Know The Secrets to Being Fit Like An Athlete!

It certainly goes without saying that an athlete would maintain their strong body stamina by consuming various healthy and nutritious foods. But not only that, they also have their own secrets to making their body fitter than ever. We have Yayuk Basuki, Juana Wangsa, Inez Febrianti, and Sismya Kadarisman that would share their secrets just for you!

Susi Susanti – A Balanced Life and A Positive Mind

When asked about her secrets to being fit, the first two things the Olympiad gold medalist shared were, surprisingly, not about working out or consuming healthy food, but living a balanced life and having a positive mind. Interesting, isn’t it? As for physical discipline, Susi Susanti gladly talked about her routines back when she was a professional athlete. “I used to wake up at 5.30 in the morning and I would drink hot sweet tea or milk and eat some bread. After that I would do physical exercise until 8 in the morning, have breakfast, and then go to school. I would have lunch at two in the afternoon, after school, and at four pm I would practice my technique. On the evening, I would have dinner, study, and by 8.30 I would be in bed,” said the former badminton athlete.

Susi would always prepare and bring some light snacks such as chocolate bars, banana, biscuits, and water. “I would always keep some light snacks and water in my backpack because sometimes the game schedule could get mixed up and so I would have to be prepared and fit at all times,” explained the woman whose schedule nowadays revolve around family and business activities – she now runs a health and fitness center with her husband, Alan Budikusuma.

Juana Wangsa – Avoid Cold Beverages

As a female athlete still active in Taekwondo, Juana Wangsa always stresses on a discipline lifestyle. From Monday to Friday, her daily activities are filled with training sessions that begin since 6 in the morning. “When I wake up, I have a habit of drinking a glass of water before practice. I would have breakfast after practice,” said Juana.  She chose to drink lukewarm water because the mother of one avoids consuming cold or ice cold water. As for food, Juana recommends to avoid greasy food, considering that she often has problems with her weight. “Your breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal should contain the 4 sehat 5 sempurna principle.” To help maintaining her body fitness, Juana also consumes supplements. On a match day, Juana prefers to consume banana and chocolates as well as other foods with high carbohydrate content. What about resting? Considering her packed activities that leave little time to rest, Juana recommends to ensure high quality rest and use as much time as possible to rest. Such good time management is needed, indeed!

Inez Febrianti

For the water polo athlete, diet and time discipline are the two most important things to consider to maintain a healthy body. Like other athletes, Inez Febrianti’s routine start very early in the morning with her training session. The difference is that Inez chooses to drink water or sweet tea before her morning practice session. On the days approaching a match, her training does not get much more intense than usual. Therefore, Inez admits to having more time to maintaining a fit body. “After my morning training session, I still have some time to have fun or relax. I would continue practicing afterwards,” she explained. What about food? For Inez, What she can consume every day and before practice are more foods that contain carbohydrate, protein, and fat. Drinking a lot of water and consuming fruits are also a priority. Does she avoid certain types of food? “My number one must-not-eat would be instant noodle, as well as soda beverages,” she said. As a water athlete, Inez entrusts her daily stamina to vitamin C and other supplements. This is important such that she would maintain her body strength despite rigorous and intense activities in the water.

Sismya Kadarisman – No Spicy Foods

A hockey player still needs extra body treatment to maintain fitness. Take a peek on the tips and tricks that Sismya Kadarisman (Mya) utilize to maintain her body fitness before and during a match. For the Trophy Top Scorer of 2011 Women Indonesia Open, staying away from spicy foods is the toughest, but Mya still does it in order to maintain her health. Vegetable and fruits are her daily diet. “Before a match, I would wake up at 5 in the morning for practice. Before that I would have a light breakfast such as cereals and milk, and I would have my real breakfast after practice,” she said.  One of Mya’s other tricks is to have at least 8 hours of quality sleep in a day. Mya relies on resting to restore and maintain her stamina because a balanced lifestyle is not just about food, but also quality rest to maintain a healthy body.

Yayuk Basuki – Run 12 km a day

Despite having a heavily packed set of activities, resting is important for Yayuk Basuki. The tennis player ranked 21^st in the world in 1997 would find time to rest. “In the past my daily routine would run from 6 am to 8 pm, Monday to Saturday. This is non-negotiable. That’s why I would only rest in between those times,” Yayuk said.

For her daily routine, Yayuk makes a habit of running 5 to 12 km outside of warming up session. “This is the main item, because warming up would take a long time.” As for foods, Yayuk consumes mostly vegetables, but she also eats meat, even though meat is not on her daily consumption list. Before an event, Yayuk, who admits to not eat rice very much, prefer to eat pasta. “If I’m too packed before an event, though, I would only eat vegetables and fruits like bananas, or energy bars or sport bars. They are very helpful.”

For daily activities, Yayuk recommends consuming light meal such as cereals or oatmeal. What about dinner? “Dinner is a must. In addition to pasta, I also prefer Japanese food, like sashimi. I like to keep it light,” she said. 



Originally published on Fimela.com. Translated and edited by Gold's Gym Indonesia.