Playing the lead for a sports action drama film can ask blood, sweat and tears from the actor performing the role. And it is the case with Ram Charan who worked rigorously for his film, ‘Peddi’ where he vigorously grilled himself to play a muscular wrestler. Let’s take a look into the actor’s fitness journey.
Building a desi wrestler’s physique
As the film shows Ram Charan as Peddi who comes from a village, his body was expected to be of a desi pehalwan and not well detailed body builder revealed his trainer Rakkesh R. Uddiyar as per the brief he received from Buchi Babu Sana.For his fitness the team planned a weekly structure where they performed two types of exercises. On alternate days they used to do weight training with fasting cardio and on the others they focused on functional movement with kushti exercises and mobility exercises, the trainer revealed in a conversation with Indian Express.
Traditional Indian training methods
During his exercise for a wrestling physique they also used the traditional Indian exercise tool. In addition to it, they also performed Surya Namaskar, rope pulling, and akhada drills.
The carb-cycling diet plan
To maintain a strong high muscle tone one also needs to take care of their calories. The team came up with a 1,800-2,500 calorie plan which is known as carb cycling.During the shooting, Ram Charan also performed the Ayyappa Mala fast. It became a tricky affair for the team as the actor was already on a 50-60 percent vegetarian diet, but during that period he went on a full vegetarian diet. This made the process a little difficult for the team. On days when the team felt Ram Charan was low they used to give him extra calories.Ram Charna used to have his first meal in his car while he was on his way to the set. The team made a group chat where his chef, doctor, dietician, bodyguard, trainer and personal staff together would discuss how his body needs to be taken care of.
Months of wrestling preparation
The director in a conversation with IANS also revealed that the actor trained for 3-4 months to perform wrestling in the film. He also shared that they roped in trainer who coached Aamir Khan in the movie ‘Dangal’. The makers also included wrestlers from Telangana as part of the film and gave training to the artist in the film.Keeping multiple factors in mind the team grudged themselves into the making of Ram Charan as Peddi Pehelwan.