Bollywood muscle Udita Jhunjhunwala May 8, 2008

These are the men who drive the muscle-building dreams of the Indian guy. Find out the secrets of sculpting your body to perfection, using the workouts of Bollywood stars.

Hrithik Roshan
'Big biceps' could have been Hrithik Roshan's middle name. The actor's spectacularly muscled arms are kept in epichero shape by his exercises with trainer Satyajit Chaurasia of Barbarian gym.

"We focus on different muscle groups on different days of the week, working the body parts in a cyclical order," says Chaurasia. Hrithik's big torso is balanced out with leg exercises like crunches and leg raises, done five days a week. Each exercise session is rounded off by 15 minutes cardio for compact musculature.

For arms like Hrithik Roshan This is the full range of arm workouts that Chaurasia has done with Roshan. Do these workouts twice a week for 4550 minutes a day. Each biceps workout is to be alternated with a triceps workout. Biceps Barbell curl: Stand straight and hold a barbell with an underhand grip, palms facing you, hands shoulder width apart. Lift using only the strength of your arms. Lower and repeat. Do 3 sets of increasing weights (10kg, 15kg, 20kg) and decreasing reps (12, 10, 8). Preacher curl: Grip an EZ curl bar the same way you gripped the barbell. Rest your elbows on an incline pad. Lift and lower using only arm strength. Do 3 sets of increasing weights (10kg, 12.5kg, 15kg) and decreasing reps (12, 10, 8).

Concentration curl: Sit on a bench, feet apart. Holding a dumbbell in one hand, let your arm hang down the side of one leg. Letting your elbow lightly touch your leg, lift the weight, concentrating on the strength of your biceps. Lower and repeat. Do 3 sets of increasing weights (10kg, 12.5kg, 15kg) and decreasing reps (12, 10, 8). Before moving up the weights, alternate with the other arm.

Dumbbell curl: Stand holding a dumbbell in each hand, arms hanging by your side, palms facing front. Bring up the dumbbell in one hand to shoulder height, then bring it down to the starting position. Alternate with the other hand. Do 2 sets of 10kg with 12 and 15 reps each.

Hammer curl: Stand in the same position as the dumbbell, but keep your palms facing each other. Follow the

weights and reps of the dumbbell curl. Triceps Triceps pulldown: Stand at a cable extension machine. Holding the cables in a false grip (thumb resting above the bar), pull the cables down as far as you can. Do 3 sets of increasing weights (25kg, 35kg, 45kg) with decreasing reps (12, 10, 8).

Lying triceps extension: Lie on a bench, holding an EZ curl bar up over your head, arms straight. Keeping the upper arms still, bend your elbows, bringing the bar level with your forehead. Do 3 sets of increasing weights (10kg, 12.5kg, 15kg) with decreasing reps (12, 10, 8).

Single hand dumbbell triceps extension: You sit on a bench or stand, holding a dumbbell in your right hand, arms raised straight above your head, your upper right arm brushing your right ear. Without moving the upper arm, bend your right arm at the elbow, bringing the weight down to touch the back of your neck. Do 12-15 reps before using your left arm. Do 3 sets using a 10kg dumbbell.

Triceps kickback: Stand next to a bench, right knee resting on it. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand, outside your right thigh. Keeping your upper arm touching the lats, move your right arm back and forth in a pendulum motion. Do 12-15 reps and switch arms. Do 4 sets. Kunal Kapoor When Kunal Kapoor took his shirt off on screen, whipping it around his head, he was as lean as he was tall. Since then, the 6 foot 2.5 inch actor-a self-confessed fitness freak-has worked on adding some bulk to his impressive height. A vegetarian and early riser, Kapoor doesn't smoke and rarely drinks. "But I'm a Punjabi and can't do without ghee and butter," he says.

Kapoor works out with his trainer Vicky Khare three times a week, and does Pilates twice a week. For his cardio workout, he runs in the shallow end of a swimming pool twice a week. "It looks funny, but is very effective," he says.

