Fitness is the only religion I know. 

– John Abraham   

John Abraham is a fitness idol for the nation, and rightfully so. For an agnostic who asserts ‘fitness’ is the religion he religiously follows, we can hardly expect otherwise. Always criminally sexy, he sets the screen aflame with his smoldering hot looks and has a million women (and men too – what with him being touted as a gay icon) drooling over him!

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And the mantra behind his spectacularly yummmm body is quite a simple one:

Healthy life is like a tripod – good food, good sleep, and a good workout routine.

And here’s what the hunk has to say about the legs that hold up the tripod:

Food

John maintains that attaining a body that one desires is 60% dietary intake and 40% workout. As such, it is important to eat right. Here are the rules that he insists be follows religiously:

• Having a good breakfast- The most important meal of the day, this one needs to be done right, so as to have enough energy to sustain you through the day. It helps you be alert throughout and focus on your day’s activities with great concentration
• Fueling one’s body throughout the day – having small nutritious snacks/portions all through the day helps keep your metabolism up
• Keeping the balance right – the key to taking in perfect nutrition is balance. Don’t watch each calorie, don’t cut off carbs completely or binge on mere proteins. It is important to consume everything in right proportions. You need to be sensitive to the nutritive value of the meals you consume. For example, natural sugar from fruits is definitely better than the calories you load on from refined sweets
• Proper portion control – this ties in with the previous point. It is important to ensure that you are taking in balanced portions of every element within your diet.

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• Consuming carbs wisely – carbs aren’t your enemy, if consumed properly. If you consume carbs early on in the day, they will fuel you with energy and you will have the entire day to burn them off
• Killing temptation with moderation – it is important to resist temptation and more important that any indulgences be kept in check. Moderation is the sword with which one fights temptation and an ‘occasional’ treat must actually be kept ‘occasional’
• Consuming lots of water and other fluids – John cannot stress enough the importance of keeping one’s system hydrated
• Knowing your body type and food habits – John has an ectomorph body type, which means he is naturally lean with a tendency to lose weight easily, and therefore, needs to eat well and workout heavily to gain weight. Also, he is a pescetarian and therefore, avoids meat but eats fish and egg whites for protein. When he undergoes intensive training for a particular role, he supplements his diet with whey shakes and protein bars to boost his nutrition. His advice is to be completely familiar with one’s body type and food habits so as to design a diet plan according to your body type, metabolic pace, and individual needs

Here’s what John’s dietary intake looks like:

Pre-workout – Carb intake. Breakfast – Black coffee/green tea (which will boost your metabolism if you’re going to work out in the morning), 4 egg whites / 1 potato/sweet potato/corn/wheat flakes/brown bread (these are high carbs), and one apple

Post workout – 6-7 egg whites with protein shake

Morning breaks – Pasta (for the carbs quotient, Whey proteins, Salad)

Lunch – rotis, 3-4 slices of steamed fish, sprouts, sabzi, dal, curd, and a carrot

Evening breaks – 3-4 egg whites, mashed potato, apple, orange, sweet lime or papaya

Dinner – Bajra/ jowar/ nachni rotis

No carbohydrate intake after 5 pm. Dinner before 9 pm.

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Overall, John’s diet consists of 50 per cent proteins, 20 per cent carbohydrates, 20 per cent fibers, 10 per cent anti-oxidants and essential fats.

Sleep

John insists on a good night’s sleep. He maintains that an eight hour sleep is a must as sleep is the time when the body goes into repair mode. It is conducive to the workout schedules you have and helps in muscle-building. Muscles don’t grow when you’re working them in the gym but afterward – when the body is resting. As such, any laxity on the sleep front shall stunt your desired physique and its development.

Workout routine

“I’m often asked what my particular workout is. Well, very honestly, my regime changes all the time, depending on the look I am trying to achieve for my current film. My workout for Force, for example, was very intensive, lifting heavy weights to build maximum muscle mass. For Race 2 I had to be a convincing cage fighter, so the emphasis shifted to a more chiseled look encompassing flexibility and agility. For Madras Café I have to be lean and mean, so lots of cardio and interval training have come into play.”

Here’s what his workout regimen looks like:

John Abraham’s workout schedule comprises focus on two body parts a day. One big muscle followed by a small muscle. Each workout contains 4 sets with 10-12 reps each. Each body part has 4 or 5 variations of the exercise.

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Chest – incline dumbbell press, flat bench press, decline pull over, cable cross over

Shoulder – barbell shoulder press, dumbbell Arnold press, dumbbell lateral raise, front raise

Biceps – barbell curl, dumbbell alternate bicep curl, concentration curls

Triceps – dumbbell tricep kickback, close grip bench press, cable pushdown

Forearms – barbell wrist curl, palms down dumbbell wrist curl

Back – barbell dead lift, pull ups, wide grip lat pull down, cable seated row, one arm dumbbell row

Legs – barbell front squat, leg press, seated leg curl, calf press, leg extension

Cardio – treadmill running & walking

Abs – exercise ball reverse crunch, hanging leg raise, plank, leg raise.

The mantras that John follows religiously include:

• Exercise should be a way of life and not a phase of life
• Having an efficient schedule and sticking to the correct technique
• Going slow and steady – nothing is a quick fix when it comes to fitness
• Keeping things varied – variation keeps things interesting as well as adapts the body to newer challenges
• Ensuring optimum levels of self-discipline, consistency, and motivation

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Things not to do

• Crash diets are a strict no-no
• So are late-nights
• And steroids
• And drugs
• And shortcuts…

And it’s not just about the body …

John says,

“It’s nice to look good, but you should strive for a healthy mind too. Try to live a clean and responsible life. Be honest with yourself and the people around you. Be considerate and respectful and conduct yourself with dignity.

“At the end of the day, having six (or even eight) pack abs means nothing if your outlook and attitude aren’t in equally good shape.”

Hopefully John’s ‘fitness guide’ has prepped you enough to act on what you already know about a healthy mind in a healthy body! So, get set, go!! J

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