Meet the man behind Farhan Akhtar's amazing physique

in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Farhan Akhtar trained with Samir Jaura for five to six hours every day for 13 months. (Image Courtesy: Mid-Day)

How would you describe Farhan Akhtar's physique before he started training for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag? I have been training Farhan for the last five years. Before he signed the movie, his fitness level was just 70 per cent of what you see in the film. Once he signed the project, Farhan and I had a long chat. I told him that since he was playing an athlete, his body needed to be hundredfold better. How much weight did Farhan gain and lose for this film? Initially, Farhan was around 66 kilos. His weight was around 75 kilos in the portion where he sports a rippled look. We shot that part first. Then he had to drop 15 kilos for the portion in which he joins the army. This took three-and-a-half months. I couldn't change his body structure, only his muscles had to be toned down.

What did his workout schedule entail? I would change his training schedule every 15 days so that his body does not get accustomed to a particular kind of workout. I would make him do strength training and later hypertrophic strength training whereby your muscles thicken. He also trained with heavy weights and I made him follow the Tamata Principle where you train with emphasis on time. He also went through endurance training. It took him 13 months to develop a chiseled look. He trained for five to six hours every day. What diet did he follow? Farhan was off rice, roti, bread and alcohol for 13 months. He had low sodium food which was monitored regularly. We gave him a meal that balanced his carbohydrates, protein and fat intake. He ate six to seven meals in a day; I ensured he ate every three hours. You are also working with Priyanka Chopra for her biopic on Mary Kom. How are you training her? Since she plays a boxer, it involves a lot of shoulder movements. Her back and legs have to be strong because while boxing, one is constantly moving. Who else is training with you? I am training Rani Mukherji for a film with Yash Raj Productions and also Aamir Khan's son, Junaid. It's just general training for him, though.

Bollywood News Service Get quads of the gods like Farhan Akhtar

The talk of the town for the fabulous physique he has built for his upcoming movie Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Farhan is not your regular body-buffing star. The 39-year-old actor and director is said to have worked on his body for nearly two years to achieve not only the look, but also the fitness level of one of India's top sportspersons Milkha Singh. "It took consistent training for four to five hours a day to get three different looks," says Samir Jaura, his personal trainer. “Farhan’s ectomorphic (lean build) body type helped him, and his body responded well to hypertrophy strength training (HST).” 1 Jump squats with the barbell- An ideal exercise for your quadriceps, hamstrings and calves, be careful with it though. If there is tension, it means you are doing something right; however, outright sharp pain is a distress signal and you need to change your activity. 2 Cross lunge with the barbell- This move targets the hamstrings and glutes extra hard, teaching your body balance and coordination at the same time. It also enhances your ability to move in any sport-in case you were planning any 'crossovers' of your own. 3 Reverse lunge with the barbell- Reverse lunges place less stress on your knees when compared to forward lunges as it is easier to form the 90-degree angle between your thighs and calves. It also keeps your knee aligned with your ankle. 4 Hamstring leg extensions- A weak VMO (the teardrop shaped muscle near the inside of the knee) can cause the knee-cap to move the wrong way in its grove, causing knee pain. 5 Hamstrings leg curl- Work your hamstrings as hard as you would work your biceps. Don't ignore them just because you don't see them. You should be able to do hamstring curl at least 60 per cent of the weight you would for knee extensions in order to maintain balance and to prevent hamstring injuries. 6 Donkey calf raises- Unlike conventional standing calf raises, this

exercise places the load directly over your hips, bypassing the spine. It puts maximum focus on your gastrocnemius (larger of the two calf muscles) muscle.

7 Sissy squats- There's nothing 'sissy' about the sissy squats! In fact, it's one of the toughest moves you are likely to perform. Designed to produce

massive muscle separation in the quadriceps, it can be used as a warm-up or even a finishing movement-the latter in this case.

"You can't look like an athlete if you don't shock your system into growth. Do the exercises mentioned above without taking rest in between sets. Lift enough weight to get in about 12-15 reps for each move and rest anywhere between 30 seconds and a minute at the end of each round. Repeat this routine six to eight times, twice a week and see results in around three weeks," says Farhan's personal trainer Samir Jaura.

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Farhan Akhtar sweated it out for 13 months to get the perfect Milkha look

Shoulders Farhan's favourite exercise, according to his trainer, was lateral raise which helped him develop round, muscled shoulders. Along with that, he did 15 sets of front raises with dumbbells regularly. Abs For his eight-packs, Farhan did around 2,500-3,000 crunches, leg raises, side bends and other abdominal exercises daily.

Legs

The runner's legs were attained through 300 counts of squats, jump squats, lunges, leg press andextension and a100 calf raises. • Liquid Diet • Water

• Coconut water • Fresh fruit shakes • Juices • Green tea

To build his athletic body, Akhtar went on a liquid diet thrice in 13 months and he would stick to the diet for five days a week.

Endurance is Key

Akhtar's routine included functional training which consisted of 10 rounds and 15 repetitions of 10 exercises such as pull-ups, push-ups and high knees under the keen supervision of his trainer Samir Jaura.

Biceps

The bulging biceps developed only after he regularly did 12 sets of exercises such as curls, preacher curls, cable workouts and concentration curls.

