Bollywood celebs boost up the business of fitness; Here's why

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Those uber chic gym looks and drool-worthy workout videos apart, a slew of Bollywood stars have stepped up the business of health and fitness by either investing in it or endorsing it, giving the youth a kick and a push to work towards a 'Swasth Bharat'.

Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Suniel Shetty, Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Bipasha Basu, Malaika Arora, Milind Soman and Mandira Bedi are some actors who have taken it upon themselves to motivate people to take a plunge into maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Recently, one integrated healthcare platform collaborated with actors Hrithik and Tiger for their passion towards fitness.

"We consider our celebrities to be our evangelists. Hrithik, Tiger and our team together have designed, developed and customised the workout modules of HRX and PROWL respectively. The idea of developing these workout is to ensure access to our customers to experience the high, intense and effective workouts of respective celebrities closer to the comfort of their home," Ankit Nagori, Co-Founder of Cure.fit told IANS.

While the HRX workout is a strength and conditioning program which has a combination of various movement modules, the Prowl Workout is a unique mix of combat, dance and functional fitness done to foot-tapping music.

Nagori said having a celebrity on board helps in crafting larger visibility and reach.

"Seeing your favourite celebrity work out and following the same workout routine helps motive people set and achieve their fitness goals," he explained.

That is also the idea behind Suniel's investment in SQUATS, an online fitness community.

"Even at 58, Suniel is fitter than most people in their mid-20s. This coming together of mutual synergies is testament to the strength of the our result-oriented approach to fitness. We are confident that with Suniel on board, SQUATS will be able to attract and transform the lives of more people in the country," the company's founder Jitendra Chouksey told IANS.

As for Suniel, he was driven towards this as he feels that in today's time, when all kinds of false information about fitness is common, there is a critical need for platforms which focus on 'balancing quantified nutrition with weight training'.

Last year, Salman had acquired manufacturing rights of fitness equipment company Jerai Fitness, to launch his own gym equipment range. And just earlier this month, Malaika, a yoga enthusiast, had shared her excitement about investing in an Indian yoga and wellness start-up called SARVA.

Milind, a Pinkathon ambassador, is also part of a Hotstar web series "Maximise Your Day", where he reveals fitness secrets and shares wellness tips.

For Shilpa, the journey to promote fitness began a decade ago when she launched her yoga DVDs. In her latest endeavour, she has launched a holistic wellness app called The Shilpa Shetty Application, replete with target-based programs, yoga routines and diet plans for users.

She said: "I have always believed that wellness, physical and mental is not something we have to do as a chore, but a lifestyle one needs to imbibe... I realised a lot of people need help and direction/information and ask me how I do it. So, I decided to put all this into my app with my experience and the help of the best experts in the business to help you workout in the comfort of your home."

Mandira, brand ambassador for Vivafit, a global chain of boutique gyms for women only, says while it is natural for people to look up to people from the entertainment business as role models, it is vital for celebrities to develop the right connect to promote fitness.

"There's social media today, people follow it, and they look at your exercise and see if there's something they can do. If you put something complicated, they say, 'I can't do this'. That automatically puts a wall between you and the viewer. Relatability is an important factor, and if you can put out something that people believe they can do as well, and that people think is achievable, that's when whatever you're trying to promote, will work," Mandira said.

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