Meet Celebrity Fitness Expert Abbas Ali Who Transformed Shahid Kapoor From Scrawny To Brawny

Abbas Ali¡¯s life is a story of ¡®rags to riches¡¯ as much as it is one of ¡®fat to fit¡¯. Although his path was riddled with financial woes and job insecurities, he claims that true success and satisfaction in his career came through his own transformational experience.

An eight-month transformation, to be precise, that saw him go from 95 kg to 79 kg, gave him a thorough insight into what being truly fit was all about. It was then that he continuously strived to combine different forms of fitness such as callisthenics, parkour and other such forms to create his signature design of programming.

Abbas Ali

Since then Abbas has trained both the common man as well as celebrities, alike, for over 20 years now. He is the founder and creator of his unique gym in Mumbai, Bodyholics, and has worked with several Bollywood stars over the years; including the likes of Shahid Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty, Sonakshi Sinha, Zareen Khan, amongst others.

Here¡¯s what celebrity fitness trainer, Reebok fitness ambassador and entrepreneur Abbas Ali told us about his ideology about fitness and how it flows into every other area of life:

About his transformation and change in mindset about the perception of fitness

Like a lot of people, I too started my fitness journey lifting weights in the gym. I soon realized that this is not what solely classifies as being fit, though. There¡¯s wasn't much else in India at that time. The concept of functional fitness was an alien concept in the country.

I took a trip to Toronto in 2007 where I witnessed people being very active outdoors. The difference was in their perception of fitness¡ªit was all about being functional fit. I decided that I had to unlearn whatever I had learned previously and imbibe what I was experiencing if I was going to expand my understanding of fitness in its truest essence.

When I came back I to India I took time off for eight months and incorporated functional training elements, such as CrossFit, road runs, callisthenics and the likes, into my training regime. In eight months I ended up losing 20 kilos of fat from my body, improved my fitness and aesthetics, and felt better than I ever did before.

Abbas Ali

Fitness is ideally a combination of 11 elements, one without the other is incomplete

The magic is in the combining all the elements of fitness to create a ¡®complete¡¯ fitness programme for yourself (strength, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, muscle endurance, body composition, speed, agility, reaction time, coordination, core balance, mental endurance).

I remember my experience of an earthquake when I was 7-8 years old while sitting with my family watching a movie at home. My dad had the presence of mind, the willpower, the strength and stamina to pick both me and my sibling and get us to safety even before the earthquake could come into full effect. This is an example of how functional training works in real life.

One of the critical aspect in this list in mental endurance, however, as without building on that in this day-and-age you won¡¯t be able to consistently grow on the remainder of the elements.

Abbas Ali

Why building mental endurance is critical in our times

We live in a period where we are more stressed than we¡¯ve ever been before. The use of meditation and yoga to connect with ourselves is more critical than ever. Use your thought wisely while you meditate because anything you think can manifest into reality. It will help you train your mind from overthinking.

The idea is not necessarily to sit and meditate but to cultivate stillness in mind. Find a good teacher and learn how to cultivate this practice and harness the true power of meditation.

Strong willpower (mental endurance) can overcome poor genetics as well. If you¡¯re trying to battle age-related wear and tear, loss of muscle in the body, injuries and various other issues that you encounter with age, building your mental endurance is what take you the distance.

Abbas Ali

If your ¡®why¡¯ (reason for being fit) is strong enough, you¡¯ll find a way to be consistent

Have a clear reason (concrete ¡®why¡¯) for wanting to achieve what you want to. If you have a clear goal in your mind, nothing can stop you from accomplishing it. Anil Ambani, for instance, a 56-year-old business tycoon, ran three marathons in a year and is undoubtedly one of the busiest men I¡¯ve met. His reason (his ¡®why¡¯) for training was to be at his fittest best to run marathons, which is why he used to be up at 4:30-5:00 pm to train.

For me, fitness, in the long run, must give you good health and longevity. The idea is to keep the body and mind running smoothly in the long run. If your reason is strong enough, you¡¯ll realise that you find time to maintain your fitness regime.

Also, challenge yourself with new workout regimes and pick up activities/workouts that you enjoy instead of ones that you bore you. That¡¯ll help motivate you and look forward to your workout.

Abbas Ali

We need to draw inspiration from our parents and grandparents who had the art of living innately mastered

As a 42-year-old I remember my parents made me and my siblings go to bed early, which inevitably got us to wake up early as well. We had 3-meals in a day along with an evening snack, not much else. It was a simple life (to some boring even), but a healthy one, nonetheless.

At Bodyholics our aim is to combine that old-school of thought with modern science. We are currently the sickest (the fattest and unhealthiest), we¡¯ve ever been as a species in the history of mankind. So, we need to relook at what we¡¯re doing wrong and change it.

