Cristiano Ronaldo and the Long Walk to Recovery
Cristiano Ronaldo got out of bed on Sunday morning. He walked to the practice field and watched his friends throw footballs at the goalposts, making sure to watch the way they hit them. Ronaldo took notes, then he took a sip of water. He went to the training ground’s weight room. He ate two pieces of toast.
By now Ronaldo had spent a night away from the training field, in which he has been sleeping on the field. On Monday morning, he woke up and got dressed, but not before he had the last word in the training, after the players had already been sent to the field to train. The two days of practice were a nightmare for Ronaldo, but they weren’t something he’d like to relive.
The players will return to their normal routine Monday, and while they’ll be playing football at the training ground once again, it’ll be an entirely different game than they’ve been playing for the past two months or so. The players don’t have practice sessions Monday-Friday as they have been used to. Instead, Monday mornings will be spent working out in the weight room. Tuesday will be an off day, and Wednesday will be a day in which each player will be working on a specific aspect of his specific position.
On Wednesday, Ronaldo will work on his finishing skills, while on Thursday he’ll be working on his technique for his dribbles. On both days he’ll be using the same goals as the ones he trained on Sunday, and the players will have the day off.
That’s how Ronaldo gets exercise during the week, because he’ll be in the weight room Monday-Thursday, and on Wednesday he’ll be in the gym for shooting volleys and crosses, and on Thursday he’ll be working on his dribbling. In the end, he might end up working out two days a week, and maybe as many as four.
The process is repeated for all the other players. This kind of workout routine, which is referred to as a “bootcamp,” is common for the top teams and for Ronaldo, who’s not the only one who goes through one of these. This kind of training is a way for Ronaldo to get regular work out that he can
