After having done numerous TV shows, and then pocketing the Most Dumdaar Personality Award for the soap on Colors Uttaran, actor Gaurav Chopra is all ready to host the Big Switch Season 4 on Bindass channel. In New Delhi to promote the show, Gaurav calls Big Switch the turning point of his career simply because of all the avenues he could explore through it, from singing a rap number to knowing himself better. Being a health freak and that his show demands the best from the participant both physically and mentally, the conversation easily swerves towards fitness and ways of achieving it.
“I need to write a book on this”, exclaims Gaurav, talking about remaining fit on the rough terrains and through the cutting winds of Himachal Pradesh during the shoot of Big Switch. “Everything done on this show is done with a philosophy and aimed at a result for the participant and his life. So somehow your motivation becomes the same. So all the troubles, like chilly weather, lack of rest and sleep, not eating and working out properly, low oxygen level, etc, were not troubling me as such.”
Gaurav, termed “the Big brother” in the show, is averse to taking protein supplements or steroids to pump up his body. He rather bank on his growing up days when he played a lot. “An active life during your growing up days enables you to do such hard drills,” he says.
Though not often but he did give in to temptation during the shoot in Dharamshala and Shimla. He admits, “There were times when I was extremely guilty of bingeing on pakoras. It was so cold there that you wanted to eat anything that was hot.” He adds, “My basic rule on the food front is to strike a balance. I have a little bit of everything, and that’s my secret and that works.”
During the shoot, he recalls, travelling through locations, which were far away from each other, took a lot of effort and affected the diet and exercise regimen. “I didn’t sleep as much but I would try and hit the gym even late at night,” he says.
He doesn’t follow a strict exercise routine at the gym, “I do a bit of everything, but of late I’ve rekindled my love affair with the pull-up,” he says, laughing.
“The first thing that everyone should keep in mind is that, your body tells you, when you are being lazy, when you are not getting enough rest, when you’re working out well and eating well. It gives you that feeling,” he says. So whenever he is feeling over exerted, he gives himself a break the next day. His mantra is, “to listen to what one’s body says rather than following a theoretical regime which is on paper.”
Being a non-smoker and non-drinker, he quips,” I don’t need alcohol in my veins to give me bravado.” Gaurav aims at achieving mental peace through yoga, which he does twice or thrice a week.
