Wellness, step by step

Rahul Dev on what constitutes fitness

Published - March 25, 2011 08:50 pm IST - New Delhi

Rahul Dev. Photo: S. Arneja

Rahul Dev. Photo: S. Arneja

My fitness approach and philosophy are based on day-to-day functionalities. These functions are bending, lifting, lunging, pulling, pushing and squatting. And these things are based on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution of man from animal. Fitness for me is to make these functions more efficient. And fitness is not body building. Body building is a part of fitness.” What do people do in the akhada (traditional Indian fitness training centres)? They do dand baithak . Dand is push up and baithak is squat. And these things are a thousand years old.

I played cricket for the Delhi under-15 and 19 team. I was inspired by Imran Khan. But couldn't play cricket further and became an engineer. Then I was spotted by fashion designer Rohit Khosla in a nightclub and things happened. I got my big break from Park Avenue and after three years I became Raymond's Complete Man.

Sculpting a body is different from fitness. It can be aspirational or motivational. People get inspired by Salman Khan, Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger. But, body sculpting is a gradual progression.

Keep one thing in your mind: that things will happen step by step. There is no short cut. It is a gradual progression only. You can see it in any field. Whether in acting or business, things happen gradually. And trainers in fitness centres are not dieticians. Their work is to train clients only and not to suggest what they should eat. This is the work of dieticians. I strictly tell my trainers don't suggest anything about diet to clients.

Rahul Dev, along with Milind Soman, recently set up the fitness centre Breathe in New Delhi's South Extension - II, the duo's second such centre in the Capital.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.