Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and Suniel Shetty, all over 55 years, reveal the secrets behind their fit bodies
Suniel Shetty
The fortune-teller
Early on in his life, Suniel Shetty had decided that he'd be at his fittest, when he hits 50. "The world makes you think you're ageing when you hit 50. That's when I decided I'd push harder and get leaner. If you observe old people, you'll notice that they begin dragging their feet. So now, I work harder on my lower body muscles."
Shetty noticed that his body began to slow down when he was 42. "The change happens rapidly. In a bid to prevent injuries, I amended my routine. Today, I train light, lifting no more than 20 kilos when training the upper body muscles. I stretch my joints for 20 minutes each day."
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Devoting a dedicated two-hour slot to his fitness routine, Shetty talks of kicking off and closing his regimen with exercises for the back. "When you age, you want to make sure that your posture is right. I work on my weak spots. I train my legs so that they support my weight as I grow older."
The barterer
Anil Kapoor took to fitness for the sake of love. Following a series of offerings that had him playing a "tapori", Kapoor couldn't see himself essay the part of a romantic hero when 1942: A Love Story was offered to him. "That was when I started working out, so that I could look correct for the part. After that, I didn't stop."
Though the simple arithmetic formula that pits intake with expenditure baffles the toughest, Kapoor says he has always benefited from it. "Let us say, 1,000 calories a day is your intake. You should work out for six days a week and ensure that you maintain that balance [by burning out an equal amount of calories]. It shouldn't be that you eat excessively and don't exercise," says the actor, who also sticks to a similar trading system, on cheat days.
"If [one] wants to indulge on a particular day, you ensure that for the next three days, you balance it out [by consuming fewer calories]. In the process, you will keep your weight, physicality and fitness intact. Don't keep eating and decide against [exercising] for the next three months. Then, it becomes difficult to bounce back." As far as his training is concerned, Kapoor is a fan of variety. "[One] can do different exercises, depending on what makes you happy. If you find any exercise boring, don't do it. Find something that is fun."
The simpleton
Turning up at a local market in Panchgani in the midst of a shoot, Jackie Shroff would often strike up a conversation with local vendors about organic food. "One of them told me that if I wanted organic food, I should grow it myself," says Shroff of the stimulus that had him search for seeds of 100 to 200-year-old trees.
"I got these seeds and planted them in my farm," Shroff tells mid-day, making his devotion for methods that promote a natural way of life, evident. It is hard to believe that the father of gym-rat Tiger Shroff doesn't like to set foot in air-conditioned fitness facilities.
He prefers, instead, to meditate in the company of his "buddies", his plants. The yoga-junkie reveals, "I have a spider plant in my car, that takes away carbon monoxide." Wherever work takes him, he makes certain to devote time for yoga. "Having six litres of air in your lungs is a possibility that can be realised only when you focus on your breathing. In a month, I practice yoga for 15 days at least."
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