India’s warrior woman – Mary Kom | A Gold Medalist’s Secret Behind Workout & Diet Routines

Some tales are highly motivational to be true, but there’s one – a tale of hardship and a woman with determination stronger than an iron – winning all the prestigious gold. Yes, we are talking about India’s warrior woman, Mary Kom (Chungneijang Mary Kom Hmangte) the pride of the nation and the woman who got home 6 Gold Medals with her impeccable boxing skills. Ranked as No.4 AIBA World Women’s Ranking Flyweight category, Mary Kom is the first Indian woman to win a Gold medal at 2018 Commonwealth Game held in South Korea.

 

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A post shared by Mary Kom (@mcmary.kom) on Nov 24, 2018 at 4:40am PST

“It has been a tough journey. I carried on with the support of family and friends. Despite the loss today, I am satisfied with the way I performed.”

We all know about her victories on a battleground but just like an ordinary person, it’s all the hard work, training, consistency and dedication that show the results. Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts and winning a championship won’t just be a daydream. Know about how Mary has been preparing herself in and out and challenging every norms by her indomitable spirit and enthusiasm. Aptly put, her  vigorous workout and diet routines helped her stay fit and fueled her determination and strength. Read on to know more.

“People used to say that boxing is for men and not for women and I thought I will show them some day. I promised myself and I proved myself.”

Mary Kom’s workout routine:

From training 8 hours a day to managing to squeeze in training for at least 45 minutes every day in a busy schedule, Mary has done it all. Mary starts her day with a run of 14 km every day, followed by basic stretching exercises and skipping to increase her endurance and strength. She also does floor exercises mixed with conventional workout routines that includes body weight training . Mary believes in brushing her boxing skills every day, she does shadow boxing, and practices with the punching bag and speed bags. It helps her with muscle growth and provides with an intense level of cardio benefits. Then I move on to shadow boxing, practicing with the punching bag and speed bag. Often I spar with opponents or with my coaches during the practice sessions. In the afternoon I would spend some time in the gym concentrating on strength training doing a lot of pushups and sit ups and then again do a recap of all that I did during the morning. I wind up the day with a small run to cool down along with light stretching.

When training in a gym, Mary concentrates on strength training, while doing a routine of push ups, sit ups, lunges, followed by a light walk in the evening to relax the body. She also believes mental fitness is an extremely important part of any sport, so practicing eye-brain coordination has one of the major roles to play while you are at it. “I have to train to keep myself calm. It’s a a strong urge, it’s a habit and training makes me happy. When I don’t train I feel sick sometimes.” she added.

“The incentive of a medal at the biggest sporting arena in the world is what drives me. Before I hang my gloves, I want to win the Olympic medal, and my performance at London will decide my future in the sport.”

Mary Kom’s power packed diet routine:

A boxer’s body needs more fuelling than a normal person, they have to maintain a diet that energizes their body throughout the vigorous practice and workout sessions. Mary insists on sticking to a balanced diet on set intervals, she believes sticking to a particular meal timing as a part of discipline in her life. She has her lunch around 1-2 pm and dinner around 8-9 pm.

As a part of her fitness routine, she needs to incorporate balanced food that can fuel her body and provide her with enough strength to continue with the training and sustain the hardships. She includes 40% to 55% of complex carbohydrates for energy, 10% of healthy fats that helps in vitamin and mineral absorption, 40% of lean proteins for strength and muscle-repair, and plenty of fluids like juice, shakes, green tea and electrolytes for hydration and stamina.

 

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A post shared by Mary Kom (@mcmary.kom) on Jul 16, 2018 at 8:32pm PDT

“I do not only rely on my technique or strength but also on my mind.”

The 6-time gold medal winner also believes that mental soundness and alertness is very important to keep one  strong and focused. A boxing match consists of 2 rounds each lasting for 2 minutes, with 60 seconds of break in between. It’s a stressful situation that requires your utmost alertness to resist against the opponent’s attack and strike back at a right moment. Mary practices mindful exercises and often calms her mind listening to music when she’s not working out. Here’s what she says about her diet, “

I also took great care of my diet, as it plays a major part of the professional training session. I had to follow a diet pattern that had food from every group with the right balance of proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates and other required minerals. I never skipped meals or cheated over; in fact I always had my daily meals on time without fail. I think it’s important to impart discipline in life to maintain a routine like that. Else all can fall apart. I always try to give my 100 percent to any task that I undertake.”

We are extremely proud to witness Mary taking over the world’s most prestigious rings and being victorious in all of them. She is an inspiration for everyone, proving time and again that you can come out hardships and introduce your best self to the world.