In the early 90s, Malayalam movie directors tried a new trope by roping in muscular villains with Greek-like physiques. Those were times when only a few were enthused or drawn into the world of the gymnasium. This paved way for Abu Salim, the actor who was omnipresent in every major Malayalam movie that required a macho villain presence.

From being crowned Mr Thalassery to Mr India, Abu Salim, now 68, is still not ready to go out of shape and hits gym regularly.

Cases of youngsters collapsing in the gym and suffering heart attacks while doing workouts have been filling the news headlines for quite some time. Abu Salim gave his take on the concerning issue, of which gym-goers should pay attention to the most.

Abu Salim:

"When preparing for a workout, we must first identify whether our body is fit to undergo such rigorous session. Recently, many people have seen cardiac arrests during workouts. This is only because, at that hour, the body condition was not suitable for such training. We should understand our body first. If feeling drained out or not in the best shape, it would be wise to skip one day's workout session. And I believe in bodybuilding through the natural process rather than using additives and other drugs. Bodybuilding loses its sheen if worked out through such crooked means and it can also harm our health in terrible ways.”