Manny Pacquiao – his training and special menu

1. Manny's biography
2. Training and diet of the champion
3. The spiritual foundation of an athlete's life

Manny Pacquiao is undoubtedly one of the brightest and most interesting representatives of professional boxing in our time. Proof of this is his championship titles in eight weight categories, with which he broke the record of Puerto Rican Hector Camacho, who was a champion in seven weight categories. To achieve all this, Manny had to put in a lot of effort. However, in addition to a champion's character, the key to Manny's great victories were also special training and a specially selected menu. We will talk about them further.

Manny Pacquiao's training

Every day Manny does 2300-2500 exercises for abs, working on all muscle groups of the abdominal cavity. To make the exercises more effective, he uses several variations with 30-50 repetitions for each.

An important part of the Filipino's training is getting his body accustomed to blows, in order to reduce sensitivity from their impact. For this, a simple «exercise» is used - the coach hits the boxer on the torso and arms with a stick, made from rattan. The intensity of this type of training especially increases a month before the fight. Thanks to his tough conditioning, Manny once honestly told his mother:  «Don't worry when I take punches — it doesn't hurt».

In addition to good endurance, strong focused punches are also important in boxing. Pacquiao has many variations of push-ups to increase their power. For example, in order to best train the forearms, he does push-ups on his knuckles, keeping the lower part of the body pressed to the floor.

Manny Pacquiao's nutritious menu

Any athlete will tell you that the key to staying in optimal shape is proper and balanced nutrition. Manny Pacquiao's professional team is responsible for creating such a balanced diet. And it may not be so easy to select a quality menu if the boxer performs a huge amount of work during one day of training and loses up to 2500 calories. It is not surprising since the Filipino has to run, jump, work with weights, stretch, train with punching bags and exercise machines, as well as participate in sparring sessions.

In order to maintain Pacquiao's weight within optimal values, his nutritionists have developed a menu according to which the boxer consumes about 7000 calories. And that's twice as much as an ordinary person needs. At the same time, the champion's team does not keep Manny's diet a secret – he consumes a large amount of protein-carbohydrate food after each workout. Here's how the Filipino's physical preparation and conditioning coach Apex Ariza describes it: «In the diet of my fighters, I give preference to oat flakes, skimmed milk, fresh berries, and honey. Oatmeal, slowly cooked in milk and infused with honey, is the best recovery tool in a training camp. It's proven by practice!».

As is known, it is oatmeal that excellently replenishes glycogen stores in the body, which is one of the most important sources of energy. And honey has a higher glycemic index than even oatmeal. Thus, honey can supply the body with a large amount of energy almost immediately after its consumption, and later the «energy relay» is taken over by oat flakes. Well, berries, as is known, contain a large number of antioxidants that boost immunity. An addition to this menu is a protein whey shake, prepared  in water, which Pacquiao drinks after training to enhance his anabolic potential.

In the second half of his training days, Manny usually dedicates himself to sparring in the gym of his coach Freddie Roach. After completing the training process, the champion can treat himself to his favorite dish made from beef, prepared as fried pieces of beef tenderloin, marinated in sugar, soy sauce, garlic, and pepper. In addition, Manny eats steamed white rice and soup, cooked with chicken broth, ginger, and herbs. For dessert, he has melon and mango.

Such a menu may seem not particularly complex or sophisticated. However, it is undeniable that one of the keys to success for Manny Pacquiao in the boxing ring, is precisely such a diet that takes into account all the nutritional needs of the champion.