‘Nothing like 80 per cent; It is always 100 per cent’

Robin Behl and Adarsh Gourav

During the four months that he spent with his trainer while prepping for Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, Adarsh Gourav would often call Robin Behl at the close of the day. This wasn't a call for fitness-related advice. Gourav wanted an earful - a yelling from his trainer to be reminded about how crucial it was to turn up for training the next day, even if he didn't want to. "The toughest part is exercising on the days that you really don't wish to. You may have had a fight with your family, or be unwell, but when the audience sees your body on screen, and if it's not up to the mark, they won't care about what you endured," says Gourav, who has been able to phenomenally build his physique to play the part of a callisthenics trainer in the film.

Gourav turned to Behl for help in November 2021, when he wasn't reaping enough benefits from his routine. When Behl began to work with him, he found him to be a "notch above skinny, but strong, nonetheless". "But, there was no muscular definition. Since he needed to showcase the skills of a callisthenics trainer, his training had to be [intense]. For his body to match that level of training, we needed to first up his caloric intake. Building muscular definition came later."

Gourav, who needed Behl's assistance to look leaner, began to look bigger instead, after Behl put him on a 3,000-calorie diet. "I remember getting annoyed. Robin kept telling me, ‘Trust the process'. I told him, bro, I'll trust the process, but I don't have the time."

Under the guidance of Behl and nutritionist Mishti Khatri, Gourav was able to subsequently build strength. Each time he had command over the workout, they'd cut down his caloric intake so as to facilitate reduction in fat mass. From 3,000 calories, they gradually brought him down to 1,700. "That brought about significant change in his body."

"My firsts are always special, whether that was my first three muscle-ups or the shoulder stand. Another memorable feat was achieving 25 muscle-ups, in a day," says the actor. Behl, who used a mix of strength training, callisthenics, and hypertrophy work, would amp up his routine every two weeks to keep him challenged.

"Before this journey began, I didn't know that it was so hard to get a good body. The process needs more mental discipline than physical, and you need to be stubborn about your goal. I've never been at ease with achieving 80 per cent of my goal; I always aspire to achieve 100 per cent. I am glad to have found people who are equally stubborn about meeting targets," Gourav signs off.