While most fitness trainers encourage their clients to be as physically active as they can, it is the inactivity that was enforced by the pandemic that worked in favour of Ranbir Kapoor. Tasked with gaining a substantial amount of muscle mass for his upcoming film, Animal, Kapoor had the opportunity to minimize energy expenditure when locked in at home.

“Since he was not shooting or travelling, he could sit at home and ensure he was getting adequate rest to recover. He was on a good nutritional plan, and so, the exercise sessions that we were on, bore results. If he was also working, it would have been tougher for him to gain muscle mass, because his energy expenditure would have been higher. For someone with [a high BMR, like him], we need to minimize energy expenditure, and reduce the cardio component. Coupled with nutritionally dense foods that were rich in calories, and good quality, and quantity of sleep — both of which he gets — the process became easier,” says Shivoham, who helped the actor gain 11 kilos of muscle mass for Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s film.

It wasn’t an arduous task, given that the actor had already acquired a chiselled frame for Tu Joothi Main Makkaar. “He needed a beach-body for that film, and had to look ripped. We depended on functional training routines for it, because we wanted the muscle definition to be visible for the bare-body shots. While moving onto Animal, we needed to first think of adding muscle mass. In that case, addressing definition was [secondary],” says the trainer, who subsequently switched his programme to include heavy weight-lifting exercises.

While a well-constructed exercise regimen is crucial, Shivoham says carb-cycling also plays a crucial role in bringing about desired change. “Since the muscles could need glycogen when the body is put through a tough regimen, we’d put him on a high-carb diet for a day or two. On other days, he would consume less carbs.”

Over his decades-long career, Shivoham has learnt that understanding a client’s temperament during training goes a long way in creating a programme that appeals to them. For Kapoor, he likes to stick to a rep range of seven to eight. “When it comes to building muscle, the idea is to stress it. And there are several ways to do that. By increasing the amount of weight that one lifts, we adhere to [a principle] called progressive overload. One could also alter the amount of rest between sets, or increase the range of motion. So, there are several ways in which you can stress the muscle. We could either do single exercises, or circuits. We also included some amount of functional movements, like thrusters, snatches and ring pull-ups. But because we didn’t want the muscles to be depleted in the process, we made him lift heavy weights, even during those movements. But, remember that during exercise, the muscle fibres are actually broken down. The process of building the muscle occurs during rest, and so, nutrition and rest play crucial roles in their development.”

Across his recent releases, the actor has undergone notable physical transformations in limited intervals of time. Ask the trainer how he brings about such alterations to his physique, and he lets us in on an industry secret. “The idea is to always maintain a middle-ground weight. A bulky look at 83 kilos will not suit every film, so, we make him acquire a weight of 77 kilos. Thereafter, as long as he continues to be in good shape, and trains well, it’s easy to reach any extreme with small tweaks to his regimen. We either bulk up, or reduce muscle mass, based on the kind of look he desires.”

A picture-perfect example of the muscular wealth that women can develop by training well into their 40s, Sushmita Sen has, for several years, invested in building muscle mass by adopting resistance training practices. Easily among the actors who have set an example when establishing the importance of consistency in physical fitness, Sen appears to have navigated fitness-related ailments by merely showing up at the gym, day after day.

Her trainer Shivoham advocates for this consistency when stating that Sen has, over the years, become aware of her physical needs. “The most important thing for any individual to maintain a certain aesthetic level is to be aware of their body. You need a strong mind that has the ability to focus and concentrate. She has that. She is aware of what her body needs, the kind of exercises it responds to, and what it is capable of doing,” says the trainer, who was introduced to Sen when she wanted to return to training on the Olympic loop. 

“Like me, she loves the [equipment], and had come to me with the aim to lose body fat, become stronger, and get into shape. There is a need to set an initial foundation [for] strength [training], and there was a gap in her training. Some elements of mobility and flexibility had to be addressed. We started slowly, with dynamic movements during the warm-ups. We would also take to activation exercises with loop-bands, and target the tiny muscles of the body.”

The trainer highlights that it is these smaller muscles that contribute to one’s stability, and help in preventing injuries. He’d subsequently focus on making her perform drills, skill-work, and squats, all aimed at helping her understand correct movement patterns.

“Strength building is very important. Women feel formats like yoga and pilates are enough, but they only have aspects of resistance training attached with them. After using the body-weight for a while, you need to add weights. To do pull-ups, you need to do [lateral] pull-downs, and inclined and declined bench presses for push-ups, and to work the entire body,” he says, encouraging women to adopt similar practices. “When you have lean muscle-mass, your metabolism increases, and you will burn more calories. People only want to jog, not lift. But, no matter how much you train, you won’t become bulky, like a man.”