Having identified his legs as his weak area, concentrated attention has now made that his best feature. "We work on chest/shoulders/triceps on day one; back and biceps on day two and legs and abs on day three," says Khare. "Kunal is an ectomorph, i.e. he has more muscle definition than size. He's tall, lean and muscular with pretty strong legs." His leg exercises, with relatively light weights but more reps, are geared towards shape and muscle definition within a lean frame. And since lean is in, Kapoor is having the last laugh.

"People said I was too lean to be an actor, but now everyone is aiming for the lean look," he says. While he has been going to the gym for 13 years, Kapoor has also been a keen squash, handball, volleyball, basketball and soccer player. "For me, the gym is not about building muscles; it's about learning new exercises and seeing how far I can push myself. I also find it semi-meditative."

For leg strength like Kunal Kapoor

Khare estimates that with a strict diet and following this routine, it would take 12 weeks to get great legs. "You have to have a well balanced workout where you exercise your upper and your lower body." This is a 40-minute workout, with superset exercises:

Leg extension: You sit at the leg extension machine, stretch both legs up, lifting the weights (start with 5kg and keep adding 2.5kg for each set, using bigger weights if you are not a beginner) with the front of your foot. Do 3-4 sets of 20 reps each with 10 reps of squats afterwards.

Leg curl: Lie face down on the leg extension machine. Let your ankle rest again the weighted upper bar. Use your ankle to pull the bar up towards your butt, going as far as you can. Do 4 sets of 20-30 reps with the same weights as leg extension.

Leg press: Lie back on the leg press machine and try pushing 65-70kg with both legs. Do 3-4 sets, alternating with 20-30 reps of leg lunges.

Calf raise: Stand straight on the floor, arms by your side. Lift yourself up, heels off the ground, your weight on your toes. Do 3-4 sets of 30 reps each with a 30 sec-1 minute break between sets.

Hip abduction: Rest your weight on your right arm, forearm fl at on the ground. Keep your left arm in front of your body, both hands lightly touching. Let your right leg stretch out straight, heel slightly off the floor. Your left leg should cross over to the front, foot fl at on the floor. Now lift your right heel further up, pause as your feel the stretch, then lower to start. Do 10 reps, then switch legs. Do 3 sets. Zayed Khan Lean to the point of being thin, Zayed Khan saw his weight see-saw for a while-from ultra-thin, he went to wiry but muscular, then he actually put on so much weight that it drew comments. Last seen, he had got back in shape, with some help from trainer Satyajit Chaurasia. The trainer identifi ed Khan's shoulders as the area that needed particular attention-broader shoulders instantly give you that attractive V-shaped torso, which makes even a very lean man appear bulked up with muscle.

For shoulders like Zayed Khan Do these exercises twice a week to work all your shoulder muscles. Military press (behind neck) alternating with dumbbell press Stand or sit holding the barbell with a grip that is 1ft beyond shoulder-width. Lift the weight up, pause and bring it down slowly till the bar touches the base of your neck. Do 2 sets of 12-15 reps with 10kg and 15kg weights. For dumbbell press, hold the weights in both hands, palms facing away from your body. At the start, hold the weights at shoulder height, lift one arm straight above your head, lower and repeat with other arm.

Military press (front neck) Alternating with Arnold press Hold the barbell in front of you, just above chest height, with a shoulder-width grip, palms facing away from the body. Lift the bar up, pause, then bring it down slowly to the starting position. Do 2 sets of 12-15 reps with 10kg and 15kg weights. (The Arnold press is the same as the dumbbell press, except the palms must be facing inwards rather than outwards.) Upright row: Stand holding the barbell with your arms lowered, palms facing your body at less than shoulderwidth. Lift the bar up to chest height, pause, lower and repeat. Do 2 sets of 12-15 reps with 10kg and 12.5kg.

Front raise: Hold a barbell, two dumbbells or two cables, then lift, pause and lower your arms, alternating arms if it's a cable. Do 2 sets of 12-15 reps with 7.5kg and 10kg.

Shrug: Get in a position similar to upright row, but holding the bar with a shoulder-width grip, palms facing inwards. As you bring the bar up, shrug your shoulders. Pause, lower the bar and repeat. Do 3 sets of 12-15 reps each with increasing weights (20kg, 25kg and 30kg).

