Want a six-pack? Just exercise regularly!

By Shilpa Raina

New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) Many youngsters dream of a sculpted body, especially after watching Bollyoood's romance icon Shah Rukh Khan flaunt six-pack-abs in "Om Shanti Om" and versatile actor Aamir Khan in "Ghajini". But experts have a word of advice -- exercise regularly and avoid steroids to maintain the look.

"To get six-pack abs is easy but to maintain a chiselled body is the most difficult task. As always, achieving anything is easy but maintaining that is difficult," Bollywood actor-producer Suniel Shetty told IANS.

"I see a mad rush of people who want to get six-pack abs, but the bottom line is that one should aim to be fit. If you are fit, then you live a healthy life, your confidence level doubles and you feel younger," said the 47-year-old actor.

Suniel, who made his debut with "Balwaan" in 1992, has a well-toned body and makes it a point to hit the gym every day.

"There are days when I don't feel like working out. But I still go to gym and once I am there, I just can't sit and start gymming. This happens with everyone, but one should not skip the gym," he added.

Among the stars, it was Salman Khan who first got a chiselled body and often flaunted it on screen. Then Shah Rukh got six-pack-abs for "Om Shanti Om" and Aamir too jumped on to the bandwagon and revealed his well-toned body in "Ghajini".

Recently John Abraham further popularised the trend by stripping down to his boxers to flaunt his sculpted body in "Dostana" without any guilt.

Supermodel-turned-actor Milind Soman, who sports a lean look, says it's not necessary to work out in gyms to have a fit body.

"I'm not a gym person, but I eat well and go for long jogs and that works for me," said Soman, who is also a marathon runner and owns gym-cum-fitness centre Breathe.

"Always do something that you enjoy. To achieve fitness one need not hit the gym. One can always opt for any sport, yoga, jog, swimming and much more. The idea is to do something that not only burns calories but relieves stress as well," said Soman.

Fitness instructor Aamit, who owns Fx Zone gym in Noida, said: "Every day I get queries from young boys about how to achieve six-pack abs and my only answer is that it takes dedication to get them first and after that loads of maintenance in terms of diet and regular exercise to retain it.

"If you stop exercising, within a few days you will lose what you have achieved after working so hard."

Suniel, who is known as a fitness freak among his friends, says that other than regular exercise, people should also concentrate on their diet.

"For me it's breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper. I don't avoid any food and I eat as much as I like without stuffing myself. Every one should follow this rule.

"You don't have to shun junk food completely as one can always cheat on his diet on a weekend. Body too needs change and small good habits help one in the long run."

He also advises people to stay away from steroids because he feels they could have a bad effect.

"One should always stay away from steroids because they don't do any good to your body. To achieve a sculpted body, one has to live a disciplined lifestyle that includes eating right meals, proper sleep and cutting down on carbohydrates and sweets," he said.

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