What Ronaldo and the world's other top athletes do to get in the best shape

It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make it to the top of your game, but there's no one-size-fits-all for peak performance. Let's take a look at the workout routines for some of the world's top athletes across a range of different disciplines.

The NFL is known for having some of the most powerful yet nimble athletes in the world, and that is especially true when it comes to running backs. There’s a lot that goes into getting into optimal shape for a gruelling season, as Colt’s superstar Jonathan Taylor can attest.

According to Men's Health, Taylor will train for around four hours a day, six days a week. Firstly focusing on high-intensity strength exercises, such as squats, overhead lifts and bench pressing as much as 170kg, he’ll then focus intensely on sprint training, including resistant sprints. 

Ronda Rousey is sure to go down in history as one of the most impressive fighters and a true icon of the MMA world. And it’s no surprise that a lot of training went into getting her there, especially fight training. 

According to balancethegrind.co, Rousey wasn’t spending her time doing squats or bridges – she was primarily focused on fighting. Her tortuous four-hour sessions included judo, striking, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, conditioning, and swimming. You can also through in some intensive stair runs for leg strength.

One of the most respected athletes in the southern hemisphere has to be Sonny Bill Williams. The dual rugby union and rugby league international, not to mention his boxing career, is known for his incredible power, skill, and determination on the field. But as they say, you only get back what you put in, and SBW definitely put in the work off the field to get his body in the best possible shape for whatever he was looking to do.

Unlike American or Canadian football, all players in the rugby codes need to be adept at defense and attack, so speed, strength, reflexes and agility must all be focal points. As such, SBW’s workouts will usually involve a few super heavy lifts, such as barbell split squats, bench presses, and deadlifts, before working on agility on the trampoline and working on fine motor skills with tasks like juggling, according to Nine News.

Wrestling and jiu-jitsu sessions also help build his overall body strength without gaining too much mass, while daily yoga sessions help restore his body at the end of the day, according to The Daily Mail. 

Renowned for his impressive physique, it should be no surprise Ronaldo works hard at the gym. He trains five days a week for three to four hours, dedicating a good portion of that to leg training with exercises like barbell squats and various deadlifts and resistance sprint training. 

He does however focus on all round body strength more than your average footballer and will incorporate burpees, push-ups and overhead slams into his circuits, according to jackedgorilla.com.

Arguably the greatest gymnast of all time, Simone Biles puts a lot of effort into her training. However as her sport is already a whole body and incredibly taxing, a lot of her focus is on recovery. 

While she trains for seven hours a day, six days a week, she will spend up to three of those hours focusing solely on recovery, including massages and a routine that involves ‘running and then a stretch for every part of our body’ to keep everything flexible, according to balancethegrind.co.

Some assume that driving a racecar shouldn’t require too much physical prowess, but those people are very wrong! Lewis Hamilton’s rigorous training can attest to that. 

As gaining mass isn’t ideal for driving F1, Hamilton is mostly focused on cardio. He spends four to six hours a day on physical training, including long-distance cycling, swimming, hiking, and skiing, according to Sportskeeda, as well as core training with pilates.

The Rock’s workouts are notorious. Firstly because it seems anybody interested in strength training wants to know what he’s doing, and secondly because they are very intense! 

Before The Rock does anything with his day he spends 30-60mins doing intense cardio in the dawn hours. He will then eat a lean breakfast before spending at least another 90 mins strength training a specific muscle group such as legs, chest, back, etc. He does this six times a week, according to Healthline.

Despite her power, Serena Williams is not a big fan of working out in the traditional gym sense,  instead preferring to focus more on her sport. 

That being said, she'd still go to the gym three times a week, specialising in a different group each day. According to workoutinfoguru.com, she would dedicate a day to arm workouts, such as curls, a day to core and legs, as well as a day entirely to squats. She’d mix up cardio training with Zumba or swimming.  

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Messi is mostly focused on speed, agility and leg strength. According to Pinata, Messi’s daily regime will include exercises like lunges, split squats and hurdle hops as well as moves like skipping ropes, pillar skips, and squats.

He works out twice a day, five days a week and will spend at least an hour stretching, especially his hamstrings.

Surfing is of course great exercise itself. Not only is it a full-blown cardio workout, but it’s also incredible for your core and all round body strength. That’s why Stephanie Gilmore’s training regimen is more about restoring balance to her body.

Gilmore will spend at least 90 mins a day seven days a week, travel permitting, focusing on strengthening yoga for 25 mins, before going on a 20 min run and gearing up for a polymetric workout to help maintain all round body strength, according to Women’s Health.

Whether it’s his time in WWE or his reign as a UFC heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar was an imposing presence. No question he put the work in at the gym, training two times a day for 90mins, four times a week. 

According to muscleandstrength.com, his morning workout would be focused on strength, including bench press, overhead press, curls and various deadlift exercises. While his evening would be centred around fight training, such as striking, wrestling and endurance exercises.

It may not be thought of as a particularly physical game, but modern cricketers need to put a lot of focus on their general strength and fitness in order to keep at their best. Virat Kohli is a prime example of what goes into keeping a cricketer at their best. 

Kohli works out intensively five days a week for at least 90mins a day. Since running speed is important, he’ll spend at least 20 mins running at 15km/hour, before focusing on a range of compound exercises such as deadlifts, squats, twist lunges and overhead presses.

As far as sports go, golf is not up there with the most physically demanding. But that being said, having a solid core, back and arm strength will go a long way, as world number one Lydia Ko found out. 

Ko famously took some time out in 2020 to focus on her strength and conditioning. Not being a big fan of typical gym workouts and cardio, Ko credits regular rock climbing for her stronger drive and improved course performance, as well as helping her lose 7kgs in body weight according to RSNG.