Retired Aussie boxer's health & fitness tips
•Fitness
Share
THREE-time boxing world champion Jeff Fenech is not one to back down from a fight.
“Many people don’t realise that these kids with Duchenne don’t get to see their late teenage years. Helping Save Our Sons is something I’m very, very honoured to be able to do,” Fenech said.
“This week we’re setting out to walk from Melbourne to Albury to raise awareness and funds so that we can help the kids and find a cure, hopefully sooner rather than later.”
The 300km walk, starting on Tuesday, will take 11 days. Lucky for Fenech, he has remained in top shape since hanging up his gloves.
“I do a 30-minute training session every day and ride the bike 20km most days. For me it’s about enjoying life and you can’t do that without exercise,” he said.
Fenech is keen to share this philosophy and his specialist knowledge about health and fitness with others.
“These days I train a few family members and friends at my home gym,” he says.
“They’re often surprised because they think training with me will be a real slog, but it’s no good training so hard that you’re sore every day."
“That’s why people give up on getting fit. My technique is to build up slowly. When people see improvements after seven days, 10 days and so on they want to keep going."
“Health and fitness comes first from the head, then from the heart. If you can believe in what you’re doing and enjoy what you’re doing, then you can get fit and healthy, and a healthy body develops a healthy mindset.”While Fenech likes to mix things up and do lots of different types of training from boxing to resistance exercises, his favourite piece of equipment is the SkiErg.
“This monster machine was recommended to me by my friend Peter Park, a strength and conditioning coach who trained a lot of the best athletes in America. It’s a great way to get a total body workout without the impact,” he says.
As a professional boxer, Fenech was often forced to restrict his diet to make weight, but unlike many elite athletes he has not stacked on the extra kilos since retiring, despite eating out at a restaurant every night.
Yes, you heard right, Fenech and his wife Suzee venture out every evening without fail for a meal and a bottle of wine.
So how does he stay so trim and fit?
“I very rarely eat during the day,” he says. “If I have breakfast it’s just a small bowl of oats and then I don’t eat until 6 o’clock, when we go out to a restaurant.
“I try to eat early because I like to give my body time to digest before I go to sleep.”
What's in Fenech's fridge?
FENECH might not spend much time raiding the fridge himself, but he and his wife Suzee make sure there are plenty of healthy choices for their three children.
