A
Amitabh Bachchan. The Angry Old Man of Bollywood is perched on top with fitness as his hoist-up ladder.  He has thrown open his gym at Janak to family and friends. Amar Singh visits the gym whenever in town, as does Anil Ambani. Close family friend Sonali Bendre has also been spotted working out there, while Jaya and bahu Aishwarya bring in their friends too. That leaves out baby Abhishek, a reluctant gym-goer, who requires much goading and prodding by his father and wife.

But no one is more dedicated to fitness than apna Akki. The fitness freak couldn't bear to miss his daily regimen while shooting for Singh is Kinng in Australia and guess what he did? He climbed the 150 floors of his hotel daily! Later, he went and got a parkour equipment installed at home so that beta Aarav can benefit too.
When it comes to perfection, none can beat Aamir Khan who's not only shaved his hair to suit the role in Ghajini, but has also lost 11 kilos to achieve a lean, muscled look and reach his target of 68 kg!
Closer home, Rebel Star Ambareesh seems to rebel at the very thought of maintaining a physique, while Anant Nag has aged gracefully.

And what of Hollywood? Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger is probably the biggest advertisement for fitness that there is. The California governor remains a prominent face in bodybuilding long after his retirement. After announcing his retirement from Mr Olympia — the world bodybuilding competition in 1975 — Arnold competed in the 1980 edition while training for his role as Conan that involved running, horseback riding and sword training. He wanted to win the title one last time and announced his entry at the last moment. He ended up winning the competition with only seven weeks of preparation.

B
Bong Babe Bipasha Basu started ballooning, though her voluptuous figure had fans gasping for breath in movies like Jism, Madhosh, Aitbaar and others. Watching one of her films with beau John Abraham convinced her that drastic steps were needed. She turned to John for help and now regularly heads to the gym, trying out everything from yoga to cardio to weight training. And boy, has it worked wonders! Slip of a girl Bhumika Chawla did one better. She married yoga practitioner Bharat Thakur, who was called in to help a family member. The actress is content, choosing films with care and glowing like never before — thanks to love and a little yoga!
And Brad Pitt? The other (better?) half of Brangelina went great lengths to prepare for his roles in films like The Fight Club for which he used an intense workout routine focussing on one muscle group each day, and allowing them to recover for the rest of the week. He would finish the week with a good cardio workout. To play Achilles in Troy, he cut back on beer and chips and stopped smoking. He had prepared for the role with an year of intense training, including 2-3 hours in the gym, two hours of sword training apart from four high-protein, low carb meals.

C
German supermodel Claudia Schiffer is into Pilates to retain that awesome body.

While Charlie's Angel, Cameron Diaz is into surfing, snow boarding and hiking. Never mind a broken nose or two!
Sandalwood hero Chethan of Aa Dinagalu though believes in a multi-faceted approach, working out in a gym, toning his muscles, practising yoga, eating sensibly and seeping well. No wonder the temperatures rise every time he hits the gym!


D  
Darshan is one fitness freak who learnt the lesson the hard way after he found he couldn't slip into trousers as easily as he used to before! Worse, he found he had to ask for a bigger size every time he went shopping! He hit the gym with a vengeance and looked a sleek cat in Bhoopathi, his 25th film. For Daisy Bopanna it is lot of Pranayama along with some exercise and a fixed diet, that helped her seduce Darshan in Bhagawan and later other men — young and old in the song Hello Boys of Satyavan Savitri. Deepika Padukone though, has been a regular at the gym since childhood and playing badminton at the state level earlier has also helped her retain her willowy, model looks. Drew Barrymore gained control of her body after her appearance was criticised at a prestigious awards show. Jogging, swimming, dancing, mini-golf, yoga and Pilates has transformed this actress.


E

 Esha Deol. The girl who has the Gayathri Mantra tattooed on her shoulder blade, is also a lean and fit machine. All thanks to Aditya Chopra who wanted her to look like a bombshell in his Dhoom. This Odissi dancer went further and now practices kickboxing, mixing it up with yoga and cardio exercises. Learning kickboxing has sure benefited the actress in more ways than one.
Eva Longoria Parker. The woman with the most desirable derriere in The Desperate Housewives is a former fitness instructor herself. She combines kickboxing, cardio, weight-training and yoga sessions with lunges, squats and leg presses for a tighter, bigger butt!


F

Fardeen Khan who became notorious after his alleged drug abuse, gained lot of weight post-marriage and showed no signs of slimming down. However, Sanjay Gupta who cast him in his Acid Factory ensured that the actor gets a lean, chiselled look. After training with Prashant Sawant, SRK's trainer, Fardeen did the disappearing act as he fell sick. Last heard, the training had resumed, with renewed vigour!


G

Go for George Clooney. Amidst rumours of liposuction and plastic surgery brought on by his dramatic weight loss, the Michael Clayton actor revealed his secret: Dance, jazzercise, aerobics, and yes, butt exercises! Well we aren't complaining. For apna chi-chi bhaiya, it is only jogging. For Govinda discovered that other forms of workout brought on a bloated chest, which our dancing star couldn't handle! Golden Star Ganesh works out religiously and has just about maintained his slightly plump look!


H

Anakin Skywalker (Harrison Ford) hit the gym with a vengeance in preparation for his role as Indiana Jones. The 64-year-old spent three hours on the treadmill daily while staying on a high-protein, fish-and-vegetables diet to continue looking as tough as he was when the first Indy film was made.

