For Mumbai lad Karan Sawhney, fitness is a way of life. Over the years, it has strengthened his “willpower” and helped him “face problems head-on”. The former footballer has now co-founded The Tribe India, a primarily virtual fitness platform where he is the strength and conditioning specialist. “Fitness for me is being at my best... for my profession… and I judge my fitness by progressing every day. Once you fall in love (with fitness), it won’t be punishment,” says the Cristiano Ronaldo fan. The Telegraph chat.

Let’s start with your football journey...

I started playing football when I was seven and that is when I decided that I want to become a football player and I played professionally till 2017. And then I decided that I wanted to do a complete switch to fitness in June, 2017. I started my youth career with Mahindra United. Then I got selected for Tata Football Academy, Jamshedpur. I lived in Jamshedpur for four years. I signed my first professional contact in Goa in Salgaocar (FC). Then I played for DSK (Shivajians F.C.) in Pune. Then I signed for Bengaluru (FC), Mumbai (City FC) and Kerala (Blasters FC). I have played in the I-League and ISL (Indian Super League). I commentate for ISL and have been selected to commentate on World Cup qualifiers.

"Fitness for me is being at my best..." The Telegraph

You didn’t want to wait and play for India?

(Laughs) I’ll tell you what happened.... In 2016, I started a gym because I have always been passionate about fitness. Then I took a call in 2017 that I should do this full-time. When you are playing professionally, you are travelling 11 months in a year. I have played football for the last 16 years, which was great and I have a lot of takeaways from that.

And fitness is of utmost importance as we are realising right now...

Absolutely. It is the most important thing. Sports teaches you to be at your best, physically and mentally. Otherwise I’ll never be able to reach my potential. You see all the top CEOs of the world, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk... they all put aside time for physical health.

When did The Tribe India happen?

During the lockdown last year. It was April 1 when we started The Tribe India and we were doing it for fun. We used to conduct these functional boot camps. Then we went virtual in the lockdown. That’s when it picked up. Honestly, with The Tribe India, we didn’t know we were going to do this full-time. We had done this as a fundraising campaign where it was just a two-week thing where whoever trains with us, we will donate everything to the daily wage workers and animal shelters.

Favourite footballer: My favourite has always been Cristiano Ronaldo. I was lucky enough to be with his teammates... when I was in Kerala. His teammate Wes Brown, who has played for Manchester United, was in the team. He used to tell us about Ronaldo’s dedication. Getty Images

Is it still virtual?

Our model is virtual, but we do boot camps offline.

What kind of equipment did you start with considering a lot of us don’t have the desired equipment at home?

We used to use all the props that are available at home. Obviously body weight, chairs, water bottles, backpacks with books, towels.... Now we tell people that for certain classes you will need weights or resistance bands. And, for certain classes just a mat.

Who are the other team members?

My other partners are Robin (Behl) and Anushka (Nandani). Robin used to actually come to my gym. We became friends and started conducting these sessions on the beach and turf. Anushka used to have her own classes before the lockdown where she would dance cardio, Zumba, Pilates. She is my fiancee and that’s how the three of us came together.

How has your personal fitness changed, from when you were a professional footballer to now?

When we used to play football professionally, our routine was set. Wake-up time, sleeping time, resting time.... We would start with pre-season... for two months.... We would train for six-seven hours a day and you are preparing for the year where you are only training, resting, training. Once your matches start, then you are training according to the matches. Before the match and after the match, you train light. Five or six days before a match, it is a little intense. In 90 minutes of football, a player loses three-four kg weight. I used to lose approximately that much.

After football, I don’t train football-specific.... There are a lot of skills involved. (Now) strength training has increased. I try to do new courses too to upgrade and update my knowledge.

Do you see any changes in your body?

Because you have trained so vigorously for a long period, they lose fitness (after they stop playing) and then you want to just chill. For me, I might not be as lean, but am still at my fittest. I am still doing my strength training and going for my runs.

What do you miss?

I miss football every day, travelling with the team, speaking to coaches, practising every day... but that is the sacrifice I chose to make.

What is a great workout?

It is a good mix of strength training and aerobic activity, which is cardio. If you are going for a walk, you are not going to be working your upper body. It is good for your legs and heart, but after 30, a degeneration of cells starts and the only way to slow it down is getting your muscles stronger. That’s why everyone speaks about body-weight and strength training.

I see my grandfather (Madhukar Talwalkar of Talwalkars) and he is 87 and he does push-ups, pull-ups every day and does weights. When he had a shoulder surgery two years back, the doctors told him he had the bones of a 60-year-old. That’s because of strength training and routine. In India, most of us don’t have the awareness and that is what we are trying to create about what kind of workouts you should be doing at what age. You can be working out at any age.
Fitness is not just gymming. In school, you play a sport and there is physical fitness too. You can start with weights at 16-17.

And, you need to go to a professional...

Hundred per cent. A lot of us copy-paste from the Internet today... but when you need to go to a doctor, you go. That’s why we say we ‘prescribe’ a workout which is tailor-made. I’ll tell you what my grandfather told me: If you think fitness is expensive, try illness.

How much time do you take out for yourself every day?

I wake up, have two glasses of water and skip and jog for two-three minutes. That gets your blood flowing to your brain. Then I go for a cold shower, which wakes up your nervous system and is brilliant for your skin because it closes your pores. Then I visualise for 10-12 minutes and once I open my eyes, I write down what I need to do. Then my workout is one/one-and-a-half hours depending on my routine for the week.

Are you hard on yourself in terms of what you eat?

The longest I have gone without eating sugar is 64 days. I have a major sweet tooth but 80 to 90 per cent of my food is very clean. If I have a cheat meal, I’ll go all out... once in seven-10 days. It’s a reward.