EVER wonder how football maestro, Cristiano Ronaldo, maintains his physical prowess at the ripe age of 36? Well, it looks like CR7 owes his incredible fitness to a gruelling diet, an intense exercise regime and surprisingly, intermittent sleep.
There is no denying that the Portuguese athlete has been blessed with enormous talent, but the professional footballer works hard at keeping himself in peak condition, including having healthy meals frequently throughout the day and indulging in three- to four-hour workouts daily, according to The Daily Mail.
Apart from lifting weights and performing high-intensity cardio workouts five times a week at the gym, the football superstar also swims and does Pilates regularly to maintain his fitness levels.
Ronaldo's former Juventus teammate, Medhi Benatia, recently told The Mail that he once received a text message at 11pm from the celebrated footballer, who wanted to know if he would like to join the superstar at the gym.
"At that moment I realised that Cristiano is not a normal person,” added Medhi, who turned down the offer. "When you work with him, you respect him more because you see that he (has) sacrificed his whole life for football."
The Mail reported that Cristiano’s personal dietician, who has been with the footballer for years, prepares a special diet of six high-protein, high-grain, low-fat meals daily for the health and fitness enthusiast.
"Eat regularly. It's important to keep energy levels high," said Cristiano when speaking about his diet, which consists of abundant fresh fish − including tuna and swordfish − steak, olives, chicken, low-fat yoghurt, fresh fruits and salads.
The football ace, who has also cut out alcohol and fizzy drinks, consumes water to keep himself hydrated.
Apart from dedicating a large portion of his day to exercise and diet, Cristiano keeps himself feeling fresh and energised with five 90-minute naps throughout the day.
"Proper sleep is really important for getting the most out of training,” said the footballer to Four Four Two when speaking about his unusual sleep schedule.
"Sleep helps muscles recover, which is really important."
It is nothing short of amazing to see the lengths that Cristiano would go to, to keep in shape, especially when most of us already feel exhausted just by reading about it. – Agencies, August 31, 2021