Hot tip! When you work with weights, do not rush the downward movement, Chaurasia says. The 'negative rep' must be very slow, with a tempo of 3-4 seconds. Bringing the weight down too fast is a waste of energy. John

Abraham
You just have to take one look at John Abraham to know how important fitness is to him. In his words, it's of "paramount importance, it's the soul of whatever I do, feel, how I am projected."

An athlete since childhood, Abraham has played one on screen in Goal. Naturally, building his legs was part of the training for the fi lm. But rippling muscles is not the actor's idea of a great physique.

Abraham believes in having a "presentable and proportionate" body. "I work hard on my body and I don't believe in short cuts," he says.

The non-smoker, teetotaler actor works out at least 45 minutes a day, five times a week when he's free and twice a week when he's shooting. "I focus on strength training when I am free," he says.

Abraham believes that the secret to fitness and a good physique is shaped like a tripod. "It's like a tripod stand: good sleep, good routine, good food. Without any one of these, the tripod will collapse. I eat at regular intervals, sleep for

seven hours and work out just enough to keep my body fit. I decide what I feel my body needs for a certain role in a film and work out accordingly."

In spite of his legs being injured in a bike accident, the actor gets the most compliments for his quadriceps (the 'teardrop' above his knee) and his upper arms. Unlike many Bollywood muscle men, Abraham's lower body is rather proportionate to his upper body. His workout, designed with heavy weights, aims to give him mass and power.

For lower body strength like John Abraham

Squat: "Squats are most important for your glutes," says Abraham. Stand on the floor, feet shoulder-width apart, with a barbell resting on the back of your shoulders. Keeping the barbell in the same position, lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Rise back slowly and repeat. Do 4 sets with increasing weights, lifting 90-100kg in the final set.

Leg extensions: Sit at the leg extension machine, stretch both legs up, lifting the weights with the front of your foot. To do it like John Abraham, keep adding to the weight stack, lifting 70-75kg in the last of 4 sets.

Weighted lunge: Cover a distance of 50m with light weights (about 10kg) in each hand.

Calf stretch: Stand on the edge of a step and move your feet alternately, placing pressure on your toes. Do 10 reps on each step before moving up to the next step. Do a total of 100. A good excercise for your hamstrings. Shah

Rukh Khan
Late last year, Shah Rukh Khan revealed a body that made men half his age go green. He had a good base to start with: an athlete from his school and college days in Delhi, playing hockey and football, Khan's athletic build and weight have been maintained for over eight years by his personal trainer, Prashant Sawant.

Khan & Sawant's association is at least eight years old, with a hiatus when Khan suffered a chronic back problem leading to surgery.

At that point, his physical training was adapted to strengthen his back. "After his back was strengthened, we planned a new look for him," says Sawant, of the Mumbai gym, Body Sculpture.

"Even at 42, he has a model body and we worked on a kind of Bruce Lee look for him." Sawant advises those with a back problem to first consult a doctor about their physical training. "Do a lot of stretches and see which part of your body needs strengthening before you start on a new body. Begin with light weight training," the trainer suggests.

For his new look, Khan worked out at least four times a week for an hour at a gym installed in his Bandra mansion. On Sundays, he played football.

Sawant identified Khan's shoulders as his weak area and his chest as his best feature when they started on the sixpack look. "Because of his back injury, we had to be careful with his shoulders," he says. And what about Khan's smoking habit, how much did that affect his stamina? "He is a smoker, yes, but he has more energy than most 21year-olds," says Sawant.

For a chest like SRK - Coz you already know how to get abs like him Following this routine for 40-45 minutes over three months can give you a chest like Shah Rukh Khan. Start with a warm-up. Then do 40-45 pushups.

Incline dumbbell press: Lie on an incline bench with a dumbell in each hand. Hold them at chest level, with your palms facing your feet. Keep your back pressed to the bench. Push the weights upward and away from your chest. As you extend your arms, slowly turn your wrists so your palms face each other. Pause for a second, then reverse the motion, slowly lowering the weights to the starting position. Do 2 sets of 20 reps each using light weights (30-35kg). Then do 4 sets (15 reps each) of heavy weights (40kg, 50kg, 60kg, 70kg) with two failures.

