Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one of the most gifted cricketers to grace the stage and one of the best cricket captains we've had. His explosive batting is often combined with fearless stamina which sees him keep wickets for days, but how does he stay in shape? We take a peek at his fitness and training regime and also his diet.
According to an old report card on Indian players' fitness published in The Telegraph, 'Speed and agility comes naturally to Dhoni. He is the fastest Indian between 22 yards. Having said that the Indian captain is not really fond of training. He is not the one to run the extra mile. Nor does he pump a lot of weight in the gym. But being muscular and strong, Dhoni can do any challenging exercise in the gym. He has a pretty low body fat percentage. A long slow cardio would draw a frown, the sight of a football would bring a smile.'
In an interview cricketfundas.com from 2005, Dhoni said: ' I even don't know the secret because I really don't do the gym works and all. But I started off as a footballer, so the training I did over there is helping me a lot.' He even claimed he wasn't much of a fitness freak: I am not really a fitness freak, I think it's quite natural for me, I am from a place where the genes do matter, I am from the mountains. I am from Almora, Uttaranchal. Basically the genes are helping me and obviously I am working hard on my fitness right now with the training schedule given by Gregory King, our trainer. I am working hard on it but it's quite natural to me.'
Is badminton the secret?
Another report in the Daily Mail, suggested that Dhoni stays fit by playing badminton which keeps him light on his feet and also hones his reflexes and eyesight. Whenever he gets some free time, he heads over to the badminton court: 'I am not a big gym fan. It has been quite a long break and I have not yet initiated weight training. I want the body to recover fully and there is still a month to go before I play in the CLT20. So I have been playing a lot of badminton over the last week. It not only helps improve eyesight, but also the footwork. But I know that I have to hit the gym as we near the CLT20 and increase the intensity.'
In fact, the cricketer is cashing in on his fitness icon image by opening 200 gyms under his company SportsFit Pvt Ltd which has been backed by overseas investors and several banks. According to former physiotherapist John Gloster: 'To be able to do hundreds of squats a day behind a wicket, and then come out to bat means Dhoni has to be extremely fit.' Whatever regime the cricketer's following, it's definitely working considering the huge amount of non-stop cricket Dhoni plays without a break.
Dhoni's diet secrets
According to nidsun.com, Dhoni follows a well-balanced diet which is guided by the BCCI. For breakfast, he usually likes to eat porridge with milk and raisins and nuts which is followed by some fruit juice. When at home he digs into dal, rice and subzi like most other Indians but we guess that doesn't happen too often. Lunch usually consists of 3-4 chappatis with chicken/dal, along with some yoghurt, pickles, 100g of mixed nuts and a mixed veggie salad. He has a chicken sandwich in the evening which is followed by a dinner similar to lunch. The cricketer also drinks Gatorade from time to time while practising and has whey protein shakes, nuts and seeds after each work out.
Picture Source: Reebok.com
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