

The Pilates apparatus is also demanding on the mind. His home pool is no more than 25 metres in length but he has the concentration levels to go up and down it for the good of his body when other players might be relaxing after matches. What is astounding is the mental discipline involved in Ronaldo's brutal post-training workouts. And the focus is on the entire core, building muscles that would have been left out of traditional work-outs.Ī post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo promotion of the discipline is limited to a few Instagram snaps but Ronaldo is as convinced a convert to the late German fitness coach Joseph Pilates's method as anyone. Via a combination of straps, springs, sliding seat and loops it offers greater resistance that someone's body weight alone would offer them if they were working on a mat with free-weights. The key Pilates apparatus is the 'Pilates Reformer'. And much of that core strength comes from another of the secrets to his longevity - Pilates. The leg curls give him those bulging Rectus Femoris muscles in his thighs but it's the unseen core strength that gives that ability to leap and then hang in the air so often seen when he scores with headers. He works out for three hours, five days a week at Real Madrid's Valdebebas training complex or in his huge home gym. Ronaldo sleeps for at least eight hours a day but all the rest and recuperation are only worth it because they allow him to indulge in daily work-out regimes that physically keep him one step ahead of other players. It's not all about sweat and suffering but clearly the muscle definition is not just the result of rest. Going to such extremes would injure lumbar muscles at worst and at best just exhaust him. I'm not sure if I even reach a 1,000 in one week'.

It was at a launch of a new chain of gyms last year when he said: 'It's not true that I do 3,000 sit-ups a day. That emphasis on resting can also not be underestimated. Most players just wanted to pick up their cars and go home but Ronaldo went for an ice bath instead. He recalled how after one Champions League game in Turkey the squad got taken back to the Valdebebas training ground near the city's airport at 3am. The liquid nitrogen emitted reaches temperatures of between minus 160 and minus 200 degrees Celsius - bearable for about three minutes but with huge regenerative dividends.Ĭurrent Reading manager Paul Clement, who was a coach at Real Madrid for two years, spoke about the incredible levels of commitment he saw from Ronaldo regarding his very particular cold-water recuperation programme. Ronaldo had one installed in 2013 after hearing it had worked well for the Bayern Munich winger. It's the post-match recovery method favoured by Franck Ribery who, as at 35, is an excellent advocate for it.
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They also work the upper body with triceps, biceps, pectorals and deltoid muscles in his shoulders all getting the full treatment as well as the latissimus dorsi, the large muscles that spread across the back and side, that give him that superhero silhouette.Īnd after the obligatory post-match swimming there is more water therapy with hot and cold water baths to stimulate muscle regeneration, a high-pressured water jet to massage muscles, and a walk-in Cryotherapy chamber, worth £50,000. Mentally those lengths at home, alone, or accompanied by his son Cristiano Jnr, help him unwind from the tension of the game. After every game Ronaldo goes for a swim. And much of that recuperation takes place in the water.