Decline dumbbell press: You lie down again on an incline bench, except this time your legs are at a higher level than your upper body. Repeat the movements of the incline dumbbell press. Do 4 sets of 15 reps each using heavy weights (50kg, 60kg, 70kg, 80kg) with two failures (20 reps each of 30-35 kg).

Dumbbell pullover: Let your upper back rest on a bench, thighs parallel to the floor, feet fl at on the floor. Hold the dumbbells in both hands above your chest, arms straight. Now move your arms back as far as you can, arching your back only slightly. Lower the weights behind your head, pause, then return to start. Do 3 sets of 15 reps each, using 40-50-60 kg.

Cable crossover: Stand and hold two cables, palms facing downwards. Pull the cables down, until your fists are just crossed in front of you. Move your arms back to the starting position and repeat. Do 2 sets of 15 reps to failure.

SHAH RUKH KHAN He may be the man-next-door in his recent hit Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. But who can forget the flutter Shah Rukh Khan created with his six-pack abs and lean, hard body in Om Shanti Om (OSO). Unlike Aamirs eight-pack in Ghajini, though, SRKs six-pack was set in a slimmer frame with smaller muscle groups on show. SRK achieved his OSO look in four months flat. Now, if you want the Dard-e-Disco look too, strap up for four months of rigorous exercises four times a week for one-and-a-half hours daily along with a strict diet, advises our coach. Workout schedule

Warm up with five to 10 minutes of side bends, hip rotations, scissors, free lunges and twists, or even cycling or jogging. Then, begin weight training. Our coach suggests that you work out your upper body and lower body on alternate days and then take a day off. Choose two exercises for each body part a day. Do each exercise for three to four sets of 10 to 15 reps each. That means 18 to 24 sets each day. Heres the coachs prescription. Choose any two exercises for each body part: Back: Chin ups, seated rows, bent-over rows and one-arm rows. Upper body and chest: Bench press, push-ups, chest flys and cable crossovers. Shoulders: Clean and press, military press, overhead dumbbell press and upright rows. Lower body: Do four exercises each over two days. Choose from dumbbell squats, barbell squats, front squats, lunges, dead lifts, step-ups, leg press and hack squats. After weight training, work on your abs. Do three sets of 15 reps each of planks, lateral planks with rotation and rotatory lunges. If your body fat isnt too high, do abs three days a week. Also, do at least 15 to 20 minutes of cardio every alternate day. If you need to lose weight, do cardio daily. (Prescribed by coach Ranadeep Moitra, a fitness consultant to gyms like Solace, Addlife, Oceo, and trainer to the Bengal junior cricket team.) JOHN ABRAHAM Enough has been written about his cute butt inDostana. But really, John Abraham has had women swooning over his toned, body since the Dhoom days. Sure, he has worked hard at it. During Dostana, his coach put him through the old school body-building routine of lifting heavy weights. The idea was to isolate every muscle, work it to exhaustion, give it time to recover and then return to it after a few days. To get a body like Johns, work out for 45 minutes five days a week, says our coach. Workout schedule The coach recommends that you do nine per cent of cardio and 91 per cent of weight training. Warm up with stretching exercises. Then, start the weight training with the bench press. Do three sets of 10 reps each. Now, go for some tricep pushdowns with a rope on a cable machine. Do three sets of 10 reps each. Move on to crunches on an exercise ball, doing three sets of 15 reps each. Then do two sets of 20 push-ups each before moving to the shoulder press machine for three sets of 10 reps each. Now, go for some toe-touchers do three sets of 35 reps each. Then take a cardio break: Run for 20 seconds, doing four bouts with 10-second breaks. Head back to the bench press for three sets of 10 reps each before doing three sets of 20 reps each on the crunch machine.

