chicken breast, a green vegetable, daal and salad. Dinner is brown rice again with fish or chicken stew and veggies.
Food rules
I make sure I eat something healthy every two hours. It keeps my metabolic rate high. I keep nuts and protein bars handy, and munch on them. I also snack on fruits, juices or protein shake through the day. I like eating boiled carrots. I stay away from carbs after eight in the evening, which is when the metabolism slows down.
Strengthens & weakness
My strength is my core. I work on it a lot. It helps me push myself a little longer when I am running, and provides my kicks that extra strength when kick boxing. Thanks to this I don't get exhausted even if I'm shooting for 24 hours at a stretch. My weakness is my left shoulder. I avoid lifting heavy weights above shoulder level because of an injury I sustained in childhood.
Bodies I admire
Hrithik Roshan has a great body. He is able to mould his physique to suit the role he is playing. For instance, he dropped a few sizes for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and then gained it all back for Agneepath.
Fitness advice
Everyone must make time for at least half an hour of exercise every day. Other than laziness, there is no excuse why you can't do it. You don't have to join an expensive gym. Just get out and walk, jog or run.
Shiv Shakti
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