Dubai: Cristiano Ronaldo has once again set the standard while shocking doctors at Juventus following his recent return to action.
When multiple champions Juventus troop out to face AC Milan in their Coppa Italia semi-final on Friday, football faithful at Turin’s Allianz Stadium will perhaps get a much better embodiment of their talismanic striker Cristiano Ronaldo.
A video edited by Lucas Rougier pays tribute to Juve’s favourite son following his return to Italy after his lockdown period back home in Portugal during the coronavirus pandemic.
There’s no doubt that the Portugal captain has been keeping in shape with some self-motivated and gruelling home workouts. Claims are that Ronaldo or CR7 as he is referred to, used to work out for up to four hours a day during his time away following a mid-season break of Serie A following Juve’s 2-0 win over Inter Milan on March 8.
Football’s first billionaire according to Forbes, Ronaldo used a variety of equipment to keep in prime shape, if not improve substantially in his drive at being one of the healthiest athletes on the planet. From a stationary bike, a leg machine, a customised adductor machine, a classic treadmill, a Bosu balance trainer to work on his core muscles, a premium workout station and even a treadmill installed in his swimming pool, Ronaldo spent his time well inside till he returned to Italy on a private jet in May for another self-quarantine period.
And when it was finally time for him to turn up for training at the football pitch, Ronaldo was bright and early to do some individual exercises before the group session even began. He then underwent a barrage of tests to check his fitness levels.
The results, made clear by coach Maurizio Sarri’s head of medical Luca Stefanini, indicated that Ronaldo has been in an “excellent”, if not a better shape than he was prior to the lockdown. Tests carried out showed an improvement in the two core areas of speed and muscle mass.
Normally, a lack of training leads to a loss of muscle mass, an increase in fat mass and a reduction in athletic capacity. But, Ronaldo’s top speed is now seen to be faster than what it was in March 2020, thus attributing the success to all the exercises he did in front of his villa.
During lockdown, CR7 intensified his workload using his eldest son Cristiano Junior (due to turn 10 on June 17) at times, while on other occasions getting his younger kids — twins Eva and Mateo — and Alana Martina involved while exercising on his abdomen muscles.
His muscle mass, for instance, has surpassed 50 per cent, while his fat levels have remained unchanged at seven per cent. On an average other players have a muscle mass of approximately 46 per cent.
Throughout his career, Ronaldo has a reputation of having the hardest work ethic on and off the pitch and for every team he plays for.
When he signed for Juve on July 10, 2018, doctors had said that CR7 had the body of a 20-year-old due to the minute attention he paid. But coming back into proper competition after a three-month hiatus, Ronaldo is destined to flaunt his athletic ability along with his technical qualities, accuracy and his mentality.
Juventus are headed towards a ninth successive league crown as they lead the standings with 63 points after 26 matches. But Lazio are just one point behind, leaving Inter Milan (54 points), Atalanta (48) and Roma (45) to fight for the third spot. Italian Serie A heads back into action with Torino taking on Parma on June 20, while Juve’s first league match will be against Bologna on June 22.
