Two weeks ago, after winning the Filmfare award for Best Debut for his villainous role in Force, Vidyut Jamwal didn't celebrate it with the usual popping the champagne cork or dancing the night away revelries. On his way back home well past midnight, he called his equally enthusiastic gymnast buddies or 'boys' as he refers to them, to meet him at their regular practice pad at their regular time of 4.45 am to fete his triumph. The following three hours, stripped down to their workout gear and glistening in sweat, Vidyut and his friends were busy breaking into a flurry of gymnastics and Kalaripayattu (a dynamic martial art form from Kerala) moves.
For 31-year-old Vidyut, a national level gymnast who has been learning Kalaripayattu since he turned three, practising martial arts peppered with key elements of gymnastics brings immense joy and satisfaction. Little wonder then that he and his boys dissolve into a haze of leaps, strikes, somersaults and kicks when they have to rejoice over an award or bring in the New Year. "We began practising at 10.30 pm this New Year's eve and powered our way into 2012," Vidyut says.
Killer combo
His idea of fitness is clear - practice an activity that you are really interested in and it will ensure you stay fit. He says, "I love breaking martial arts into parts and combining them with gymnastics. Recently we whipped up a mean mix of Kalaripayattu and gymnastics with some Jijitsu thrown in. The result is a set of gymnastic stunts in combat mode; like landing to strike after doing a double somersault. So while I love doing it, I never worry about staying fit because that happens by itself." For seven years, almost every day - barring the days he shoots or travels - Vidyut has been practising six hours of his 'combo' with his boys; three hour sessions each in the morning and evening. "They are all above average gymnasts and are in their twenties. They spur me on to keep improvising. We often discuss our fitness age. Currently, I am in peak form. So I must be around 17. Some of them are 13!" Vidyut laughs. "If you have the will and spirit, age can never interfere with your fitness."
Though he also hits the gym thrice a week, he insists it is not to 'build a body'. "As a gymnast, you become very flexible. Gymming is superb for strengthening your muscles.
Other than some cardio, I do the staple body-part workouts - combinations of chest-back, biceps-triceps and shoulder-legs." Such intensive training has also resulted in a lot of broken bones and injuries. Pointing to faded wounds on his legs, Vidyut says, "Both my shins are severely injured. But I am an ardent believer of mind over body. My injuries have healed in no time and my legs have only become stronger because I believed I could overcome them."
Vidyut rues how everyone today aspires to lose weight. "At every party, people tell each other - wow, you have lost weight...you are looking great! But fitness has nothing to do with being thin and being fat is not a sin.
This changing idea of fitness is worrisome and this obsession over how we all should look slim and toned to be hot or happening is disturbing. What really determines fitness is whether you are happy within and mentally fit. I know some men with eight packs who are unhappy. I consider them unfit."
Veggie delight
About nine years ago, Vidyut turned vegetarian and he swears by it till date. "I switched because I felt like it. I love vegetarian food and have realised that vegetarianism is healthier because it digests easily, keeps you mentally very fit and it is 100 per cent lighter." Poke him with the myth that vegetarians can't build muscle or bulk and he retorts, "Bodybuilder hoon main yaar...proper!" So protein shakes must be the way to go brawny for the herbivores? "Sure, they are great. But you also need solid chewable protein to build a body. I am a hardcore tofu eater. I eat tofu like how people eat rice. Few know that it contains more protein than chicken. As for dieting, I think it is a flawed concept. The moment you get out of it, you will become fat. It is best to work around it by eating everything, but in a moderate quantity. From salts to sugar, we need to have the right amount of everything to maintain the body's constitutional balance. If you don't have that, then you can't become fit no matter what diet you adopt. That's why people who are on a diet are usually irritable. It's like saying let's put petrol in the car, but let's not do any servicing," he says.
To keep his metabolism ticking, Vidyut breaks his food intake into six small meals. "We Indians eat a lot. When we develop a paunch, it makes our whole body drop. Eating wisely helps you stay fit. So before I set off for training in the morning, I eat a bowl of muesli.
After practice, it is usually idlis. For lunch, I'll have some roti, veggies and dal. Again before training in the evening, I eat a little upma. After each workout session, I take a protein shake. I also eat a lot of fruits, usually those that the season brings along because I believe it is best to follow the nature's food cycle," says the non-smoking, occasionally-drinking actorcum-stuntman. He says he is fitter and has more time than others because of being an early riser and the lifestyle he has chosen. "Even when I was modelling, I never partied after shows and they called me 'boring'. But after I won a Filmfare, they say they respect me more."
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