1 I do a combination of a lot of things — I’m a little old school when it comes to training. I do a lot of running. Long distance running is a major part of my fitness and conditioning. I include five to six kilometre runs in my routine. I try and run thrice a week. My running depends on the cricketing season — if I’ve to play a full-day tournament, then I go for strength endurance to last longer. If I’m playing a T20 game, I’ll opt for short power training.
2 When I hit the gym, the workout that I do depends on what aspect of training I need to work on. If I need to work on power training, then I do a different set of exercises in the gym. If it’s strength training, then I do different exercises like squats etc with a lot of weight. Also, if I’m focusing on losing some weight, I would go for circuit training.
3 If you don’t maintain a decent diet, then all the training you do will be put to waste. During season, when I’ve to play matches, I eat a little bit of carb so that I’m not depleted of energy through the day. When there are no games, I train really hard to have a high protein and high fibre diet. I don’t have a high metabolic rate, so I cut down on carbs. I understand what my body can adjust to and understand its likes and dislikes and act accordingly.
4 I’m not a big fan of protein shakes, I prefer going the natural way. I opt for foods like soya, chicken and I also eat a lot of boiled vegetables. At home, I cut down on the number of rotis and amount of rice I’m eating and I fill my stomach with daal, sabzi or curd.
5 For people who have a sweet craving and those who want to eat something sweet at the end of their meal, they should probably have a little jaggery to control the craving. Even something like a dark chocolate is a good option. But considering I’m a foodie, it’s not easy to not have dessert!
— As told to Ikyatha Yerasala