We need to take heed and draw inspiration from whatever time in history where we thrived, health-wise. Even if that means taking a cue from our days as cavemen because the active lifestyle our ancestors lived.

Abbas Ali

The food we eat is far more problematic than our sedentary lifestyles

Our eating habits and lack of nutrition are wrecking our lifestyle, even more than the sedentary bit of it. People from all walks of life eat the same food (the stuff you find outside), which more often than not is junk. If you want to lose fat and change your body composition, change-up your diet first.

The choices of food we make are mostly junk, considering what we get outside to eat is mostly an amalgamation of carbs and fat using highly processed industrial oil. Even our digestive is out of whack, as several of us feel bloated and uneasy.

Fitness is merely tool based to improve your performance inside and outside the gym. It makes you fitter, more active and sure also does help give your metabolism a boost. But it is not comparable to clean diet if you¡¯re serious about losing body fat.

Abbas Ali

Bollywood celebrities, like Shahid Kapoor, are a good example of how and why having a clear goal can help transform your physique

Shahid is a disciplined, focused and has clear vision (his ¡®why¡¯) about the look/physique and the level of fitness he needs to achieve. He¡¯s very clear about his goals inside and outside of the gym, which makes it easier for him to wake up in the morning and go about his routine.

More than genetics, it is his willpower (mental endurance) that helps him push through the goals and plans he sets out to achieve. He is the perfect example of someone who possesses the right kind of mental endurance to help him pursue his goals successfully.

He also one of those actors who trains ¡®consistently¡¯ all year round. When someone trains consistently over the years, it is easier for him/her to transform into the shape/look they want to achieve quickly.

Abbas Ali

On how a 42-year-old can workout with the same intensity as someone half his/her age

Notice, if you make a 15-year-old compete physically with a 10-year-old or 15-year-old with a 20-year-old, the 15 and the 20-year-old are likely to win naturally. A 30-year-old will most likely be naturally beaten by a 20-year-old, however.

A 30-year-old who has consistently trained for the past ten years, can, however still beat the 20-year old. That¡¯s how much working out consistently in the long-run can pay off. Taking up or training for a sport early on in life payoffs in the latter half of your life.

At 42, it is the 20+ years of consistent training that still helps me train with the intensity of someone half my age, even today. Also, it allows me to challenge my body every day and keeps my workout exciting. I¡¯ve always maintained that fitness is the best anti-ageing formulae that will always work if you follow it religiously. Fitness is now a habit for me.

Abbas Ali

The three aspects of life you need to find balance and harmony in are your relationships, your health and your career

There three things in life that matter the more, more than anything else¡ªrelationships, your health and your career. You need to learn and grow with knowledge about these aspects of your life as you evolve.

I¡¯m clear about the relationship I have with my partner, my parents, my siblings and with whoever else is close to me. I¡¯m also clear about their health, well-being and other aspects of their life. With regards my health, I¡¯m constantly learning, but is something I know as much as can about.

It¡¯s important to choose a career path you¡¯re not confused about. Learn everything you can about that subject and work hard at it. The money, success and fame will follow. You need to know as much as you can about these aspects of your life. If any of these aspects fall out of balance, you will end up disturbing your peace of mind, growth, health and wellness.

Abbas Ali

Stick to eating proper meals, if you must snack have almonds or walnuts

Human beings tend to get hungry every 2 hours because of how our blood glucose and insulin functions. Ideally, you should stick to eating meals and not ¡®snack¡¯ in between, as that is a sign that your insulin and blood glucose had spiked and is now on its way down.

As cavemen and homo sapiens way back in the day we didn¡¯t have access to carbohydrates like we exclusively do today. Our bodies naturally survived on our fat stores, which meant that our body fat was our main source of energy.

Therefore, if you must snack, stick to a handful of natural, untampered forms of nuts, such as walnuts or almonds. They loaded with healthy fats very low on carbohydrates, making for an ideal snack that will satiate you, not make you fat.

Abbas Ali

Why events like the ¡®Reebok Unrest¡¯ are very important for the culture of fitness in the country and community building

Such events are very important for imparting training, education and knowledge of the fitness in the country. It¡¯s also crucial for the evolution of the industry. As a Reebok master trainer, we are like the service providers for fitness. Such events are the ideal platform to disseminate our knowledge and expertise to the masses.

Not everyone has the time or the inclination to hit the weights; moreover, the youth today are not just looking to walk ¡®bulk up¡¯ or become ¡®skinny¡¯. They want to look athletic and become fit; essentially by making their bodies functionally fitter through different training modules.

This is the first event where Rebook combined functional and bodyweight training modules¡ªsuch as Zumba, Pilates, Parkour, Crossfit, Combat conditioning etc. The idea was to create awareness, understanding and community building. My company Bodyholics represented Parkour at this event.

These are some basic fitness moves Abbas Recommends you can perform anywhere: