"Keep challenging yourself": Milind Soman's fitness mantra for all

Milind Soman finished a 240 kilometer Unity Run at Vasai Virar Fort recently. India's undefeated and most popular fitness icon covered 240 kilometers bare foot from Pune on August 10. With the third edition of the Unity Run, Milind has covered over 1100 kilometers. The first Unity Run saw him cover 420 kilometers from Mumbai to the Statue of Unity in Kevadia, Gujarat, while the second edition in 2022 took him 450 kilometers from Jhansi to the Red Fort in Delhi.

While most of the people run of breath, and running is not explored as much as it should be, Milind Soman was as fresh as he was as Captain Vyom, after finishing his recent marathon. Talking about his evergreen fitness, which of course requires a lot of hard work, Milind has one thing to advise the adults: Keep challenging yourself.

For the unversed, Milind Soman won a silver medal for the country in 1984 in the South Asian Games in swimming. When asked how he found a new love in running, an elated Milind replied, "I did not switch actually. I stopped swimming in 1988 and I started running in 2003. The Mumbai marathon was announced and I took an interest in it. And then I didn't stop!"

Milind's views on fitness are simple, basic, but very rarely spoken of. "Keep challenging yourself gradually. First challenge yourself for one minute, see how many push-ups you can do. Get into the mindset of challenging yourself. This will motivate you," he says.

"If I can run without a trainer, a nutritionist or any expert, this shows the enormous capacity of the human body," he adds and emphasizes on the willingness of an individual and the thrust one needs to give oneself to remain fit. "If someone did it, you can do it too."

To remain fit, and before embarking on a fitness journey find out why you want to be fit. Is it for sedentary working hours? Is it for some physical activity you are keen on trying? Is it for some personal reason?

Talking about his diet, Milind says he eats almost everything. Processed foods, refined foods are off his diet. “I prefer home cooked fresh food,” he says.