He has over 22 years of training experience under his belt and is also an expert in 16 fitness techniques. Meet Mumbai-based celebrity fitness trainer, Vinod Channa, who has worked with world-class athletes and film stars. His celebrity clientele boasts of Bollywood biggies like John Abraham (trained by Vinod for Force 2), Riteish Deshmukh, Sohail Khan, Aashish Chaudhary, Ayushmann Khurrana, Harman Baweja and Surveen Chawla. Vinod also played a big role in Shilpa Shetty’s post pregnancy make-over and more recently, he was in the news for Anant Ambani’s (the son of Mukesh and Nita Ambani) weight-loss transformation.
Vinod’s focus has always been on the research and development of superior training techniques and designing nutrition programmes to correct muscular imbalance, endurance, flexibility and core stability. “Being a personal trainer involves 15 to 20 hours of hands-on personal training, workout scheduling and program design,” explains Vinod. Amidst all his professional commitments, Vinod still manages to eat right and maintains his status as India’s best trainer. Since he’s working out all day, every day, we just had to ask him about his personal fuel … his diet!
Breakfast
An early riser, Vinod wakes up by 5 AM. He starts his day with a cup of garam chai with one teaspoon of sugar, and four boiled eggs with four slices of brown bread. By 5.45 AM he is ready to train his first client for a 6 AM session. “I used to eat 28 eggs a day but now I have cut that down to 12 to 14 eggs,” he shares. Each personal training session lasts for about an hour and Vinod has sessions lined up till 1 PM.
Midday Snack
At around 10 AM, Vinod eats a snack of an omelette made of four egg whites, along with a whole fruit such as apple, sweet lime, papaya or watermelon. He either carries the snack with him or orders in, at his studio where he trains.
Lunch
Vinod eats grilled chicken or fish, a bowl of sprout salad or par-cooked green vegetables and one raw carrot along with two bajra rotis and a bowl of curd. “Fruits like apples, bananas and oranges are also a part of my meal. I also include a protein shake (I prefer the Labrada Brand),” he adds.
Vinod has five to six small meals a day and follows them up with a cup of organic green tea.
Mid-Evening Snack
His 4 PM snack consists of four boiled eggs and a fruit. Sometimes he substitutes that with a glass of almond milk and a handful of mixed nuts like almonds, walnuts, pistachio and flaxseeds, which are extremely nutritious. “Almond milk is filled with protein and good carbs and also helps to up my energy levels,” adds Vinod.
Vinod takes an afternoon nap around 2.30 PM to give his body enough rest. The second half of his work-day starts by 4 PM where he trains clients till 10 PM, which sometimes stretches to midnight.
Dinner
His dinner consists of a grilled chicken or fish along with one ragi roti and a bowl of steamed broccoli. He also includes a vegetable or sprout salad, a glass of juice or a protein shake, in the meal.
“My dinner is always ordered in, but I make sure it’s only grilled chicken or fish. It’s also nice to eat light at night to ease digestion and sleep well,” emphasises Vinod.
Post-Dinner
A protein shake is all that Vinod indulges in, sometimes, after dinner. He is usually in bed by 12 AM (should his sessions finish by 10 PM) so that he gets enough shut-eye.
“Once a week, on Sundays especially, I have a cheat-day and eat vegetarian food just to switch my palate a bit and break the monotony. Fried rice and ice-cream are my weaknesses,” shares Vinod.
