Celebrity Fitness Trainer Yasmin Karachiwala reveals secrets of shaping up Bollywood’s leading ladies.
About Yasmin Karachiwala
Fitness Guru & India’s leading fitness trainer Yasmin Karachiwala is responsible for sculpting the heavenly bodies of Bollywood’s leading ladies – be it Katrina Kaif’s athletic look in Dhoom 3, or Deepika Padukone’s curvy shape in Cocktail, or Kareena Kapoor’s sexy looks in the song Mera Naam Mary in Brothers, or Alia Bhatt’s bikini-body in her upcoming film Shaandaar.
Yasmin is among the leading fitness trainers in India and has also been credited for introducing Pilates in India.
Kareena Kapoor was my first celebrity client. At that time, I wasn’t doing Pilates, so we did a lot of cardiovascular and other gym exercises.
Here are some common questions about the fitness of the leading Bollywood actresses, answered by Yasmin.
What is the biggest challenge for training celebrities?
One of the biggest challenges is their tight work schedules, which make it difficult for celebrities to make time for exercise regularly.
At times they work 12 to 14 hours a day, and on other occasions they travel for several days.
However, thy still take out time for exercising as to achieve a certain look for a film, they have to work hard for it.
It’s difficult, but they are dedicated and ensure they exercise at some time of the day, and that’s where I am available (at their convenience) to help them out.
All the leading actresses (Katrina, Deepika, Alia, Kareena, Sonakshi) have different body types. How do you train them differently?
I have been in the industry for more than two decades, and I know how to train different people. Once I start working with them and see how their bodies react to different workouts, I know to differentiate between their bodies and decide which workout works well with each.
Deepika is naturally thin and lanky, whereas the other heroines have struggled to manage their weight in the past.
So many will say that weight training will work best for Deepika, but Pilates has worked wonders for her. It gives her cuts on her arms and her legs and it just suits her. For Katrina, functional training works the best (gave her the athletic look in Dhoom). So each body type is very different and the workout is designed for them.
For the song ‘Lovely’ from Happy New Year, Deepika had to wear really small cholis and low ghagras and so we did Pilates to complete tone her abs & core muscles.
Alia Bhatt came to me as she needed to wear a bikini for her movie “Shandaar”. She had lost a lot of weight but she looked very tiny so I worked a lot with her to make her look more curvier. We started with Pilates and then moved onto weight training to add the final touches.
So who works-out at what time?
They all workout at different times, and also depends on their shooting schedule.
Padukone is a morning person and exercises around 6am or 7am.
Katrina Kaif, on the other hand, prefers to work out at night (at times we have even exercised at midnight.)
Bollywood fitness guru Yasmin Karachiwala shares her experiences of working out with the leading Bollywood celebrities she has worked with.
Shaping Up Katrina Kaif
Yasmin has worked with Katrina for almost a decade now.
- Katrina’s Strength: athletic legs, which she achieved through squats, lunges and plyometrics.
- Weakness and how she overcomes it: I make sure she works out by constantly sending her reminders.
- Exercise and diet preferences: now She prefers a strong workout (including Pilates). She likes to eat well, never starves. The role for which she sweated the most: Dhoom 3.
Training Deepika Padukone
Karachiwala has been training Deepika for a few years now.
- Strengths: Deepika has a flexible body (she is an athlete) and a strong core (achieved through Pilates).
- Weakness and how she overcomes it: Due to her arched posture, she’s prone to getting back pain if she skips work out.
- Exercise and diet preferences: Tries to exercise regularly. She eats the right kind of food, every two hours.
Training Kareena Kapoor
Yasmin has trained Kareena for more than a decade.
- Strength: Shapely legs (because of cardio exercises, Pilates and yoga). Persistence is her middle name when it comes to exercise.
- Weakness and how she overcomes it: Gets slack once in a while, but manages to come back with sheer willpower.
- Exercise and diet preferences: Does Pilates and cardio exercises. She is a foodie, but eats everything in moderation.
What new trends are revolutionizing the fitness industry?
There will always be new fitness trends coming out. Whenever there is something that attracts me, I try them out and test it out to see if I can incorporate in my gym (not all of them are great workouts though).
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