If you thought being a movie star was all about diamonds and pearls, champagne soirées every week, and dodging the unrelenting paparazzi, you have another think coming. Actresses work hard for their fame and fortune, and not just in front of the camera. Behind the screens, it takes hours of training at the gym and dedication to diets to fit every role—and the regimens must change to suit the role!
Here’s a round-up of what four female leads with very different requirements needed to do for that shapely figure (just don’t try this at home without supervision).
Vidya Balan’s curvy look
The brief: Vidya Balan, who had been facing criticism for her flab, wanted to tone her body while retaining her curves.
The plan: Since the motto was not to attain a size-zero figure, the exercise routine did not involve going to a gym or using equipment, says Vilayat Hussain, a personal trainer who has worked with Balan for the last six months. Instead, he recommended calisthenics, a form of exercise consisting of a variety of simple movements that are intended to increase body strength and flexibility using one’s body weight for resistance.
(left to right) Calisthenic curves: For Vidya Balan’s curvaceous but toned look, her trainer recommended exercises that use body weight for resistance. Athletics-inspired: Rani Mukherjee’s sporting role called for eating every 2 hours, plus extra cardio and weights. Confined shape-up: Floor-based exercises were prescribed to help Shamita Shetty stay fit during the Bigg Boss season. Beach body: Interval cardio training ensured Lara Dutta’s bikini-friendly belly.
The aim was an all-round shape-up, so the focus was on all three divisions of the body—sagittal (left and right), coronal (front and back) and transverse (waist-up and waist-down). Hussain explains that most gym exercises concentrate on toning the arms and thighs. However, most human movements involve using the torso, so focusing on the arms and legs is a waste of time. For Balan, he focused on two torso-training exercises: diagonal chops (using medicine balls) and an anti-rotator exercise. Crunches were avoided since Hussain felt they were bad for the lower back. He also avoided cardio exercises because “cardio exercises...end up giving you a Westernized slimmer physique which is more angular, but that is not the look Vidya wanted”, he says. Hussain also did not place any dietary restrictions on Balan, who loves home-cooked food, and stuck to it. “Everyone knows what to eat and what not to...so I don’t see any point on instructing people on their diet,” says Hussain. Balan exercised for 45-60 minutes a day, every alternate day.