Bhumi Pednekar reveals over-exertion damaged her body, says she now works out only 20% of what she did 4 years ago

Bhumi Pednekar shares her experience of over-exercising, and what made her change her approach towards fitness.

Fitness routines of film stars are a rage on social media, but there’s rarely ever a glimpse into the downsides of pushing the body too hard. Actor Bhumi Pednekar has made an exception by revealing that over-exercising damaged her body in ways she had never imagined, leading her to change the way she approached fitness. She switched burnout for balance, and turned to healing over hustling in the gym - and it was life-changing for her.

In an interview to Health Shots, Bhumi Pednekar says, "When I started my workout journey, I thought the only way to be fit is when you over-exert, and you burn many hundreds of calories in the gym. I used to feel very proud of it. But what was actually happening was I was damaging my body because I never gave my body the chance to heal."

"Due to this, I got a lot of underlying conditions. I don't want to talk about them yet… But one of the biggest things that I changed is that I prioritized not overdoing it. Today I workout 20% of what I used to 4 years ago, and I think I'm my fittest," added the actor on the sidelines of the relaunch of a Skechers store in New Delhi.

The question about her evolved approach to fitness was raised for a reason. A few days ago, Bhumi had responded to an Instagram post about how working out through pain isn’t always a sign of strength and how over-exercising can have hidden side effects. "I went through exactly this," wrote Bhumi in response to author Vasudha Rai's post on "How over-exercising gave me a cortisol belly and inflamed skin".

Vasudha Rai, a seasoned beauty and wellness writer, shared how she once used to lift heavy weights at least five days a week. "My workouts used to feel like a battlefield. I wore it like a badge of honour - until my body broke down. Then my skin erupted. My belly grew tight and distended. I didn't just look stress - I was stress... My body wasn't whispering 'Train harder'. She was screaming, 'Be kinder'."

In her post, Vasudha Rai explained how chronic intense workouts tend to lead to chronic cortisol - the stress hormone - which can steal the glow, the gut health and one's calm. When she realized that her body didn't need more discipline, but more compassion, she made swaps that mattered. She gave up over-exercising and chose gentle workouts that included yoga, long walks, strength training just twice a week, and gave her body time to rest and recover.

Over the years, Bhumi Pednekar has also adopted a balanced exercise routine. "I'm doing a mix of Pilates and strength training. That has actually pretty much been my routine for many years now," the 36-year-old actor shares with Health Shots.

Asked about how she pushes herself on days when she doesn't feel too motivated to workout, Bhumi says, "It's many hours of 'should I, should I not', but eventually I always reach the gym!"

It is this dedication and discipline that helped Bhumi Pednekar cut down almost 30kgs that she had gained for her debut film Dum Laga Ke Haisha. In the 2015 film, Bhumi broke the stereotypical Bollywood heroine mould by gaining weight for her role as Sandhya, a small-town, overweight woman navigating body image and love.

After the film, she underwent a weight loss transformation, gradually losing the excess weight with sustainable dietary and fitness routines. On the work front, Bhumi Pednekar last made her OTT debut with the Netflix series 'The Royals', and her abs drew considerable attention with her midriff-baring outfits.