Celebrity trainer Abbas Ali, who has worked with Bollywood personalities Shahid Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty, Sonakshi Sinha and Zareen Khan, among others, says fitness is not a three-month fat-loss package but a lifestyle and it’s important to understand the purpose and reason of choosing it as part of your life than opting for it just because some actors are doing it.
“Don’t get inspired by the glamour of Bollywood in fitness. If you want to be fit and healthy, first know the reason and purpose of choosing fitness as lifestyle,” Ali told IANS in an email interview.
“In today’s day and age, our mind is leading another life and our body is going in a different direction. Fitness is not a three-month fat-loss package it’s a lifestyle. We need to incorporate fitness as a lifestyle and not as a concept.”
“We, as media and celebrities, inspire Indians when it comes to fitness and that’s where we have gone wrong. Fitness is science. Do your research before starting a fitness regime or a healthy lifestyle from a fitness expert,” he added.
Also master trainer of brand Reebok, Ali says Bollywood stars, too, take fitness seriously and for them, it’s more of a purpose-driven exercise. “They all are great in their own way, because they all are purpose-driven and that’s why they are successful in every area of their life. Every client of mine had a different purpose for health and fitness and as a coach, I show them the most efficient way to achieve a fit body rather than going to extreme levels and using short cuts,” said Ali.
Ali says that true success and satisfaction in his career came through his own transformational experience. An eight-month transformation, to be precise, that saw him go from 95 kg to 79 kg. It was then that he continuously strove to combine different forms of fitness such as calisthenics, parkour and other such forms to create his own signature design of programming. He says that “health is not a monkey see, monkey do business”.
“You can’t ape people because we all come from different cultures (food), different lifestyle, genetics, and body types. Know your body, know your fitness goals, do your research, consult a sport nutritionist and a fitness coach who can guide you for health and performance rather than following a celebrity or media article on fitness,” he said.
However, he feels that Indians have become more health and fitness conscious now than ever. “Today, an average Indian contributes to his or her fitness by incorporating small changes like morning walks, changing from sugar to sugar-free, from eating white carbs to brown carbs, and avoiding gluten and unhealthy fats, junk, packaged food and aerated drinks,” he said.
With Father’s Day falling on Sunday, who, according to him, is the most fit Bollywood father nowadays?
“Easily, Akshay Kumar for his age and discipline. He has a comprehensive approach towards health and fitness,” Ali said.
