Fitness trainer Sahil Rasheed on Shweta Tiwari: She was lean, not fit

Fitness trainer Sahil Rasheed, who turned Shweta Tiwari fighting fit, discusses preparing her for a stunt-based reality show

Two years before she gave her nod to participate in an ongoing stunt-based reality show, Shweta Tiwari had sought professional help to tend to a shoulder injury. The TV actor, 40, who despite having a lean frame throughout her life, hadn’t particularly dedicated herself to a fitness routine, was eager to revisit her lifestyle. “She was lean, but not fit. When we began to work with her, a lot of rehabilitation training and physiotherapy was involved,” says Sahil Rasheed, who not only worked her back into shape but also readied her for the reality show.

Rasheed had been specifically appointed to enhance her skill-work, a regimen he distinguishes from strength-based training, which was being catered to by another trainer. “I was dealing with stability, balance, explosive work, and agility. We had to prepare her for a stunt-based show, which means agility work was important to reduce her response time. That implied making her capable of reacting to situations faster during training. We were working on movements, instead of merely targeting muscles. For instance, lunges work on specific muscles of the legs, but couple lunges with torso rotations, and that becomes a movement-related training employing motor skills.”

Aligned with the nature of the show, Rasheed introduced her to new routines each day, thereby preparing her body for the kind of physical work it would be exposed to. “My area of expertise is posture correction and skill work. Obstacle courses that involved vertical, horizontal, and rotational movements were designed to challenge her muscles in different ways. Explosive training is always sports-specific, and we added rope climbing, monkey bars, stability ball exercises, and hanging routines to enhance her grip strength.” 

Rasheed — who had also been training Tiwari’s daughter — paid particular attention to developing the actor’s core strength, which, he says, enhances appendicular movement. “The body should have good mobility. You need to understand what movements can cause injuries, and, should know how to tackle them. Isometric work was included to prevent injuries. Also, your muscles must be well-nourished to manage the task at hand,” says Rasheed, who trained her thrice a week.

Also Read: A Mumbai-based fitness expert shares 5 easy exercises you can do at home

Sonakshi Sinha’s Gym Playlist

Nachi nachi (Street Dancer)
Pagal (Diljit Dosanjh)
Kala chashma (Baar Baar Dekho)

In Rahul Dev’s fridge

Muesli
Curd
Cocoa powder
Almond smoothie
Dates

Why that’s done

Nutritionists, who also cater to celebrities, on why they add or eliminate meals from the diets of their clients tackling COVID-19

(From left): Luke Coutinho, Munmun Ganeriwal, and Shweta Shah

1. Symptom specific

COVID-19 is affecting different people in different ways, and the diet needs to be adjusted according to what one endures. Rakul’s [Preet Singh] biggest complaint was that her post-workout recovery had been affected after she was free of the infection. So, we added whey isolate, banana, flaxseed, and nutmeg to her smoothie, which provided high-quality protein, and anti-inflammatory benefits. 

Munmun Ganeriwal, celebrity nutritionist, consultant to Rakul Preet Singh

Also Read: Bhagyashree, Raveena Tandon, Madhoo Shah share their fitness secret

2.  Keep it light

When people are on steroids for an extended period of time, we need to give them food that isn’t stressful for the digestive system, because the body is already working on recuperating. We include meals that are light and nourishing, like millets, and porridge. Steroids also alter insulin and blood sugar levels. The diet is then accordingly adjusted.

3. Cool down

Due to the amount of medication administered during the treatment of the disease, there is a lot of heat generated in the body. We thus recommend the addition of smoothies, and water infused with bael and kokum, to keep the body cool. Smoothies can include raisins, dates, oats and pink salt.

Shweta Shah, nutritionist, consultant to Katrina Kaif  

4. Eliminate sugar

Sugar is a primary killer of immunity, for kids and adults. One can of aerated drink can suppress immunity by almost 50 per cent, for the next six hours. Any processed food is also an enemy when it comes to one’s health, and we recommend eliminating it.

Luke Coutinho, holistic lifestyle coach

5. Turmeric for inflammation

To address inflammation [which is common in patients], curcumin/turmeric is added. It has been proven to improve immune function with its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antibacterial properties. It is more powerful when combined with pepper. 

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