She’s described as one of the fittest stars out there and on Wednesday, actress Samantha proved why?
Trending online, with over 23,34,298 views (at the time of print) is a video which has the actress doing a ‘deadlift’ — a weight-training exercise where you lift a loaded barbell off the ground to the hips, then lower it back to the ground from a standing position. She lifted an epic ( 102.25 kilos — almost double her body weight.
Even as fans are going crazy about “steel woman”, Samantha’s trainer, Kunal Gir, says that this is not for all.
“Samantha has been training for a long time now, but she came to me three months ago and that’s when we started out on her new exercise regime. Since her body is accustomed to strenuous workouts, she was able to lift that weight. However, people who aren’t used to training shouldn’t even think of attempting this — especially if there’s no expert supervision.”
Samantha has always taken exercise routines seriously. The actress who “tends to shrink” faster wanted to build more muscle. “The idea was to help her gain strength and to also utilise the strength to make her stronger ( gain size),” adds Kunal.
Samantha, meanwhile, is excited. “I feel the biggest challenge was to stop listening to my mind that said ‘give up, give up’ before my body actually gave up. But I don’t think that I am at my fittest and that is what keeps me going further.”
With her video, Samantha breaks a myth that is usually associated with women and weight training.
“Many feel that if women take up weight training, they will become muscular and manly. But that’s just wrong. Look at Sam, she doesn’t look any different and still looks feminine, but her body has gotten much stronger and toned,” adds Kunal.
The trainer also explains why such training can either “make or break your back”.
“What one doesn’t see in the video is how her body is working internally. Before lifting the weights, she has suck in a huge quantity of air — it creates intra-abdominal pressure to brace the lower spine. The entire body has to be made technically ready for such a workout session and the trainer needs to know exactly when the person needs to be stopped.”
And Samantha, too, has a word of advice for her female fans. “I do believe more women should get into powerlifting. Feeling strong means a lot to your confidence but this is not something that you can do in a week. It requires dedication and persistence,” she says.
About the video going viral, the star is all smiles. “I had no idea that would happen. I would have dressed better and did my hair better.”