Sidharth Malhotra: Good rest is better than bad workout

A steady appetite for sports, weight training and functional regimes means Sidharth is always ready to meet the taxing demands of his characters

Sidharth Malhotra understands that amends to one's physique are easily discounted when you are genetically less likely to pack on the kilos. "When someone is tall, it's tough to fill up the body and look bulky," says the actor. They say the camera adds 10 pounds, but when such artistes add even 30 pounds, it inevitably appears like a mere 20, given their lithe and agile frame. It's possibly because of this tendency that despite constantly bulking up and breaking down muscle for his cinematic endeavours, it's hard for Malhotra to showcase a dramatic alteration. That, however, is not the case with Marjaavaan. Looking bigger than he ever has since the release of Brothers (2015), Malhotra admits that a fair deal of old-school weight training, and a generous diet, were behind the making of his body.

"When you are shooting for 15 hours a day, you aren't left with time to train or rest. So, I had to wake up at 5.30 am to hit the gym by 6.30 am and execute power movements like squats, dead-lifts and shoulder presses. Olympic movements helped me develop a fuller frame, and achieve the required structure, with less movements. I'd divide my routine into pulling and pushing exercises. That would help me train pretty much each muscle, in two days. So, I was covering all body parts in minimal time, which was crucial, given the schedule."

More hours on set implied less time to rest, and eat. "If you have more time available, it's easier to space out your meals, because you need to give the body a gap between them. Without that, you tend to feel sluggish, making it hard to execute action sequences. But, if you eat fewer meals, you're compromising on the calorie intake [and hence muscle development]. Also, when you don't get adequate rest, the body suffers. Good rest is better than a bad workout, and for this film, I struggled with muscle recovery, due to the lack of it."

Switching from a beefed up avatar to an agile frame for his next, Shershaah — based on Vikram Batra's life — implied that Malhotra had to up the amount of cardiovascular training, and polymeric exercises, in his routine. If his Instagram posts are anything to go by, this format seems to be up his alley. "A soldier needs to do all kinds of plyometric and functional exercises, so we'd incorporate kettle-bell training and box jumps into my routine, because a soldier doesn't have access to the gym. When I trained with the Indian army, [I noticed that they did] a lot of cardiovascular and functional moves, because they have to be ready for anything. We shot in Kargil, in high altitude, where the oxygen level is less. Because I don't smoke or drink, or have any habit that hinders my stamina, I had no issue [pulling off the required training], even though other actors struggled. I was climbing mountain terrain for 15 to 20 days [at a stretch]. That's something I could pull off because I've grown up playing sport, and performing different forms of exercises. If I had practised only one form of activity, I wouldn't be able to do this."

When he isn't prepping his body for a role, his routine is widely dictated by his mood. "I like to mix it up. I have access to a swimming pool, a martial arts class, the gym and a functional [set-up]. But, more often than not, I'm prepping for a film. If I must play a regular character who isn't supposed to look athletic, I take to functional training, yoga and swimming. For Kapoor And Sons, I was only doing yoga, and had also turned vegetarian to look like a regular guy. For Brothers, I had a month to prepare. I had a lot of bare-bodied shots in that film and was even fuller than I am today."

The Cheats

Shruti Hasan

What’s your cheat meal: Rice, potatoes and South Indian meals like sambhar.

How often do you indulge: Once or twice a week.

Cheat meal Vs cheat day: Mostly, it’s just one big cheat meal, but if I’m on a vacation, it’s a cheat week.

Do you compensate for it: When I’m training hard, I tend to be more particular [with my meals]. [I’ll compensate] by eating a light dinner, like soup or salad. I have a heavy breakfast and generally have smaller portions in the day.

Inside Vir Das's fridge

Cider
Kaju ki barfi
Bhindi
Peanut butter
Sitaphal

Fitness tip works for

Shamita Shetty

I find that doing car-diovascular activities the first thing in the morning goes a long way in helping me stay fit

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