John Abraham, who made his acting debut in 2003 with Jism, redefined how people looked at fitness. The model-turned-actor's enviable eight-pack abs, beefy biceps are an inspiration for several fitness enthusiasts. But achieving such a chiselled physique is no mean feat. Behind every 'pack' is months-long hard work and hours of sweating it out in the gym.
Vinod Channa, who has been the actor's trainer for many years, gives a peek into the fitness regime that John follows to the T. “I have been training John since the film, Force. He has a body type called the Endo Meso, which would mean that he is a mixture of the Endomorph and Mesomorph types of bodies. For these kinds of body types, it is easy to gain fat and muscles, but tough to lose them easily. But for every ten kilos of fat, you add three kilos of muscle. Having said that, he is someone who always works hard on his body for various films. Since I have a certification in 16 types of training, we always use permutations and combinations of different things -- from Calisthenics to parkour, animal flow to even stick mobility -- and work on a complete workout,” says Channa, who also trains renowned industrialists, apart from Bollywood stars.
John with Vinod | DABBOO RATNANI
John, who had bulked up for Satyameva Jayate 2, Pathan and Ek Villain 2, now needs to lose it all for the Hindi remake of the Malayalam film, Ayyappanum Koshiyum. While bulking up is not easy, losing weight gained for a particular role in a short span is even difficult. As for John, he is always willing to walk the extra mile.
“One query that I get regularly is about my workout. But then, that is never uniform. It keeps changing with the nature of the films I do. For Force, I had a rather intensive workout where I even lifted heavyweights to ensure that I have huge muscle mass. I had to go in for a chiselled look for Race 2 as I had to look like a resounding cage fighter with agility. So, the role dictates the workout,” says John.
Vinod says losing weight in a specific duration depends on the body type as well as the fat percentage. “John puts on weight easily and bulks up quickly, and works hard to lose the bulk. It is also important that he should do all this without risking an injury during the training,” says Vinod.
Vinod adds that John is extremely dedicated when it comes to not just his work, but his workouts as well. “There are times when he has shot for around 16 hours and he has still managed to hit the gym after that. That is the kind of dedication he has. He schedules his time so that he can either come late at night or early in the morning depending on his shootings and work commitments,” Vinod shares.
Giving an insight into John's fitness regime, Vinod explains, “When he is in Mumbai, he is at the gym for six days a week. He does cardio exercises and spends an entire day working on his back and strengthening his core muscles. A day is allocated for shoulder muscles and biceps and he keeps increasing the intensity of these exercises depending on the nature of the physique he needs to build for his films,” adds Channa.
John is quite particular about his diet as well. On several occasions, the actor has credited his alcohol, sugar, and nicotine-free habits for his impressive physique and good health. Many are not aware that John is also a pescatarian — he avoids meat and opts for fish. “His diet is more about high-proteins and fibres. Hence, he skips wheat-based products on certain days and ensures to have a lot of eggs and fish apart from fresh fruits and vegetables. He has paneer as well at times. Dinner is simple with bajre ki roti and vegetable soup,” says Channa, about John’s 'diet hard with a vengeance' motto.
