Less than a year after acing the gruelling Ironman 70.3 triathlon, Saiyami Kher is prepping for her second shot at the challenge. On World Health today, t2 caught up with the actor who is also a fitness icon.
It has been less than a year since you first aced Ironman and now you are gearing up for your next in a few months. What prompted the decision?
Honestly, I wake up in the morning asking myself why I am so stupid and why I am doing this again! (Laughs) I am in the middle of too many things at the moment, and with the heat and the condition of Mumbai’s roads, training is becoming very difficult. I am in the middle of the IPL (Saiyami hosts a show during the IPL) and that is on for the next month or so, with hardly any time to pause.
This time, I wanted to do an Ironman challenge that would be tougher than the one last year. This one is eight times elevation on the bike and 10 times elevation on the run. It is a much tougher route that I have chosen because my ultimate aim is to do a full Ironman. I need to get two halves under my belt before I can even dream of a full Ironman challenge. I want to keep that momentum going because after doing the Ironman last year, my fitness levels are at a certain level and I don’t want it to go down to zero.
Given how athletic and disciplined you always have been, it is quite impossible for your fitness levels to go down to zero!
You are very kind, but my body isn’t as kind (laughs). The minute I sit back and take a break for a month or two, I have to start from scratch and go back to the kind of fitness levels I had achieved for my first Ironman.
Training, as I said, has been tougher this time because it is peak summer now. Last year, before I went in for Ironman, I had the whole monsoon to train.
Is the level and nature of training different than what you did the first time?
The training is very similar. The only difference is that this time there is more elevation... I am doing a lot more hills in this race, so I keep doing loops around Walkeshwar and Hanging Gardens, up and down Pali Hill and then the slope near Shah Rukh sir’s house.
I hate training in the hills... all my life, in my fitness journey, I have stayed away from them. So the training this time is about challenging myself a little more because it is something I really don’t like doing.
That is all part of the fitness game, right? To conquer your fears and up the challenge every time around...
Not only fitness... the whole thing in life is to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Otherwise, you get comfortable doing what is easy to you. I correlate everything in fitness with life. If you are sitting in your comfort zone in life, you will always sit there... it’s pretty much the same for fitness too.
What have been the must dos in your fitness journey all along?
I have been health conscious ever since I can remember... I started when I was six or seven. I have always been very active. So much is made about this 10,000 steps a day thing because most people are just not active, and 10,000 steps is the bare minimum everyone should do for fitness.
We have got used to sitting on our backsides and ordering food in. When we were kids, we were sent to the local kirana (grocery store) to get bread and milk... but now everything comes to your doorstep. One needs to be active and not get used to the conveniences of life. These are small things that can be done on a daily basis. If I want to eat ice cream, then I make the effort to walk to the ice cream store, which is just 600 metres from my home, and not order in.
Padel (tennis) is a new thing for me. Because of a certain level of endurance I have achieved for Ironman, I can play three-four hours of padel easily. I have a day off on Tuesday and I have already planned a full day of activity. I will go for my Ironman training in the morning, then do rock-climbing for one-and-a-half hours. I have some meetings, after which I plan to meet my friends. But instead of getting drinks or something, we will play padel. That is how I schedule fitness into almost everything I do. Even a simple walk with friends counts as physical activity.
What influenced you to start your fitness journey so early?
I was blessed to be brought up in Nashik... I haven’t grown up in a crowded city. My father was extremely adventurous and holidays during my childhood would mean going trekking or a long swim. We were not allowed to watch television. Being out in nature was important for us.
What is your diet like? Are there any strict no-nos?
I eat everything. That is the whole point... if you stay active, you can eat everything. The problem is when you are eating and not doing anything to burn it off. When I am cranky about life, I eat junk food, especially chocolate and ice cream, but I try not getting into that space. Whenever I feel like I am getting into that kind of a headspace, I go for a run.
I have a major sweet craving, especially for chocolate ice cream. But I make sure I compensate for it. Sometimes, I push myself and make my life even more miserable by giving up something for a certain period of time. Like two years ago, I had given up sugar for a year. Otherwise, I eat everything, but in limited proportions.
Besides acing Ironman, is there a long-term fitness goal?
I have a goal every year because that is what keeps me sane in a profession which can be very unstable. This year, as I said, I want to do the full Ironman. I don’t know how that will pan out because it requires enormous amounts of time. I know that I have the mental strength to commit to that distance, but when I am working, I can’t put in four hours of training every day. I still want to do many, many films... Ironman is just a side gig.
On my bucket list is doing the marathon in Ladakh which is in a high-altitude base. Last year, I learnt surfing and I want to hone that skill. I also want to learn skiing.
We know how big a fan of cricket you are. How has it been like returning to the IPL this year?
It has become a kind of relaxation for me because I enjoy the game so much, both in terms of watching and playing it. Watching the games at the IPL and discussing them later with the heroes I grew up idolising is something I enjoy... I don’t look at it as work at all.
Which team are you rooting for this season?
Ajinkya Rahane is a very dear friend and since he is captaining Kolkata Knight Riders, I am rooting for him and KKR. I think Punjab has a really solid team.Shreyas (Iyer) won KKR the title last year and he has moved to Punjab now and it looks like a good side.
Speaking of cricket, you were in Uzbekistan recently for a screening of Ghoomer with the team of the film, including co-star Abhishek Bachchan and director R. Balki. That must have been special...
Yes, it was playing at a film festival there. I just need an excuse to get together with my Ghoomer family because it is the most special film I have been a part of. It was a reunion of sorts in Uzbekistan. However much I speak about Ghoomer, I will not be able to do justice to what that film means to me. It feels special that even a year-and-a-half after release, it is still being shown to audiences. We had an overwhelming response to the film. It is nice when you do work which is close to your heart and it still resonates with people.
You have a film — Jaat, with Sunny Deol and Randeep Hooda — releasing on April 10. What can you tell us about it?
I play a police officer in Jaat. It is a film which is totally out of my comfort zone. It is probably the most commercial film I have been a part of.
There is also the next season of Special Ops. It is a franchise which has given me a lot of love, though my part has been brief. It is a franchise that a lot of people are looking forward to. I will hopefully be starting on a film once I finish with the IPL.