Sunday, 24th August 03:00 PM IST

Superstar Salman Khan is one of the firsts of Bollywood to advocate the importance of having a fit physique. Known to be passionate about health and fitness, the actor makes sure he finds time to work out every day.

According to reports, Khan can do 1,000 push-ups and 2,000 sit ups a day. That isn't a mean feat for the actor as he considers exercising as crucial as breathing.

However, he is probably the only actor who has goaded young actors of the Hindi film industry into the world of fitness. From Hrithik Roshan, Bipasha Basu to Arjun Kapoor, Salman has been the go-to-guy for many.

Every Salman Khan fan waits with bated breath for that one drool-worthy climax scene where Khan takes off his clothing to flaunt an amazingly chiseled body. And the superstar never leaves them disappointed. Although his latest action film, "Kick", didn't have him sans shirt, the actor will make good the loss in his next release "Prem Ratan Dhan Payo".

"I was training very hard for Kick. The advantage of Kick was that as soon as I finished the climax of Jai Ho, I dived straight into this film and it got over in three and a half to four months. As soon as I left the training, I realised Prem Ratan Dhan Payo has the same kind of fitness level, it has me bare chested, I am doing some sword fencing, so I just got a two-week break and now am back on to that training again," Khan said in an interview.

The actor first removed his shirt in "Maine Pyaar Kiya" (1989) and triggered some sort of a trend. While Khan's many fans were impressed, his contemporaries felt the need to 'work' harder.