A lot of football fans and bettors who like predicting match outcomes on sites like Lottoland Sports know Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the best players of all time. For starters, Ronaldo can accelerate at 39.95km/h even though he is 39 years old. Besides, his highest vertical jump measures 2.93 metres.
His skills and agility when controlling the ball have left many football fans curious about his training and fitness routine, which is quite bizarre, to say the least. Luckily, in this write-up, we take an inside look at Ronaldo’s training and fitness routine to quench your thirst of curiosity.
1. Cardiovascular Training
Peak fitness maintenance and endurance at the pitch demands excellent cardiovascular performance. Therefore, the soccer star takes his cardiovascular training seriously.
He has incorporated high-intensity workouts like rowing, cycling, running, and sprinting drills into his fitness routine. For instance, he loves a set of ten rope jumps with a one-minute rest after every set.
2. Strength Training Workout
It’s no secret that Cristiano Ronaldo jumps higher than any other footballer, with his headers carrying a lethal sting thanks to his muscular body. His strength isn’t coincidental but a matter of discipline and dedication to strength training.
The star’s strength training includes resistance training, weightlifting, burpee pull-ups, push presses, bench dips, and much gym work. Compound movements like bench presses, squats, and deadlifts go a long way in building muscle endurance and improving overall body strength.
3. Core Strengthening Exercises
The core is an indispensable component in strength production. All body motions originate from or pass through your body’s core. Therefore, the Al Nassr player has utilised this fact to the maximum, and the results are evident through his explosive speed-strength abilities.
Cristiano Ronaldo incorporates exercises targeting his core muscles, which include leg raises, planks, abdominal crunches, and other rotational exercises. A healthy core provides him with the stability and balance necessary for intricate ball control movements.
4. Skill-Specific Training
The 39-year-old star also considers skill-specific exercises as part of his training and fitness routine. Football involves sprinting, jumping, dribbling, and shooting, which requires much physical practice to perfect.
If you did not consider playing soccer as exercise, try dribbling for five minutes and note your heartbeat, body temperature, and the amount of sweat. Technical drills improve overall body fitness and agility for improved performance.
All the above steps look ordinary and boring. But the bizarre part of Ronaldo’s training and fitness routine is the recovery process.
5. Recovery
Ronaldo has employed conventional and unconventional methods of recovery throughout his career, spanning over 21 years. These three will surprise you:
1. The Polyphasic Sleep Cycle
Ronaldo gets plenty of sleep every day, seven and a half hours, but in a way that you don’t. He has an unusual habit of taking frequent short naps, each lasting 90 minutes, rather than sleeping a whole seven hours. This sleep cycle was adopted from a baby’s sleep cycle, and parents know better than anyone else how involving it is.
This practice is believed to increase the brain’s ability to learn and retain latest information. It also improves alertness and increases productivity. Ronaldo adopted this method back when he played for Real Madrid after he met Nick Littlehales, a sleep expert. Sleep is important for muscle recovery.
2. Percussive Therapy
A good massage makes you feel relaxed because it improves blood flow, reducing lactic acid buildup in your muscles. After a whole night of training and play, it relieves soreness and stiffness in the back, legs, and neck muscles.
Ronaldo is a fan of percussive massage devices, as he constantly captures on his social media handles. These devices apply repetitive blunt pressure, which, combined with vibrations, engage the outer skin layer, bringing a soothing effect, pain alleviation, and allegedly improving his recovery speed.
3. Cold Therapy
The football star owns a cryotherapy chamber, which he uses to freeze himself several hundred degrees below zero. Yes, you heard that right! Extreme cold training is thought to relieve muscle pain and improve blood circulation. Scientific consensus on the effectiveness of cryotherapy in Ronaldo’s superb performance still needs to be made.
Conclusion
How many 39-year-olds still retain their 20s body? Through dedication and discipline to his training and fitness routine, which some argue is unconventional, Ronaldo has managed to stay in shape throughout his football career. He attributes his fitness to a strict diet and good workout.
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