Anita Raaj, Warda Nadiadwala: Meet the women who lift

Raising the bar of what an athletic body could look like way past 40, Anita Raaj, 58, and Warda Nadiadwala, 45, on developing functional strength.

Fancy a 61-minute plank, like Anita Raaj

Negotiation skills can best be tested under a plank hold. When your own weight drags you down, the mental tools you employ to hold on for “just a few more seconds”, go a long way in defining your grit, and athletic levels. Evidently then, we are eager to get in on the mental conversation Anita Raaj had with herself when holding a plank for 61 minutes. “That’s a good question. Nobody has ever asked me that,” she teases, before adding, “I am into Buddhist chanting, and, in that one hour, I derived a lot of strength from meditation.”

Raaj’s workouts are not for the faint-hearted, encompassing everything from CrossFit, and pure lifting, to body-weight training and HIIT routines. “I have been training since my 20s, even though my routines were never as strenuous as they are, now. Back then, weight-lifting was something only men did. It was only in 1995 that I started lifting, with Pervez Mistry. Yasmin [Karachiwala] and I would go to him. I was fascinated to see that he was teaching women how to lift. Given my passion for training, I worked with him. In the beginning, I needed a guru who could understand the right technique. When I saw how my muscles developed, and noticed my body’s shape change, there was no looking back,” says the actor.

Admitting that age has robbed her of some opportunities she was afforded in her 20s, Raaj says she found ways to make up for all that she lost. “I loved to do [plyometric] box jumps, but I don’t do so now. I have never compromised on my regimen, but I have become careful now. I want to work out all my life, and I can’t risk having injuries that would render me unable to train for months. So, I lift heavy instead, and do so with the right form.”

Looking fit as a fiddle at 58, Raaj’s lithe frame could be deceptive. Asserting that she isn’t genetically predisposed to looking slim, she says she must work as diligently on her diet as she does on her training. “I can gain weight even if I breathe extra. I am so disciplined [with my diet] that my friends find me irritable. 

You cannot train for one hour and go about eating as you please because maintaining weight is hard.” She swaps traditional wheat rotis for those made of bajra or jowar, avoids consuming meat at noon, and feasts on a protein-heavy meal of egg-whites and nuts in the evenings.  “If I am shooting till late in the evening, I have my last meal at 8 pm, which will be egg curry or tandoori chicken. I don’t eat boiled vegetables, because you need to have a diet that you can sustain, and is palatable.”
But Raaj’s four-decade old affair with a diligent fitness programme has afforded her some perks. She can indulge in a mithai every three days, and add jaggery to her diet, without the fear of repercussions.

A little bit of everything, for Warda Nadiadwala

A gymnast in school, Warda Nadiadwala was reintroduced to the sport when she befriended Tiger Shroff as part of the actor’s association with Sajid Nadiadwala’s production house. Within the short span of a year, Nadiadwala was able to pull off cartwheels, navigate a series of Roman rings and attain the kind of agility that she always desired. “I would follow a P90x programme [a variety of functional regimens], and targeted the muscles of my upper and lower body. It also included cardiovascular routines and yoga. I love weight training, and prefer doing more repetitions with lighter weights,” says Nadiadwala, adding that her motto to stay fit is to “do everything that kids do”. 

Nadiadwala’s week is packed with an assorted bunch of routines. While she kicks off her day with weight-lifting, her evenings could be dedicated to dance, yoga, or Mixed Martial Arts forms like judo, taekwondo, or boxing. Each routine, she believes, plays a vital role in contributing to her athletic levels. “Gymnastics keeps one agile. Weight-training saves you from injuries by improving bone-strength. Activities like boxing and dance make me happy, and work in boosting my mental [health].” However, it is in yoga that Nadiadwala finds utmost peace. Having been introduced to it at her husband’s behest, she says a recent programme conducted by Shri Shri Ravi Shankar was particularly enticing. “We learnt the sudarshan kriya, and it is too good to be true,” she chimes.

While she isn’t intimidated by a gym setting, Nadiadwala encourages those who are, to explore other means of fitness. “Walking is another great workout, apart from dancing. Also, simple things like doing your work yourself, instead of asking your domestic help for assistance on every little thing, increases the amount of [calories you can  burn].” 

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