Shivohaam has a magnetic personality and it’s hard not to be impressed. That’s exactly what happened when members of ICC Young Leaders Forum attended the session ‘Rise to Strength with Shivohaam’, clinging on to each word of the celebrity fitness coach, at ITC Sonar on February 24. The special session started with a talk with chairperson of ICC Young Leaders Forum Rahul Kyal playing host and shooting a volley of questions centering on fitness — building up muscle, losing weight the right way, plant-based protein and more, leaving fitness enthusiasts feeling energised.
Appearance vs health-driven fitness
Kyal began by asking if fitness has become more appearance-driven than health-driven. Dressed in a sleeveless white T-shirt that revealed the enviable contours of his tattoed arms, Shivohaam calmly said: “There’s no reason it shouldn’t be appearance-driven as everyone wants to look good and feel good.” He added: “However, somewhere people have become too obsessed about looking a certain way. The body is very intelligent. As long as you eat the right food, at the right time and quantity, and follow a good training programme and control stress, your body will get fitter. You don’t have to go over the top to reach there.”
Shivohaam shared nuggets of the transformative journeys of his star clients, including Ranbir Kapoor and Aamir Khan. While he was all praise for the Animal actor for his sense of punctuality, he appreciated the curious nature of Mr Perfectionist
the right diet
Diet is an intrinsic part of fitness and throwing more light on it Shivohaam explained the relevance of different diets. “There is a reason why these diets were created. A ketogenic diet removes carbs from the body, intermittent fasting limits the time that you eat… so the whole trend is based around you eating the right quantity,” said Shivohaam before proceeding to underscore the importance of proteins.
“Protein does not aid in only building muscles. When it breaks down into amino acids, it helps in making bones, hormones and everything,” said the fitness guru who also talked about the oft-maligned carbohydrates and fats. “Carbohydrates are not your enemies. As long as you eat the right type of carbs at the right time. It’s the basic fuel that the body needs, unlike fats which take more time to break down. Fats too are not entirely bad. It’s needed because it provides a good environment for your hormones. Protein is very important and make sure you take the required amount.” He also talked about the sustainable factor of the trending diets and urged all to be flexible and adaptable.
Muscles matter
The audience got their queries answered by Shivohaam
Kyal raised concern about what to have and what not to have before and after hitting the gym for optimum benefit, including the intake of supplements. Before coming to the point Shivohaam talked about the importance of muscles in the body: “Muscle is super necessary to have as it is the reason why you will be healthier in the future as you get older. It is regarded as the biggest organ in the body as all the chemical reactions are happening inside the muscle. They say muscle is metabolically active. The body needs to work harder to keep that muscle. So no matter what your nutrition and supplement are, build some muscle by doing some weight training. Supplements depend on the goal and the intensity of your workout.”
Balancing social life and fitness goals
With an active social life it’s difficult to stay committed to your fitness regimen and sharing the concern of the majority in the audience Kyal asked for guidance from the star guest. Acknowledging the odds, Shivohaam shared some to-do things to stay on track. “A little bit fried stuff is okay but it’s the quantity that matters. Also, whether you like it or not, alcohol is the worst thing for your system and whether it’s one drink or many, it has the same effect,” said Shivohaam before offering a solution. “The way out is no carbs when having alcohol. Whenever you are having alcohol at night don’t have your rolls and biryanis. Focus more on protein, avoid carbs. Also, whether it’s about partying five or six days a week, never stop your training. I understand that training for an hour is a luxury but science has proven and we have seen that 20 minutes of training a day, weight training at a good intensity, to be specific, will give you results. Aesthetically if you want to change then it will require more effort. There is no single tip to lose fat or gain muscles.”
Weight training and women
Vrindda Bhatt, celebrity life coach, was also there to underscore the importance of the mind, after Shivohaam’s talk
Busting myths about women resorting to weight lifting and gaining structured muscles the fitness expert said: “Women have a lot less testosterone in the body than men and no matter how much you train, especially for 30-45 minutes that you usually do, you will not look like a man. As a woman when you start lifting weights, the muscles start getting toned; it is getting firmer and conditioned, it’s not getting bigger.”
