Five ODI World Cups (1992, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007) and the wait to get his hands on the coveted trophy continued for Sachin Tendulkar. The Men in Blue came close in 2003 when they lost to Australia in the final and the 2011 edition presented an opportunity to end the wait for the Little Master, at home. The then 37-year-old had locked down the target and had already started preparing for the multi-nation event.
The first goal was to reduce his fat percentage before the start of the tournament and then maintain it. In an exclusive conversation with News18 CricketNext, former India strength and conditioning coach Ramji Srinivasan revealed that Sachin had achieved the target of 10% body fat much before the World Cup and didn’t let the readings change.
Read also: Sachin Tendulkar Interview, Part 1
Sachin had a goal. He wanted his fat percentage to be 10. It was around 13 or 14, he wanted to bring it down to 10 during the World Cup. Lower fat percentage is better. More muscle and less fat brings out the best in you. Extra fat is like carrying a few sacks of potatoes around your midsection and running and exercising. It hinders the movements. In Chandigarh, before the World Cup, I remember he achieved that and maintained it throughout the World Cup. I still have all that data,” says Ramji.
The S&C coach, who worked extensively with Tendulkar during his four-year stint with the Indian cricket team, said before the start of the World Cup, the entire team had one goal in mind and that was to win the tournament for Sachin. . Each and every member of the team worked really hard off the field to remain injury free and even after 12 years they take pride in the fact that they have not suffered any fitness related injury during the tournament. Ramji used to draw a lot of inspiration from Sachin as the master blaster featured in the top five of the weekly log made in the build-up to the World Cup.
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Sachin has always been special to anyone, I am no exception. Seeing them inspired me a lot. I used to learn a lot from him and take inspiration to do many new things. Coming back to the 2011 World Cup, the entire team started preparing for a year ahead. It happened during the tour of Sri Lanka when the whole thing – from the diet regime to the weekly log. We had a fitness log every week and Sachin was always in the top five. All parameters – skill, gym workouts, sprints – were taken into account and scored accordingly. Everyone was on the same page when it came to fitness and lifestyle changes and everyone had one goal – to win the World Cup for Sachin,” says Ramji.
‘Sachin likes to sprint’
Sachin took his fitness very seriously and loved his sessions in the gym. According to Ramjee, the classy right-hander was not heavy on long runs but loved running. They were not normal shuttle sprints, but explosive sprints with full gear – bat, pads, gloves – on.
“Sachin loves going to the gym and he loves to sprint, lots of sprints. He doesn’t like to run around the field. He likes a lot of explosive running – take one, run two, run three. Take a break, and come back. Prefer a pyramid or an inverted pyramid. And he used to sprint with full gear – bat, pads and gloves. I remember we did 30 or 40 sprints in Kolkata. 30-40 sprints of 40-40m. Then Viru (Virender Sehwag) also joined us. He got into the zone and I couldn’t stop till he stopped,” says Ramji.
be cheated
In an #AskSachin session on Twitter last week, Sachin revealed that his favorite cheat meal was Biryani. However, during the World Cup there was no biryani or anything in the dressing room that would increase the fat percentage and Ramji kept a close eye on what the players were consuming.
There was no biryani or anything in the dressing room (laughs). It was banned. No soda, no preservatives, no high fat foods, and no fried items. Nothing. No cake, no ice cream, nothing in the dressing room. Anything that increased the fat percentage was totally avoided,” says Ramji.
System in Tendulkar’s recovery protocol
Every professional athlete pays a lot of attention to the recovery protocol and Tendulkar was no different. After several bouts with injuries during his long career, the right-handed batsman made sure to recover well and was very careful about what and when he eats.
“He followed good recovery protocols. He is very organized. Everything is so organized. Unless you are organized, you cannot reach that level. Very systematic in what he ate, the fitness he did, the recovery protocol and the massages. Hot and cold showers, contrast shower, post-recovery meals – Sachin was spot on,” says Ramji.
What was the ideal diet for Tendulkar during his recovery?
“Pasta and lots of green, leafy vegetables. He likes his meat but it also depends on the day. Depending on the intensity of the day, he’ll choose what he wants. Especially after the evening session, we eat pasta and salad.” Will take. It’s not heavy pasta – it’s grilled chicken pasta for the perfect dose of protein and carbohydrates. And then we have juices and mashed potatoes – for a quick fix. Everything well designed in advance Was,” says Ramji.
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