What Aamir Khan Learnt from Arnold Schwarzenegger

Bollywood star Aamir Khan, who sported an eight-pack look for his blockbuster film "Ghajini", has a suggestion for those wanting to go for body-building -- read "The Encyclopedia of Body Building" by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"One book I would strongly recommend to anyone who is training is 'The Encyclopaedia of Body Building' by Arnold Schwarzenegger, " he said on Facebook.

Aamir says he wants to take fitness more seriously now and has created a group on his Facebook page to encourage even his fans to stay healthy.

"Let's make a group, who decides to live healthy. Anyone who wants to join can. Each one of us is responsible for figuring out a diet for ourselves, a workout/sport/walking schedule, and a rest schedule.

"You decide what is good for you and stick to it and every night on Facebook, I'll post how I fared that day and in response you comment on my post. That way all the comments are tagged together to my post in one space, and so it will be easier for all of us to stay together on this one topic. If one of us is finding it tough the others can encourage, " Aamir posted on his blog.

The 45-year-old also shared his knowledge on how to be fit and maintain a healthy and toned body.

"Let me share with you what I learnt in the last few years in the process of building a physique, losing weight etc. Three things are most important, a healthy and balanced diet, exercise and rest, " he revealed.

Aamir informed that an average person uses around 1,800 to 2,000 calories per day. In order to lose weight one simply needs to take in less than one spends. So it's better to consume less than 1, 800 calories in 24 hrs. But the less calories one intakes need to be divided into fat, carbohydrates, and protein. A balanced diet is generally 1/3 fat, 1/3 carbohydrates and 1/3 protein.

"The best way to get a healthy and balanced diet for yourself is to visit a qualified dietician. Not the dieticians who put you onto new fad diets, like high protein diets, low carb diets, blood group diets, 'don't eat carbs at night' diets, Atkins diet, Santa Barbara diets, 'have this pill' diet, 'eat only this one day and that on another day' diet, falana diet, dhamkana diet etc, " said Aamir.

"You need to visit a qualified dietician, who gives you the good old fashioned calorie count diet, " he said, recommending Mumbai-based doctor Dhurander in Santa Cruz.

Aamir also stressed on the importance of proper exercises and work out sessions for the desired results.

"For general fitness, walking, jogging, swimming, or playing a sport are all great exercises. So if you are not looking for anything particular then choose one. Yoga is great too. In case you are interested in body building, building muscle, shaping your body etc., then what worked for me is weight training, " he said.

"For that, you need the right equipment and a good trainer. So the easiest would be to join a gym and use one of the trainers there. If you can't afford that then do free hand. Pull ups, push ups, crunches etc, " he added.

Finally, Aamir wrote about the benefits of proper rest to stay fit and healthy.

"The importance of rest is often underestimated. No matter how hard you train, if you don't rest your body, it will not respond as well. During 'Ghajini' as a rule, I slept for eight hours (at least) every night, " he informed.