The Ironman, which has virtually become Milind Soman’s second name, opened up on fitness when he was in the Capital recently. And when Milind speaks on how he sees the subject, which eventually made him bag the coveted title, the attentive audience wanted as much dope as possible on how to develop an enviable physique.
Describing his motivation for fitness, Milind says it was all about deriving happiness. “That’s what fitness means to me. It’s about becoming a positive individual. It’s not about just running a hundred miles and lifting several kilos,” he adds.
More than Milind being in the news, it is his mother who made it to newspapers. She was sporting enough to accompany him when he ran barefoot from Mumbai to Ahmedabad for the Great India Run.
Milind, who was in the city for the launch of the FitIndia Campaign, sees her mother’s presence at the marathon as a motivation. “It isn’t about how much she ran but about a 76-year-old who ran enthusiastically. If she can do so at this age, why can’t we?”
Milind believes that human existence is on various energy levels viz. physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level. Its when all the energies are in sync and are constantly working together we are at ease. “There should be understanding that you are a part of everything. And everything has a role to play in maintaining balance in the nature. The balance is constantly shifting with the roles being constantly created by nature.”
The ambassador for fitness in India has also worked intensively on Pinkathon. He defines it as a means of empowering women towards fitness by motivating and educating them about the importance of staying fit and healthy for a gender.
The 50-year-old sees himself as lazy but asserts that his pro-active mindset helps in maintaining his fitness. He firmly believes that it is important to prioritise. For him it isn’t the lifestyle that reduces the scope of seeking fitness but the mindset. “If you want to be healthy, you need to make an effort for the same,” he says.
Emphasising the importance of passing healthy genes, Milind says unhealthy lifestyle is not letting the new generation care about their wellness.
Last seen in Bajirao Mastani , the model-turned-actor claims to have done 40 movies in the past 20 years, which he believes is quite less. Nevertheless he has been busy motivating people about inculcating fitness. He doesn’t assert himself but wants to be seen as an ideal model from whom the youth seeks inspiration. He was a passive smoker but fitness helped him in inculcating a positive mindset.
Introduced to fitness at ten, he started swimming early but running was not his strong point. Interestingly, he has now completed the world’s most difficult Ironman triathlon in Zurich, Switzerland.
Living in an era of constant addiction to food supplements and synthetic products, Milind says supplements are necessary for some people and depends on one’s lifestyles and body profiles. “Some people are not able to accumulate enough nutrition that they need from the food that they eat. Either it is because of not being able to eat enough or eating food where the nutrition is not acceptable to them. Whatever be the reason you need to supplement your diet?”