Hrithik Roshan. Need we say any more? The actor who sought Salman Khan's help to get a chiselled body for his debut Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, continued experimenting with his fitness in Koi Mil Gaya, and lately in Jodhaa Akbar. The hunk is currently into Pilates and running to strengthen his knees.

Himesh Reshammiya is leaving no stone unturned to make his bare-chested outing in Karrz a memorable one and has hired a trainer exclusively to cut down on his paunch.


I

Isha Sharvani. Born to dancer Daksha Seth, Isha Sharwani learnt Kathak, Chhau and Kalaripayattu at seven, putting in around eight to ten hours a day for practice. Is it any wonder that she boasts of one of the most lissome bodies in the business?


J

Jane Fonda. The queen of fitness was a ballet enthusiast who turned to aerobics after fracturing her foot. Working under Leni Cazden, she brought out her first exercise video ‘Jane Fonda's Workout’ that sold 17 million copies worldwide. She subsequently released 23 more videos, authored six workout books, and 13 audio programmes.


K

Kareena Kapoor, who's in news for her size zero figure. How and why did she achieve it? That we don’t know but what we do know is that Shahid first turned her into a vegetarian and then she became interested in Power Yoga. Now she apparently does 50 Surya Namaskars in a day  and follows a completely customised diet. And all for that emerald green bikini in Tashan!!!


L

Lara Dutta. The curvy actress who has said yes to SRK's Billo Barber has hit the gym hard and is busy losing all the weight she's accumulated all these years. And seems to have lost her long-time boyfriend in the process!


M

Madonna. The Material Girl earlier followed the workout of a body builder. An exercise fanatic, Mads has a gym at home and stays only in those hotels that have excellent gyms. Currently is into Ashtanga Yoga, working out throughout the day. A little bit of Pilates, horse riding, biking, martial arts — no wonder Madonna has the energy to tour the world several times over!


N

The sexy Neha Dhupia, a former Miss India, is known not just for her dumb bimbette roles but also for her kickboxing act. So lechers, beware!


O

Oprah Winfrey. The famous talk show host follows a very strict diet and exercise programme that combines strength training, cardio and pilates six days a week while on Sundays she is into outdoor activities.


P


Socialite Paris Hilton uses the thigh machine and squats while also doing the cardio. So that's where all the preening charm comes from.

Priyanka Chopra had to lose more weight for   the film Dostana after Karan Johar told her she was not thin enough by Miami standards.



Q

The Queen of England Elizabeth II is an equestrienne and still has enough energy to pay State visits to places as far as  Australia. Her fitness  regime mainly consists of walking in the landscaped gardens of her palaces!


R



Rajanna. or Rajkumar, who popularised yoga to a great extent. Tales of yogic concentration and determination to keep fit (while in Veerappan's captivity) are legendary.
Guess how did Ranbir Kapoor get those cute, er, bums? By playing football! That's not all, the dishy young man is a regular at the gym, working out religiously while mom Neetu Kapoor keeps a hawk eye on his diet. But beta definitely has a glass of milkshake one hour before or after hitting the gym.


S


Farah Khan admitted to treating him as an item girl in Dard-e-Disco of Om Shanti Om. And why not? The King Khan with his six-pack abs reinforced that status with the item number in Krrazy 4! Sanjay Dutt is credited with introducing fitness culture to Bollywood. And inspiring the likes of Sallu mia who recently taunted him to take up a fitness regimen again!                                                                  Post Big Brother, Shilpa has turned into sizzling hot property and her Yoga DVD, which demonstrates the benefits of Ashtanga Yoga, is hot!



T

Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise has his entire gym flown to location whenever he is shooting abroad. Not one to follow a pattern, Tom loves to jog, sail, dive, roller blade and plays squash. (Wonder how he gets the time after all that scientology jumbo-mumbo that he indulges in!)


U

Uma Thurman. The Kill Bill beauty was put under a rigorous fitness and training programme that included sword fighting and martial arts apart from a high protein diet. And there wasn't a single extra ounce of fat on the lean star!


V

Actor Vivek Oberoi is pumping iron for his role in Mission Istanbul. The actor is into heavyweight muscle training and has enrolled into yoga and tai-chi.


W

Guru Dutt's Chaudvin Ka Chand Waheeda Rehman may be old and suffering from spondylitis, but that hasn't deterred her from practising yoga daily. The main reason why even today she manages to floor people — young and old alike.



X

No!  No! No! That’s the symbol for all those stars who have never heard of a gym and who believed in hiding their ample paunches and thunder thighs under loose kurtas (think Rajesh Khanna) or under oodles of charm and talent (think Sridevi, Asha Parekh and Jayaprada in the 70s and 80s). Hard to find these Dr No-Nos in today’s times though!


Y



The Babuji Dheere Chalo girl sure knows her numbers. Of the fitness kind that is.. Into fitness and nutrition for over a decade, Yana is writing a book on her regime that will be released later in the year. With time at a premium, this Czech charmer makes use of a fitness machine and dances away the rest of the calories.


Z


Zayed Khan was required to build up his physique for Mission Istanbul and roped in trainer Satyajit. That's not all. Zayed is also fond of extreme sports like Kite surfing which he learnt while filming Cash.  Oomph girl of the seventies Zeenat Aman’s lithe figure was all due to her diet regime.