When it comes to sports, the old adage ‘father time remains undefeated’ is as true as it ever was, but if anyone is capable of defying the aging process, then Cristiano Ronaldo is.
The man himself definitely agrees. Speaking exclusively to Men’s Health, he says, “I’m 36 years old and I can still compete with the best players and can still maintain the shape I was in when I was 20 years old.”
But what does Ronaldo put his longevity down to? Is it his intense workouts, his unmatched motivation or his will to win? Well, no, none of those. According to the football icon, his recovery sessions are key to him staying ripped and at the top of his sport.
“In football you have basic points—from training well to eating properly to drinking properly and so on—but recovery for me and from my point of view is the most important thing,” Ronaldo says.
“For me, recovery begins with Theragun. A quick pass over my body after a tough match or training session eliminates muscle soreness and kickstarts relaxation. I also hydrate, eat a healthy meal, and get a good night’s rest. It’s a simple but effective routine that helps keep me consistently at my best.”
Of course, recovery sessions aren’t all that, Therabody athlete, Ronaldo does to maintain his enviable physique. Gym work plays a pretty important role too.
As part of Nike’s Living Room Cup, in which star athletes posed challenges to get people active during lockdown, Ronaldo shared a video of an intense abs challenge that saw him performing sit-ups with toe taps.
Ronaldo asked people to beat his rep count of 142 reps in 45 seconds, which FYI you can only do if you have some pretty impressive core strength.
From his score, it looks like Ronaldo’s rippling abs aren’t going anywhere for a while yet.
