Shabiha Nur Khatoon
Many fitness trainers aspire to be well-known celebs but only a few materialize that dream in real life. And Mumbai-based Yogesh Bhateja is one such glaring example who has produced celebrities like Farah Khan, Sonu Sood, Tamannah Bhatia and many more.
Professionally, Yogesh has been into fitness for over twelve years. He was a pro-soccer player before that. A graduate in sport science and a TGT, Yogesh is basically a qualified physical education teacher. But soon, he realised that working on eight-to-two job is not his cup of tea as he has other brighter ambitions to pursue.
“I have hands-on experience being a personal trainer for over 12 years. It’s been a gradual progression as I started my career into fitness from my hometown Delhi. Then I shifted to Mumbai four years back where my new avatar as celebrity fitness trainer started with Sir Sonu Sood. I worked in almost all multi-national companies and have been a freelance trainer for some time,” he says.
Currently, he is handling Neetu Kapoor, Sonu Sood, Farah Khan, Esha Gupta, Kapil Sharma, Sunil Grover and Tamannah.
“My first celebrity client Sonu Sood Sir showed a huge confidence in my training patterns and gave me an opportunity to prove my style of training,” he claims.
How different it is to train celebs compared to common individuals?
Yogesh says, “It’s very different as everyone is demanding and the desire for a perfect figure is building fast among youngsters who want to attain their goals within a blink of an eye. But, it’s not that easy at all. When it comes to celebrities who spend a lot of time in front of camera; our task becomes challenging to prepare that type of routine modalities which will help them stay fit, look fit and keep shining. I emphasise on ‘keep shining’ because people can lose weight if they starve and that’s when they lose the glow of their face. But it’s really tough for us as we have to keep the celeb fit and ensure that their charm is intact.”
“Training the stars is fun. It’s also challenging simultaneously as every celebrity has a different fitness target and within a specified time-frame. There are multiple things that we’ve to keep in mind while preparing their diet chart and sleeping cycle, lifestyle, eating habits, BMR and their target. There are don’ts like ‘no-no’ to sweets, a bigger no to sugar which is the toughest thing to take out from the body,” Bhateja adds.
Talking about the biggest challenge that he encounters while training the celebs, he says it is the “Time clash”. But somehow, he has such wonderful people with him who make it easy for him.
“I never advise anybody to starve or go on a diet. I go for a planned nutritional diet which can supplement adequate fat, protein, carbs and fibres to keep your gut healthy. Then the whole system can work smooth,” quips Yogesh.
Yogesh also shares a few tips for fitness freaks. “The main thing to keep in mind is to have small meals every two hours which helps maintain metabolic rate and supply constant energy and this is the funda that all celebs try and follow along with a high nutritional value diet. Hence, by doing so they don’t really have to starve themselves but eat the right way and in balanced quantity to retain them fit and energetic throughout. Avoid junk, soft drinks and preservatives and eat healthy.”
