Don t get inspired by Bollywood glamour in fitness: Celebrity trainer

New Delhi June 16 (IANS) 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. (Nivedita can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in) --IANS nv/dg