Fuel the Olympic Fire: How boxer Vikas Krishan trains and what is his diet?
No junk food and focus on forearm training are the two mantras for the boxer
Vikas Krishan's search for an Olympic medal continues. He is leaving no stone unturned to join the elite company of Vijender Singh as the second male boxer to finish on the Olympic podium.
In 2018, he took to professional boxing and had a bright start winning his first two fights. However, he returned to the amateur circuit to fulfill his quest for an Olympic medal. He also became only the second Indian boxer, apart from Vijender, to qualify for three Olympic Games when he made the cut for Tokyo 2020.
Krishan has won at the World Championship, the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games, and the Asian Championships and is now striving to complete his trophy cabinet with a medal in Tokyo 2020, which is slated to start on July 23 2021.
What does Vikas Krishan eat?
Krishan prepares his diet chart in consultation with his nutritionist. It varies from time to time depending on how much weight he wants to gain or lose.
"Diet is an important part of our boxing, but I don't keep track of my protein, fats, or carbohydrate intake. I guess not a single Indian athlete does that, to be honest. We have nutrition experts who guide us, but I use my mind too," he told previously to Firstpost.
He stays away from junk food as much as possible but when he is Haryana ghee becomes an inseparable part of his diet.
"At home, my Haryanvi diet means I need to have ghee in my rotis, which is something that my dietician won't suggest. So I have to tamper with other meals."
But he feels that dietary awareness amongst athletes in India is very low.
"A lot of upcoming athletes do not know the basic concepts of diet and nutrition, so they must consult experts. Also, we need more qualified dietitians and nutritionists in our sports system, those who understand our tastes and dietary habits so that they can give practical guidance to our kids."
How does Vikas Krishan train?
Krishan feels that there should be a balance between weight training and skill training. He also urges boxers to understand their body and figure out the training regimen accordingly.
"You must know which muscles in your body are strong and which need to be worked on. Every boxer is built differently. Coaches and trainers can't prepare customised schedule for everyone, especially in amateur boxing. Roughly, it takes 7-10 years for an upstart to fully understand his body, which is when he/she must assess his/her strengths and weaknesses," he explained.
He pays more attention to his forearms to pack more power in his punches.
"I never used to really keep a count of my push-ups or deadlifts. Then, my coach Ronald Simms at the Inspire Institute of Sports told me that the speed and power of a punch come from forearms. So I worked on my forearm power for 15 days and I could see the difference in strength and speed. Strong forearms also help to keep your guard up and defend. Now I train my forearms more."
The Asian Games gold medal winner trains twice or thrice a day. In the morning, he focuses on weights and fitness, and in the evening he gets in action with the gloves on. Sometimes, he ventures out for a morning run and then he cancels the evening session to recover better.
"It's all very science-based and customised to my needs. Rest and recovery are equally important too. I'd say the importance of training, rest, and recovery in boxing is 33 percent each, and the remaining one percent is luck," he commented.