Stunning actress Niharica Raizada on how she stays in shape

Niharica Raizada, the actress who belongs to the illustrious family of the music composer O. P. Nayyar, has won the hearts of many with her looks, dimple cheeks as well as well as her graciousness. We have already seen her in films like Waarrior Savitri, Masaan, 6-5=2 and Damadol and she is all set to showcase her acting prowess once again in an upcoming movie. So how does the stunner manage to be so flawlessly in shape? Here, she spills the beans…

Dance

I swear by dance. It is extremely cardio excessive and gives you a lean body. In the mornings, I do Kathak for around 1 to 1 ½ hours. But there are times when I get carried away and go on for 3 hours! That is only because of extreme passion, it is not required!  We start off at a slow pace with extremely slow footwork and end the class with very fast footwork.

At the gym – Functional training

I don’t have to go to the gym but I am doing a film right now and am training as per the body type required. Gyming can help you gain muscle weight in a way that it makes you look a little bulkier.

I do functional training for an hour. For those who aren’t aware, functional training is not necessarily weight training and equipment utilisation, it’s more of ropework and sled pushes. You use your own body weight most of the time, which is something I prefer. For instance, I am around 50 to 53 kilos, so that is the maximum that I push around.

I prefer just working off my own body weight because that gives me the proportionate amount of muscle that I would require and which would look good on my body. According to me, whatever your weight is on a basic level (unless you are obese) is the amount you should push around.

Sled pushes

During sled pushes, they really make you work hard, first putting 2 ½ kilos, then 5 kilos, 7 ½ kilos, etc. These work the glutes, the hamstrings and the calf muscles.

Battle Rope exercises

As you must have seen in the film Mary Kom, rope exercises are really challenging. I find it tough but it really works out your biceps, triceps and shoulder muscles.

Squatting

I am extremely weak in my legs and hence have been squatting like crazy since the past three months. I have never squatted in my life! I do it all – jump lunges, squats, lunges while holding the dumbbell, pushing against the wall and the likes. Though these exercises work the legs, they are purely based on increasing my glutes capacity along with strengthening my hamstrings and calves. You see, because of all the dancing in films, you have to keep going up and down. If you really want to have a nice spring, you must work towards it and that is exactly what I have been doing.

Not without warm up

At the gym, it is extremely important to warm up at the beginning and stretch out your muscles by the end of it. The reason being, there is a spot muscle work out where you are concentrating on specific areas such as hamstrings, calves, biceps, triceps and glutes. If you do not warm up, you get a lot of cramps and contractions. There is also a possibility of developing spasms.

We mainly do running as it is among the best forms of warm ups. I run up and down the stairs, around 5 – 6 times as well as do jumping jacks and high knee jumping. This loosens up the muscles.

For the stretching, I stretch out the area that I have been working on. We do have special set-ups for every part of the body.

Swimming

The last thing I do is swimming as I find that it is working out without feeling that you are. I love swimming because it is relaxing and the water offers a therapeutic effect. You can take your own time and do your crawls. While doing the backstroke I literally feel that I am floating!

The only problem with swimming is that it dries up and irritates the skin condition because of the chlorine content. Depending upon where you swim, you must be aware that chlorine effects your skin. My only issue with that is that it aggravates the skin condition of those who suffer from allergies or acne. That is why swimming in those cases and in places where they have not regulated the levels of chlorine gets a little difficult. So, then it is best to sweat it out in the gym or while dancing. When it comes to this exercise, I believe there is no need for warm-up.

Cheat workout

If I am not working out, I never use the lift, that is my mantra of life. Even if it is 30 floors, I walk it up. I live on the 6th floor and always walk up the stairs. So, if I don’t get a chance to go dance, or swim or go to the gym, this is my cheat workout.

Niharica’s workout is certainly an inspiration for all of us! Wishing her the very best in her future endeavours.