There was a time, not too long ago, when fitness in India meant one thing: losing weight. It was visible in everything. Wedding crash diets, endless cardio, the “virtue” attached to being thin and the quiet shame of being anything else. Then, almost without announcement, something shifted. This mostly happened post-COVID. News of young people getting cardiac attacks and strokes began to appear almost daily on mainstream media, everyone, from every age, took note. Walk into any gym in Mumbai, Delhi, or even a Tier-2 city, and you’ll hear a different vocabulary these days. Not “how much weight did you lose?” but “how much are you lifting?” Not “eat less,” but “are you getting enough protein?” India isn’t just getting fitter. It’s redefining fitness goals.The biggest shift is philosophical. A pioneer in the global wellness industry for over 45 years and a dedicated practitioner of yoga for more than 54 years, Dr. Mickey Mehta, explains why strength has taken the front seat. “In Kalyug, everyone wants to fan the ego. So strength is more important than energy because with strength comes with power, and with power comes control.”
Post-COVID development
It suddenly starts to make complete sense. There’s this overwhelming feeling among all of us, especially since COVID and lockdown completely changed our DNA, especially psychologically, that even the tiniest things in our lives are not in our control anymore. Taking up strength training and seeing our bodies transform is giving a boost to not just our bodies nowadays, but also our minds. For decades, Indian fitness culture revolved around subtraction: eat less and weigh less. But this new fitness narrative is about addition: more strength, more muscle, more energy. There was a time when strength training was confined to bodybuilders and serious athletes. Now, it’s mainstream. Functional workouts, kettlebells, Pilates, and hybrid routines are becoming the norm, not the exception. A stronger body isn’t just for Instagram, it’s for carrying groceries, preventing injuries, ageing better. Even beginners are being told to lift weights early in their fitness journeys, something that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.
The gender shift no one is talking about
One of the most significant changes is happening quietly among women. For years, women were told to avoid weights—to stay “toned,” not muscular. Thinness was the goal; strength was almost taboo. IT consultant Disha Singh says she started strength training because she started to feel bloated and her family has a history of diabetes. Her markers were borderline. “I wanted to do something. I got the number of my fitness trainer from a friend whose body transformed right in front of me in the past year. I’ve started online classes, three days a week. It’s been three months, and I can already see the my flab disappearing, and I feel stronger, more in control of my body. This has given me a huge mental boost. I finish my daily work faster these days, and I also have far more energy and far less brain fog, which was driving me crazy.” Pallavi Saha, a homemaker, says, “The best thing about strength training is I do it for 4 days a week, online. at my chosen time. And there’s something remarkabally motivating about doing planks, failing and failing again and then succeeding. Same goes for going from 2.5 kg of dumbells to a 5 kg, under supervision of course.” This is how things are changing. Today, more women are lifting weights, prioritizing protein, and redefining what fitness means for them. Even looking at latest pictures of A-list women stars in Hollywood and Bollywood, we’d notice a marked difference in how they appear. Muscular and toned bodies is the goal, not just a concave tummy. From Jennifer Aniston in Hollywood to Kiara Advani in B-town, the focus is to build on core strength of their bodies.
The protein revolution has left the gym
Bollywood actor Kiara Advani believes in strength training and a strong look and core
Parallel to this shift is another, equally telling one: India’s sudden obsession with protein. Once the domain of protein shakes and gym bros, protein has now entered the everyday Indian kitchen. You see it everywhere: Protein atta, protein curd, protein snacks, even protein kulfi. Food companies are racing to meet demand, turning protein from a niche supplement into a daily essential.Why now?Because India has, historically, been protein deficient. Studies suggest the average Indian diet falls short of recommended protein intake, both in quantity and quality. This has real consequences—low muscle mass, slower metabolism, poorer long-term health. The new awareness is correcting that. Or, as one fitness coach bluntly put it in a recent interview: “Protein isn’t for bodybuilders. It’s for humans.” Dr Mehta adds a word of caution though, “The question here is should you be doing protein shakes?” His advice is to “go as green and clean as possible”, in terms of labels, because it’s less toxic for the body which may harm one later.“Any protein addition to the body has to be done under supervision,” he adds.Then there’s Pilates: the quiet disruptor. If the old Indian workout was punishment (run harder, sweat more, burn calories), the new one is controlled, intentional, almost meditative. Pilates studios are popping up across urban India, offering something that traditional gyms didn’t: a slower, more mindful way to get strong. Core strength. Flexibility. Breathwork. It’s fitness that doesn’t scream. And that’s precisely why it’s working. The rise of low-impact, sustainable workouts reflects a broader shift: people are no longer trying to survive fitness. They’re trying to live with it.
Data backs it up
This isn’t just anecdotal. The numbers back it up. India’s fitness industry is growing rapidly, expected to hit ₹37,700 crore by 2030, says a study by Deloitte. Around 62% of Indians now work out multiple times a week, and 65% prefer hybrid fitness routines, i.e., mixing gym, home workouts, and digital training. Fitness is no longer seasonal (read: January resolutions), it’s becoming a lifestyle. And most importantly, it’s becoming more informed. People are tracking macros or macronutrients (logging the daily intake of protein, carbohydrates, and fats to meet specific body composition or health goals, rather than just tracking total calories). They are reading labels, understanding recovery. The body is no longer an afterthought, it’s a project.If you want to understand how deeply this shift has penetrated, don’t look at glossy magazines. Look at Reddit. On Indian fitness forums, the conversation has moved beyond basic weight loss. One user writes: “Our everyday diet often lacks sufficient protein… I realised it’s important for everyone, not just gym people.” Another, a trainer, points out: “Most people train hard but their diet doesn’t support muscle growth.” And perhaps most tellingly, there’s confusion – not about whether to get fit, but how: “Should I focus on cardio or strength training?” This is what a cultural shift looks like in real time: messy, questioning, evolving.
The risk of going too far
Of course, every trend has its excesses. The protein boom has also led to: over-reliance on supplements, misinformation from unqualified trainers, social media-driven fitness myths. There are increasing concerns about poorly trained gym instructors pushing unsafe routines or unnecessary products. And then there’s the classic Indian tendency—to swing from one extreme to another: from zero protein to protein overload. From no exercise to overtraining. The challenge now isn’t awareness. “Overexercising makes you age fast and synthetic, artificial protein can make your biological clock gallop,” adds Dr Mehta. Even if our training is strength-focused, nutritionally-aware it has to be sustainable in the long run. And we must make sure it does not harm us.
