Fitness expert Kris Gethin tells Shana Maria Verghis the star had one of the unheathiest lifestyles in the film industry, and often starved himself for photo shoots
Behind most of the world’s fittest bodies, is a story about how it got that way. Some lucky ones have the right genes. But others have to work on it. Or must bring their best out again, once they taken it for granted.
Kris Gethin, the man responsible for getting Hrithik Roshan back in shape after an unhealthy phase, had his own troubled patch. An avid adventure sports buff in his younger days, Gethin would race motorcycles with friends, party, smoke, drink, binge on junk food. He put on excessive weight and got depressive. And his asthma increased.
“I needed to burn bridges with my social group. Then I went to college and studied fitness and physiotherapy,” said Gethin who released The Bodybuilding.com guide to Your Best Body, (by Simon and Schuster).
His advice is, “to keep a distance from friends with unhealthy habits, as studies show that if you stick with failed people, you tend to take on their tendencies.”
Hrithik and he connected after the actor read a book by Gethin, who is Bodybuilding.com’s editor at large. Roshan called Gethin, who was “at the supermarket, and never heard of Hrithik till then.” Roshan had a slipped disc and badly injured knee, post an accident, on a dance reality show. Hrithik wrote in the book that he had taken to gorging on cupcakes sent by well-wishers.
Gethin recalled, “he was depressive, smoked, drinking and eating too much junk. “He was the unhealthiest guy in the industry. He would starve for photoshoots, and use lighting to hide flaws.”
He shared that Roshan has an ‘ectomorph’s’ constitution. “That’s someone with larger limbs and smaller joints. Its hard for them to put on weight. But they have to eat twice as much.”
The actor was unwilling to pose for the ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots’, but his trainer explained, “when people see the after shots they are proud of their achievement.”
On the subject of health we asked if protein supplements for men were as bad as made out. He remarked, “I was told they caused hairfall due to steroids, but perhaps those are black market products. Supplements benefit you if you are depleted of amino acids and there is free radical damage.”
He clarified that ugly protruding muscles (as with Madonna) while exercising, is “normal when one ages. Particularly among those with less body fat.” But its not unhealthy.
His book includes the case of Eroll Hannigan, who has a prosthetic leg and was on the brink of suicide, as he was depressed and overweight. His wife pulled him back and the pair got fit.
In Hannigan’s case the leg apparently made it mandatory to exercise because he had phantom pain. Speaking of which, men and women have the same obesity related issues. “The only difference is hormonal. Men generally eat less when depressed. With women its the opposite.” He is currently training actor Mahesh Babu and his wife, and another A-list actor “whose name will be revealed soon.”