While John Abraham has always had one of the best bodies in Bollywood, gearing up to be the bulked up fighting machine in Force took superhuman effort. The actor had eight months to beef up for the film and then had to return to his normal body size immediately after for his next project. This extreme change was overseen by his trainer Vinod Channa, who monitored his diet every day and varied John's workouts to suit him.
It was no easy task. John talks about the rigours he put his body through, "I've grown up as a lean kid and I like the element of size. I weighed about 85-86 kilos before Force. I went up to 96 and now I weigh in at about 86. In terms of fitness, I can't benchmark myself against anyone in this industry."
John's body type is ecto-mesomorph (long limbs, good endurance) and his diet and workouts were planned accordingly. His trainer Vinod says, "We had eight months to gain 8-10 kilos of muscle weight. I increased his carbohydrate and protein intake. You don't need to put in more time working out if you practise the technique perfectly. Most people wrongly tend to put weight on joints, instead of the muscle."
Muscling up
An actor's day is usually brimming over with commitments that result in long hours, but John was careful to never skip his workouts. Even if he had to do it at midnight or even later, he was committed to attain his target. As he jokes, "Working on the body is a full-time job. A high-end car requires high-end octane fuel. I'm a vegetarian but I ate egg whites and fish as my body, at 95 kg, needed 200 grams of proteins to stay alive."
It's fascinating when he talks about the difference between then and now. He says, "I consumed about 25-30 egg whites a day, now I eat about six-seven. I could do 1200 leg presses, now it's about 500-600. At one shot, I could do 150-200 push-ups very easily, now it's about 80-90. The day I finished shooting for Force, I ate biryani that was meant for seven-eight people! Now my diet has dropped to a tenth of what I consumed during Force." Vinod adds that when John would work out, he would stand on the weights to intensify their impact, astonishing the others at the gym.
John's regimen pre-force
Vinod says, "To get the body you desire, 60 per cent depends on the diet and 40 per cent on the workout." John burnt 6000-7000 kilo-calories and so needed a high protein, high carb diet. Vinod ensured that John got his proper dose of multivitamins, proteins and supplements which, if ignored, result in sideeffects like constipation and gas. "No steroids," he says. They worked out for six-seven days a week for Force.
John used to work out two body parts a day. Chest and triceps one day; back, the next. It would be followed by shoulder and biceps and then legs, twice a week. The actor would run for 20-25 minutes after the workout. Four sets of each exercise with 10-12 reps each. Each body part had four-five variations.of the exercise.
Post-force
It took John only a month to return to his original body weight and it was done systematically. Now five sessions a week suffice. The weights have reduced and so has the diet. Now it's down to four-six egg whites, protein is limited to two scoops and the taboo list doesn't change. As Vinod says, with appropriate guidance and discipline, the body is ready for sculpting.
Special diet for force
- Oatmeal for breakfast
- 25-30 egg whites (12 in the morning, 6-7 for lunch, rest for dinner)
- 3-4 slices of steamed fish
- Pasta (for the carbs quotient)
- Whey proteins
- Salad (proteins)
- Bajra/ jowar/ nachni rotis (lunch/ dinner)
On the taboo list were maida, oil, rice and sweets. In fact, John can't even remember the last time he ate ice-cream!
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