Salman Khan only eats ’ghar ka khana’ cooked by mother Salma Khan: Reveals Sikandar actor’s trainer - Exclusive!

Superstar Salman Khan ditched his shirt for the first time in Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya (1998), and let’s just say, the audience never once asked him to put it back on. Now pushing 60, Salman continues to set the gold standard for body transformations and fitness. Safe to say, he's not just ageing-- he’s ageing like a fine wine, with strong muscle and chiselled abs.

But, what is the secret behind the fitness of Bollywood's Sikandar?

Live Mint caught up with Salman Khan's fitness trainer Rakkesh R Uddiyar who spilled the beans about the superstar's secret.

Rakkesh has been training Salman Khan for over 20 years now. What does Salman Khan's workout routine look like? He shared, “Salman Khan follows an old-school, typical bodybuilding regime called the giant set. He performs about 10 different variations of chest exercises, such as inclines, push-ups, fly and more.”

Salman Khan's gym training routine

“We start with one exercise, and he moves to the next without a break. The only rest he takes is when walking from one exercise to another. This is a very intense workout called HIIT, with no rest in between. He doesn't do heavy weightlifting but focuses on volume training. He will drink water in between.”

While Salman skips break in between exercises, aren't breaks crucial?

Rakkesh explained, "If you are walking from one exercise to another, it hardly takes 30 seconds, which is fundamentally enough rest. HIIT makes you sweat, tires you out faster and burns more calories in a shorter time.

"Salman is fundamental. He believes that you should be done with your workout within 45 minutes to 1 hour; it is scientifically correct.

“Even before I entered the industry, Salman had been training. He has been working out for the last 30-40 years. He knows and understands his body well. He listens to it. He trains aggressively when a body shot is required and takes it easy when needed.”

Rakkesh went on to reveal Salman Khan's must-do exercises. Without these, the superstar simply won’t function.

The trainer said, “Early morning after he wakes up, he does fasted cardio. He finishes his weight training whenever he finds time-- before the shoot, after the shoot, or even during the shoot. But, he has to get it done. Without weight training and cardio, he won’t sleep!”

How many days does Salman Khan train himself in a week?

His fitness guide shared, “Salman Bhai usually works out 6 days, one day he takes rest. Somedays when he is shooting an action scene or dancing too much, we might compromise on cardio but weight training still remains, without a doubt.”

“When we do a cut-down, we follow a calorie deficit diet.”

Salman Khan's diet chart

Does that mean Salman Khan also follows a fad diet for weight loss? Rakkesh differed.

“He strictly follows five meals a day.”

Sharing what the superstar eats in his daily life, Rakkesh added, "In the morning, he has porridge, eggs, and fruits. In the afternoon, he eats home-cooked food, either fish or chicken.

"He only eats home food, cooked by his mother. No matter what food you bring him, he would say, "Ghar ka khana do. Mummy ne jo banaya wahi khana lagao. Wahi khaunga (I will eat home-cooked food, made by my mom)."

Rakkesh revealed Salman Khan is ‘particular about his meals’, as one would imagine him.

“Salman takes some rice and prefers more vegetables. His salads are a priority. When preparing for an action scene, he starts reducing his food intake two months in advance. Once the shoot is done, he returns to his normal diet. There is no particular diet plan. He is a healthy eating guy,” emphasised his trainer.

Salman Khan's cheat meals

Salman is a big-time foodie. What about his cheat meals? Rakkesh shared, "He has a cheat meal once a week, but his calorie intake never exceeds 2000 calories. “Isse upar maine kabhi dekha hi nahi hai unhe khate huye.”

He also shared biryani still remains Salman's favourite cheat meal. “Birthdays and all mein toh chalta hai,” Rakkesh quipped.

Many celebrities swear by gluten-free, vegan or even sugar-free diets. Some also promote intermittent fasting for effective weight loss. However, Salman is different.

“He eats whatever he likes.”

“Nobody trains like him. Bring in all the newcomers and tell them to keep up with him in the gym for 30 minutes. I doubt anyone would last. As a trainer, I have seen how intensely he pushes himself. I know actors come to train with Salman, only to give up halfway through the session and ran away. Someone even puked!”

Inside Salman Khan's personal cardio room in Galaxy Apartment

Rakkesh shared Salman's training sessions are usually without the comfort of an air-conditioned environment or even a fan. But why? He said, “Salman doesn’t like using a fan or AC while training. Even during cardio, he prefers walking under the sun.”

“There is a cardio room in Galaxy (Apartment), but the AC is always turned off. He burns out completely.”

"We can't do cycling (on the streets) now. We used to travel from Bandra to Goregaon by cycle earlier. I have cycled with him from Bandra to Panvel to his farmhouse.

“He loves his farmhouse. If he wants to go stay anywhere, it would be either Galaxy or his farmhouse. In the farmhouse, we would train in the open,” he added.

Salman's personal gym at his farmhouse

Not only Salman's Galaxy Apartment but his Panvel farmhouse also has a personal gym to keep Salman busy during his visits.

The actor's fitness trainer confirmed it, “Yes, there is a gym in the farmhouse. Even in the Bigg Boss house, there was a gym. Wherever he would shoot, we made sure his gym equipment was there with him. When he is not filming, he would inform people and start training himself.”

Besides training Salman, Rakkesh has worked with several A-listers from Bollywood and South cinema. From Aamir Khan to Sonakshi Sinha and Ayushmann Khurrana, he has quite a star-studded client list.

Rakkesh R Uddiyar was recently honoured at HT Media Crafting Bharat Awards 2025 for his contributions to the field of fitness.

Meanwhile, Salman Khan will be seen in Sikandar, releasing on March 30.