Shivoham, who counts actors like Ranbir Kapoor and Jacqueline Fernandez among his clients, focuses on the need to encourage discomfort. “You need to push the body a little bit every time. Increasing the intensity and difficulty level helped Sushmita reach the point where we could finally train on the rings, and perform pull-ups with some resistance. People get scared of being in an uncomfortable zone, but you need to be there if you want to see results, both, in your training and your life.”

Having previously interviewed several members of the clan, it’s easy for this reporter to decipher that it’s not easy to take carbs out of the diet of the Kapoors. Ranbir Kapoor, however, seems to be cut from a different cloth. The actor, who “is very disciplined when it comes to his eating habits”, follows a Ketogenic diet, a pattern that his trainer, Shivoham, says works well for his body-type.

“He looks good and responds well to it. Some people don’t have the mental temperament to manage a carbs-free diet. He does. We give him enough protein in every meal, and good fats like avocados and nuts,” says the trainer, who began working with Kapoor 18 months ago, and is set to amp up his routine for his next, Animal.

Shivoham agrees that Kapoor isn’t known to be the typical “gym-goer” who enjoys hitting a personal record day-after-day. But small changes in his routine has made the actor approach his lifestyle differently. “The job at hand was to make him gain muscle mass. He had been following free-hand functional training exercises, so he had a decent foundation. We, however, had to move him onto a weight-lifting [plan]. He is a tall guy, with broad shoulders. If one has even a little muscle mass, and the kind of definition that he does, they can look [sufficiently] big on camera. He benefited from compound movements performed in accordance with the CrossFit patterns. He never did a single burpee, because this wasn’t competition-training, but we found other ways to make sure his cardio-component [was addressed]. For instance, between sets, I’d make him do minute-long jump-rope sets. Combined with lifting, this approach helped him enhance his fitness levels.”

While Kapoor has an active lifestyle, and has been involved in sports, he had to approach weight-lifting with caution. Shivoham followed a two-step method to make the transition seamless for him. To begin with, he kicked off his training sessions with a fair share of gymnastics work. “If you need to build muscle mass, you need to push heavy weights, and having a strong core is a prerequisite for that. Olympic ring work, gymnastic work, and bar work was incorporated so that he could build core strength before he began to lift.”

The second factor that the trainer paid heed to was mental stimulation. “Introducing variety is a great way of building muscle mass without making a routine boring. He’s not a gym-person, so in order to make him fall in love with exercising, I had to understand [his] temperament. Within the first few sessions of working with someone, it’s easy to understand what the person likes and dislikes. One can judge that while some people don’t mind pulling off higher repetitions with heavy weights, some can put in their best work in seven reps, while others can pull off 12 reps. Understanding that is a challenge.”

Via the 45-minute sessions that he would get with Kapoor amid his shooting schedules, Shivoham has been able to help the actor develop a fondness for training. “While he could do pull-ups before, he can execute them more efficiently now. His ring work, which can be quite difficult, is good, and he can pull off 25 handstand push-ups in one go,” says the trainer, adding that he also helps him manipulate his diet ahead of a body shot.

“For a close-up, we need to make certain that his face looks chiselled, so we ensure that the water balance in his body is maintained. Eliminating carbs helps us minimise retention. When he has dancing shots, we ensure he stays hydrated. Now, he also understands how his body reacts to different foods. So, he knows what he needs to do when he’s shooting.”

Barely a few days after testing negative for Coronavirus in the last week of March, Ranbir Kapoor headed back to the gym with two objectives — to restore his health, and attain a lean physique for his yet-untitled next with Shraddha Kapoor. While one of the primary after-effects of battling the virus is fatigue, the actor’s trainer Dheepesh Bhatt, better known as Shivoham, reveals that he bounced back from the exhaustion fairly quickly.

“Even when there is post-COVID fatigue, the solution cannot be to sit at home. You have to push yourself to get back to form. His improved lifestyle made a difference. After he was in the clear, we gave him another three days before starting slowly with exercises,” says Shivoham. The first step was to initiate his body into movement after the prolonged period of inactivity. “On the first day, we did basic stretches. We also did light weights, lifting in the range of five to seven kilos. Heavy lifting is a no-no in the early stages.”

Over the past 10 days, the trainer says that Kapoor has inched closer to the fitness level he had before the infection. “The virus affects everyone in varying intensity. He had a [mild bout]. Now, he works out for two hours for three days, followed by a day of rest. We’ll restart functional training when his lung capacity is better. We are sticking to basic weight training for now.”

Many swear by the benefits of yoga that strengthens the lungs. “I recommend the breathing aspect of yoga,” he says. Though no dietary changes have been made, Shivoham reveals that Kapoor’s chef Harsh Dixit has introduced green juice in his diet. “Thankfully, Ranbir’s tite was not compromised during the infection.”