Sanjay Dutt, a cancer survivor, reveals fitness routine; why expert says it ‘seems to be more than what is recommended’

After Shah Rukh Khan, actor Sanjay Dutt —  a lung cancer survivor — has opened up about his fitness routine. Four years after being declared cancer-free, the 65-year-old shared that he works out for three hours a day to keep his lungs healthy.

“I work out a lot (3 hours a day). Because of my health condition, I have to really keep my lungs expanded all the time. And in one shot, I can do 50 pushups,” the Munna Bhai star told Free Press Journal.

To learn more about the benefits of doing 50 pushups, we turned to consultant neurologist Dr Sudhir Kumar, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad who told us that push-up capacity can be used as a marker for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. “In a research, it was found that men who were able to do more than 40 push-ups in one go had a 96 per cent reduced risk of CVD events compared with those who were able to do less than 10. The benefits started at 10 push-ups and continued to increase up to 40 push-ups. There was no additional benefit beyond 40 push-ups. The fact that Sanjay Dutt can do 50 push-ups in one go shows his excellent cardio-respiratory fitness, despite being a lung cancer survivor,” Dr Kumar told indianexpress.com.

Working out in the gym is associated with multiple health-related benefits. According to Dr Kumar, a dedicated fitness routine in people aged 40 and above prevents sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass) and dynapenia (loss of muscle strength). “These, in turn, lead to better insulin sensitivity and lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Certain exercises such as wall-sit and plank are associated with a lower risk of hypertension. Working out in the gym is also associated with a lower risk of being overweight, obesity, and dyslipidemia (abnormal cholesterol levels). All of these lead to lower risk of CVDs and premature death,” said Dr Kumar.

However, according to Dr Kumar, working out for three hours a day “seems to be more than what is recommended”. “The benefits of strength training are seen with as little as 10 minutes a day and continue to increase until 90 minutes per week. After that, the effects seem to plateau. Excessive workouts can even be detrimental to health. For most people, 90-180 minutes of strength training per week would be ideal,” added Dr Kumar.

It is, however, best to discuss with your doctor and fitness trainer to determine the optimum duration and intensity of strength training in individual cases.

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