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Star trainer Leena Mogre: ‘It’s great to work with celebrities because your work gets projected on screen’

“All of these are excuses,” she says. “You can only say you’re busy if you make the time for everything in your life.” Leena, who recently opened the first Bangalore centre of the Leena Mogre’s Specialised Fitness Gym in Indiranagar, believes that people should switch over from the idea of weight loss to one of lifestyle management.

“You need to exercise everyday for at least half an hour, work out whenever you can and generally be active. And you need to eat balanced meals, eat the proper food at the right time. You shouldn’t starve yourself. You should be happy at the end of the day. But you have to make fitness a part of your lifestyle,” she says.

Leena is one of the foremost fitness instructors in the country, as well as one of the first to start professionally training fitness instructors. Her own journey into fitness training began when she realised she was nearly 30 kilos overweight during pregnancy. She took a year to lose that weight, and along the way realised the need for professional trainers and found herself a career.

Today, Leena is a trainer to the stars, having worked with everyone from the dancing queen Madhuri Dixit to hot hunk John Abraham. “It’s great to work with celebrities because your work gets projected on screen. It’s a great feeling when you see a body looking exactly like it was wanted on screen,” she says.

However, says Leena, her aim with her specialised fitness gyms is “fitness for everybody”. Thus, the first step in getting on the road to fitness is a comprehensive fitness assessment. “I believe you should always get proper professional guidance when you’re planning a fitness routine. At our gyms, we work on a completely scientific basis. We assess each individual based on a variety of factors like body-mass index, percentage fat, flexibility, lung capacity, muscle strength and endurance, grip strength and so on, and even a mental assessment. And based on that analysis, we programme your fitness regime, customised to your personality.”

Fitness that works for you is an important concept to grasp, says Leena. “People often come in asking to look like this or that actor or model. But you have to look at yourself and understand what is possible and what you can’t have. Let’s face it — most models and actors are made like that. And even if you starve yourself, it’s not going to happen. Fitness instructors have to explain that to their clients clearly and gently but firmly. Exercise should be about making the best of whatever body type you have.”

As for people who claim that they can’t really afford a gym membership, Leena points out that a modest Rs. 50 a day isn’t too high a price for good health. “I always make a comparison with their car,” explains Leena. “How many hours do you spend each week taking care of your car? How much time do you spend taking care of your body? And how much money?”

As for the flood of get-thin-quick pills, equipment and “patented methods”, Leena feels that the fitness industry in the country needs to consolidate itself so that better standards can come into place. “Fitness training has a long way to go in the country, especially in terms of specialisation. People think that if they do a basic course it’s enough. They do not go on to different specialisation courses. And they do not keep in touch with their studies: in terms of new research and development that is, not trends.”

Leena Mogre’s Specialised Fitness Gym can be contacted at 41732828 or 41572828.

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