Bollywood star Disha Patani is showing fans and followers exactly how she uses the weight room at the gym to get her enviably strong and toned physique. Patani, 31, shared a video of herself wearing purple shorts and a cream hoodie, doing barbell squats (and making it look easy). “Leg day,” she captioned the post. “Inspirational,” a fan commented. Patani’s video is a great example of how important weights are for women—here’s how the actress eats, trains, and lives to be her fittest self.
Patani works out with trainer Rajendra Dhole. “Disha by far is the most dedicated person you will meet when it comes to fitness. She trains every day for an hour. The only day she takes an off is a Sunday,” Dhole told Vogue India. “Disha does squats, deadlifts, military presses, shoulder presses, chest presses, bicep curls, tricep extensions, to boost muscle strength for her arms. Low reps with heavy weights builds muscle mass, as compared to doing more reps with lighter weights, which increases muscle endurance.”
Patani mixes up her workouts so she doesn’t get bored, and she isn’t afraid of weights. “I work out every day and my routine usually involves cardio in the mornings, like dancing, kick boxing or gymnastics, and weight training in the evenings,” Patani told Vogue India. “The general assumption is that women working out involves cardio, not weight training. But we all work out and do heavy weights; I come across so many girls in the gym training really hard. At the end of the day, it isn’t about gender, but about working on your body and becoming your fittest self.”
Patani’s style is all about what’s comfortable and unique. “I am not really into labels or brands, what’s important is how you style it,” she told Elle India. “I prefer simple and easy-to-wear clothes. To sum it up, my personal style is comfortable, sexy and sporty. I like things that are close to my heart. For instance, the evil eye bracelet I wear on my hand.”
Patani tries to get some protein in her before a workout. “I have fallen into this bad habit where I don’t eat anything in the mornings before working out, because I feel very full while exercising if I do,” she told Vogue India. “But, it is definitely advisable to cram in a small meal before a workout, consisting of some protein, like eggs. After exercising, it is good to add protein again, either through chicken, eggs or paneer.”
So how does Patani get those enviable abs? “There is no secret as such,” she told Vogue India. “It’s all about an intensive ab workout and a strict diet. Maintaining abs is the most difficult thing as one day you have them and the next day they may disappear. So I strongly believe a rigorous workout and a healthy diet are the only ways to maintain abs.”