Inspiring fitness secrets of ace cricketer Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya is one of India's premier cricketers. He proved himself yet again earlier this year as he bowled his ODI career-best against England in Old Trafford. He has often given credit to Virat Kohli for inspiring him and giving him valuable fitness advice to improve his performance. Here are some of Hardik Pandya's fitness secrets that keep him in excellent shape.
Here's what our expert says
Hardik Pandya is a great allrounder who made a smashing comeback after his injury. His fitness journey has been inspired by the greats like Virat Kohli and it consists of eating the right amount of calories, proper warm-ups and stretches to prevent injury followed by a vigorous workout which consists of weight training, resistance training, and high-intensity interval training in rotation.
Heavy weight training
The key to Pandya's strong and athletic physique is heavy weight training. This involves exercises like weighted squats, bench presses, overhead presses, kettlebell swings, etc. These exercises were key in building a strong foundation along with a calorie surplus during his bulking phase. This increase in strength helped him attain a speed of 140 kmph while bowling, from a former speed of 130 kmph.
Maintaining a fixed diet
Maintaining a healthy diet is key to becoming fit. This also involves maintaining a calorie count. He consumes four meals a day, breakfast, lunch, evening snacks, and dinner. His four-meal diet plan includes a balanced and nutritious mix of foods. He eats fruit bowls, tuna, boiled eggs, shredded chicken, a wide variety of dal, homemade seasonal vegetables, low-fat curd, roti/naan, and steamed rice.
Warming up with sincerity
He takes warm-up sessions as seriously as the rest of the workout. Warming up makes one's muscles ready for the strenuous workouts, and prevents spasms and sprains. Avoiding warm-ups can be detrimental and lead to injuries. Hardik Pandya's warm-up routine includes cardio exercises like jogging and sprinting. One can include jumping jacks, high knee jumps, and other cardio exercises in warm-ups.
Body weight training
Pandya's weight training routine consists of some compound exercises which help him target different muscle groups at once. Push-ups and pull-ups and their variations are an important part of Pandya's workout routine. He also lays great emphasis on core exercises like crunches and planks which give him explosive power and a pristine six-pack! Lunges and side lunges enhance stability while increasing strength and endurance.
Resistance training & HIIT
Exercises using resistance bands like jump squats helped him achieve great muscle flexibility which was a crucial factor in improving his performance. Along with this, doing high-intensity interval training or HIIT helped him build endurance while doubling down on strength and toning his body. These involve rigorous hurdle drills and their variations. Resistance training is what gets him going at such tremendous speed.