Anurag demonstrates a lateral plank; (below) coach Wahab does a push-up

Its time now for three sets of chest flys. Wind up the session with side lateral raises and hanging leg raises (three sets each) to strengthen the abs. For those legs, do lunges, dumbell lunges, stiff-legged deadlift, barbell squats for 10 reps, 4 sets. Finally, cool down with five minutes of stretching. (Recommended by fitness coach Anwar Wahab) HRITHIK ROSHAN Now, who hasnt admired this stunners hot bod, which experts say is the most sculpted body in Bollywood? Certainly, Hrithik Roshan is a self-avowed fitness freak. Our coach suggests that you put in one-and-a-half hours, six days a week, if you want a body like Hrithiks. Workout schedule Warm up with 15 minutes of stretching exercises before your weight training. Take weights suited to your body strength, though Hrithik exercises with upto 100kg. Heres our coachs weight training schedule: Monday: Work out your chest and back. Do the bench press, inclined dumbbell press, cable crossover pulley and pull-overs for the chest. For the back, do the lateral pull-down, dumbbell rows, barbell rows and chin-ups. Tuesday: Work on your biceps with dumbbells, barbell curls, concentration curls and preacher curls. Then, exercise the triceps with pulley push-downs, lying and overhead tricep extensions, and tricep kickbacks. Wednesday: Exercise the shoulder muscles with side laterals, cable pulley side laterals, the shoulder dumbbell press and shrugs. Thursday: Work out your legs with squats, leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises and straight dead-lifts. Friday: Work out chest and back again. Saturday: Work out the arms once more. Do three sets of 10, 12 or 15 reps each for each exercise. After weight training, do 100 crunches and leg raises daily for a washboard tummy. Do 30 to 45 minutes of cardio thrice a week. (Recommended by Satyajit Chaurasia and Jason Martin, a YMCA certified fitness coach from UK, who trains the national weightlifters.)

Diet Chart
To show that extreme definition with visible six packs or eight packs and to ensure low body fat you need to go on a high-protein, low carbohydrate, low fat diet. Typically, experts advise you to eat small meals every two hours though there may be individual variations in their suggestions. Here are the diets followed by the stars: SALMAN KHAN

Protein-rich, 2500-3000 cal diet Pre-workout Protein shake, 2 egg whites with amino acid tablets Post-workout Breakfast: Bowl of oats, 3 egg whites Mid Morning snack: 10 almonds, protein shake with glutamine Lunch: Dal, green veggies, 3-6 rotis Evening snack: Some nuts, protein shake Dinner: 200gm grilled fish/ chicken, veg soup, 2 egg whites Protein shake before going to bed AAMIR KHAN 2500 cal diet with 2 egg whites and a toast every 2 hours for sustained energy levels (even if lunch was skipped). Pre-workout 1 banana Post-workout Protein shake with glutamine Breakfast: 2 egg whites, a toast, milk, cereal and fruit Lunch: 2 rotis, dal, veggies Evening snack: Protein shake Dinner: 250gm grilled/ barbecued chicken with toast (dinner before 9 pm) SHAH RUKH KHAN 2500 cal diet Breakfast: Oats or muesli with skimmed milk, 3-4 egg white omelettes, 2 slices of multi-grain bread, tea/coffee without sugar, fruit Snack: Protein shake, 4 almonds, 1 walnut Lunch: Sauted vegetables, 2 pieces of grilled fish/ chicken/ lean mutton Evening snack: 2 idlis with sambhar/ grilled paneerrolls/ grilled chicken sandwich Dinner: Clear soup, steamed vegetables, grilled fish, salad Dessert: Skimmed milk with protein powder or fruit JOHN ABRAHAM Vegetarian diet, meal every 2 hours

Breakfast: Fruit juice, 2 egg whites, 3 whole wheat slices with peanut butter, 10 almonds, 1 cup of black tea Pre-workout Protein shake with glutamine and multi-vitamin Lunch: 2-3 rotis, yellow dal, stir-fried spinach Evening snack: Protein shake, 2 egg whites Dinner: Soup, sauted veggies HRITHIK ROSHAN Breakfast: Bowl of oatmeal, 3 egg whites, 1 peach, 2 amino acid tablets, 2 scoops of whey protein Lunch: Chicken breast salad, boiled veggies, dry fruits small bowl, 1 multi vitamin tablet Pre-workout 3 egg whites, slice of brown bread, 1 banana, scoop of whey protein, 2 amino acid tablets tablets Dinner: 2 scoops of whey protein, 2 grilled chicken breasts, boiled veggies 2 more scoops of whey protein at bed time