‘To get a beach body, Shraddha Kapoor did 14-16 hours of intermittent fasting’: Trainers Maahek and Praveen Nair

Tell us about your respective journeys

Maahek – I have studied finance, and only had a fleeting interest in fitness. But a severe spine injury, which needed surgery, forced me to dig deep and learn about muscle anatomy and how the human body functions — all so that I could heal myself with food and rehab training.

Praveen – Fitness has always been my passion and I love to follow a disciplined lifestyle. I was and am very fascinated with good bodies, and muscles as I feel what you see is the result of utter determination, discipline, and consistent efforts over months and years. It also reminds me of my school days when I used to be bullied, and lacked confidence because I did not have a good physique. I felt very under-confident and was extremely shy about my personality, something I always wanted to overcome. I am glad I have a partner who shares this same vision.

What does fitness mean to you?

Praveen – We believe in and teach people a lifestyle modification that can be adapted and followed forever. So it is about easy and cool recipes and about 30 minutes of exercise, which takes care of your health and good joint mobility.

Maahek – Fitness and exercise have to be a lifestyle. For me, it’s a ritual, like how you meditate once you wake up, brush your teeth, and take a shower. It has to be a practice and a habit. Only then you will love the results and benefits.

Maahek Nair with Shraddha Kapoor (Source: PR Handout)

You have known Shraddha Kapoor for long. How is it training with her?

Maahek – Our journey with Shraddhu is over a decade long…she is more of a friend than a client. Knowing her so well really helps us keep her workout tailored to her needs — when to keep her workout intense and when to let her go easy on diet. We keep things really comfortable for her, according to her character portrayal, needs, and schedule.

Praveen – Over the years, Shraddha evolved a lot with regards to fitness and nutrition. We are proud to say that she follows a disciplined lifestyle and is consistent with her regime. She is the last one to show tantrums or say no to anything. She tries to put maximum effort at what she does. So, naturally, we love her for all her little little things. She is a gem of a person to work with.

What did the training look like for her latest release?

Maahek – Shraddha’s routine throughout the shoot was quite tight, especially during the international schedule in Spain, and Mauritius as the days were longer and nights were shorter. We were on a tight schedule, but Shraddha is a sweetheart and she made a point to workout maximum number days to the look great, as you can see in the songs.

We would train at 5:30-6 am, as she had early morning shoots. The rest days were also planned considering her hectic dance rehearsals; but I feel we pulled it off pretty well. I am very happy with the results.

Praveen Nair with Shraddha Kapoor (Source: PR Handout)

What was Shraddha’s diet like?

Praveen – Shraddha is gifted with a great frame and genetics, which means she can get in to very low fat percentage in a week or two. However, a few things that we keep in mind is to make her workout for minimum four times a week as all we need is about two weeks to make her ‘bikini-ready’. Workout and diet are solely dependent on her character and situation, for which we often take inputs or work with directors. Like for Tu Joothi Mein Makkar, we had few meetings with Luv Ranjan to understand the need of character and time zones.

Maahek –Shraddha’s diet was split in two phases. Phase 1 was where she has a lot of dancing and shooting in extreme heat for long hours. Here she was on moderate carbs, proteins and fats. She was on a lot of liquids as it was extremely hot. Some of her meals included tofu steak and vegetables, sprout salads, sprout and gluten free tikkis, gluten free pasta with lots of vegetables, drinks like BCAA , electrolyte, lemon water with mint etc.

Phase 2 was was all about beach scenes in which her abdomen had to look lean with no retention. Since Shraddha genetically has a great body structure, meals were kept high in fibre, moderate protein, less carbs, and less fat. In this phase, for a beach body, Shraddha did 14-16 hours intermittent fasting too.

All the meals were macro counted and comprised more of leaf-based salad bowls, Asian greens and vegetable soups, protein Buddha Bowls, and açai , blueberries smoothie bowls with plant protein.

Your message for everyone?

Praveen – Staying fit is an outcome of having a beautiful mind, so train and teach your mind first before you plan to make fitness a part of your life.

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