Samir Jaura's passion for fitness was born out of desperation. "I was a fat kid," says Jaura, now better known as Farhan Akhtar's personal trainer in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. He recollects spending the better part of his childhood munching on potato wafers and taking an hour to cycle to tuitions which were only 15 minutes away. At 21, he decided to mend his ways and lost 40 kg in four months through persistent cardio and rigorous dieting.

Jaura started off by training Manoj Bajpayee, then a resident in Jaura's housing society in Lokhandwala. He went on to work with Fardeen Khan and Urmila Matondkar for Jungle and was later Abhishek Bachchan's personal trainer for two years. His biggest feat was helping the actor lose 25 kg for Raavan (2010).

"Farhan trusted me 150 per cent in what I was saying and the result was there for everyone to see," says the 42-year-old fitness trainer. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag's success has resulted in more projects: The forthcoming Mary Kom biopic with Priyanka Chopra and the Yash Raj Films project, Mardaani, starring Rani Mukerji. Even as more film projects come his way, Jaura wants to choose work keeping in mind the production house, the actor and the film's subject.

"I want to do serious projects where the actor wants to get 100 per cent into the skin of the character," he says.

Farhan Akhtar Workout Routine & Diet Plan for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a movie about the flying Sikh ‘Milkha Singh’ who

won commonwealth gold for India and missed out (by a fraction of a second!) the bronze medal in the Olympics games that were held in Rome in the year 1960. The film tells the tale of Milkha Singh from his struggle for existence during the partition of the country to leading a refugee’s life and winning honor and accolades for India in adverse circumstances.

The lead character of Milkha Singh is played by Farhan Akhtar. He made his Hindi film debut by acting in the movie Rock On. Zindage na milegi dobara is another movie from the star which was praised by the critics. Farhan Akhtar is the son of famous screen writer Javed Akhtar. Apart from acting Farhan has also participated in film direction, screen writing, production, television show hosting and lyrics writing. Born on 9 July 1974, the highly versatile actor and director has received praises for his acting in the movie.

Farhan Akhtar Exercising Schedule

The movie is directed by Rakesh Omprakash Mehra. The director took the services of Samir Jaura for sculpting Farhan Akhtar’s body. The inspiration was the look of Brad Pitt in Fight Club. The training sessions began in November 2011. Initially the training was only for four days a week and Farhan had to give 1 hour a day. Gradually the duration increased to 6 days a week and Farhan had to devote 6 hours a day for the training.

Farhan trained for five to six hours daily. The training sessions included lessons in cycling, repetitions, swimming, football, stair running, etc. Farhan totally avoided all kinds of junk food while shooting for the movie. A six course meal program for the day helped the actor gain adequate strength and muscles to look and act like the Flying Sikh.

Farhan Akhtar enhanced his physique and stamina by around 30% for the movie. There is a period in the movie when Farhan joins the army. To play that part he had to drop 15 kilos of body weight. It took his trainer three and a half months to accomplish that.

Training schedule for Farhan was changed after every 15 days so that his muscles did not get accustomed to a routine. The chiseled look of Farhan comes after 13 months of hard training. He further trained for an additional period of 6 months after that. Farhan followed hypertrophic training and strength training routine for thickening the muscles. He had to follow the Tamata principle and was required to do weight exercises by his trainer.

Farhan Akhtar Diet Pattern

For Farhan, breakfast for the day included egg whites/scrambled eggs and fresh fruit juices. During lunch he had kebabs, dry fruits and digestive biscuits that had low fat content. Other food items included beans, asparagus, grilled chicken etc. At evening’s supper time the diet was of protein shake. There was no or little dinner for him. Before bed he used to

have protein shake. Other food items consumed during the training sessions were nariyal paani (also called as coconut water), oatmeal and skimmed milk. Berry was the most favored fruit.

Farhan Akhtar ate around five to six times during his workout schedule. He was off from alcohol, bread, chapati and rice for a period of 18 months. The meals were balanced to ensure that they had adequate fat, carbohydrate and protein content for the muscle building process. Farhan ate after every 3 hours on the advice of the trainer during the 18 month exercise schedule. He consumed 3,500 calories a day. For the soldier’s look Farhan drank 5 liters of water a day. For the runner look, the portions became smaller and calorie count was reduced to 1800.

Trainers for the Milkha look

The exercise routine of Farhan Akhtar was meticulously planned and well executed by Samir Jaura. The routine was designed in such way so that it added muscle to the ectomorph body of the actor. An ectomorph body is a body with long and thin limbs. The exercise schedule became all the more difficult as Farhan had to sport 3 different looks during the whole movie. The lean runner and the bulky soldier were antagonistic views. The trainer and Farhan both worked hard to get the desired looks. Farhan had to sleep at 10 and rise at 5.30 for the training sessions. There were no late night parties for Farhan for a long period of time.

The athletic training sessions of Farhan were conducted under the guidance of Melvyn Castro. The sessions were held at Priyadarshini Park

in Mumbai. This training session was for increasing flexibility and for doing sprints.

The combined sessions and well planned diet pattern helped Farhan to get the desired looks of the flying Sikh. Both his acting performances as well as his looks have received praises from the critics.

Watch a video below to get an insight of how Farhan Akhtar transformed into Milkha Singh.