His ripped physique has got fans swooning on social media. And actor Emraan Hashmi reveals that “it’s not for a role”, but his personal fitness goal, to get fitter and stronger.

Hashmi, who has been sharing pictures from the gym, tells us, “I was generally working out because I was fed up of my physical aspect and wanted to change that... It was like a ‘been there, done that’ phase for my training regime.” The shift, he adds, happened during lockdown, when he felt motivated to make greater strides towards his goals.

“You don’t know what to do with yourself for 16-17 waking hours (during the lockdown). It started with me diligently working out last year, and then I began working out twice a day. Once the lockdown ended, I got a good trainer just to understand the science behind it. I was struggling with a few things, working out by myself... I wanted to put on lean muscle mass and increase strength. I needed professional advice for it,” says the Mumbai Saga actor, who is trained by fitness expert and bodybuilding champion Miihier Singh and professional bodybuilding athlete Kuhu Bhosle.

Hashmi, 42, admits that such transformations come with their share of challenges. “It needs a lot of will, resilience and mental prep. It just constantly keeps me on my feet every morning. To get out there and push yourself to not just work out, but to push yourself, to give your very best of everything that you can take out from your body... It’s a very demanding task. You have to go all the way in your training,” he shares, and stresses on the importance of being realistic as well as patient.

“I told them (trainers) that I didn’t have any unreasonable timelines. People feel teen mahine mein body ban jayegi. That’s totally untrue. It depends on what your starting point is. You could [do it] in three months, but it would also depend on what your goal is, how much fat you want to shed, how much muscle mass you want to gain,” the actor elaborates.

Enjoying his current fitness regime, Hashmi says, “I am so used to this, and loving it so much. I don’t think I can imagine my life without this training regime.”