Rub�n Baraja, footballer	Fonsi Nieto, motorbike racer

What can a motorbike rider and a soccer player have in common?

We are obviously talking about two completely different sports disciplines, but nonetheless we decided to talk to Rub�n Baraja, player of the Valencia CF and of the Spanish national team and to the 250cc Repsol rider Fonsi Nieto, to know which are their personal eating habits and their specific physical training plans.

The planning is very similar in both cases: a hard work preseason to reach the desired physical fitness and to start the season under optimal physical conditions. They both have a large season: ten months of top performance for soccer players and eight months for Motorcycle World Championship riders. Adding the preseason to these high performance months, we are talking about almost eleven months of high physical efforts in both cases.

Rub�n Baraja and his team-mates, winners of the last edition of the Spanish League, have approximately six weeks of physical training during the preseason. Special attention is paid to aerobic workout in order to recover the physical condition and endurance. They usually workout in the mornings and in the afternoons and they do not start playing friendly matches until the tenth day of the preseason. "From that moment on we use to play one match a week or every five days", -says Rub�n Baraja- "mainly to gradually get back the rhythm of competition. Approximately four weeks after the beginning of the preseason and already with an aerobic base, i.e. when we have reached a good level of physical endurance, we start to workout the anaerobic base, trying to get strength and speed

The workout plan of Fonsi Nieto during the preseason is quite different with regard to duration and objectives. Since the season of the Motorcycle World Championship as such is a bit shorter, Fonsi has more time available to get back his physical condition after the deserved rest he takes once the racing season is over. "Our preseason", says Nieto, "is much longer than theirs, since they only dedicate six weeks to the previous physical training, and immediately afterwards start the season, having to do intense training sessions in the morning and in the afternoon. We have much more time available and therefore our preseason is almost three months long and much more relaxed and progressive. We work six days a week, rest one day and, depending on the activit,y we work either in the morning or in the afternoon. We combine gym workout with road bicycle and some jogging, and also some cross-country motorbike riding, although not much".

Having more time, Fonsi and his physical trainer Javier Navas have set-up a very progressive training plan.

For Fonsi, "our workout plan to get back the physical fitness is very progressive and soft. In the beginning, the whole work carried out in the gym is based on little load and a lot of repeating, to avoid forcing the rhythm and get endurance. Once we have reached a minimum aerobic base we train four or five weeks with more load and less repeating, trying to build up the necessary force. At the start of the season Javier reduces the workout with heavy weight, because what we try to do is to keep endurance and physical fitness without forcing too much, forcing is already done by racing. Our work is especially focussed on the aerobic side (resistance and endurance). Unlike soccer players, we do not need to workout the anaerobic aspect (strength and speed) that much, since we do not need speed. We do not sprint during a race and our search for strength is very specific, we only look for strength in some parts of our body".

Going back to the training of Rub�n Baraja and his Valencia CF team-mates, the number of friendly matches is reduced during the last fifteen days of the preseason, in order to reach the first official match free of burdens and tiredness.

"The last days before the first official match are spent in the gym, paying special attention to reaching a good level of strength and speed, to have the necessary rhythm for the match". In short, as Baraja explains, "the first part of the preseason is the longest and heaviest, because we do a lot of physical work, while the end of the process is much more intense and shorter".

Every year, approximately in the middle of the preseason, in February, Fonsi Nieto has to take part in the IRTA tests, i.e. test sessions organized by the Teams' and Riders' Association of the World Championship. They are carried out on different circuits in order to evaluate the evolution of teams, bikes and riders so far.

There are neither winners nor defeated in these practice sessions but for most of the participants these sessions are a big help to see their own potential and that of their rivals for the following season. "The IRTA tests are a part of the preseason as such, so what we use to do with Javier before these tests, which usually last a couple of weeks with two to three days on the bike, is to slow down the rhythm a couple of days before in order not to be excessively tired for the tests. It is during these tests where we feel our lack of physical fitness, because the sessions are long and intense with regard to physical exertion on the bike, considering that you are not physically at a 100% yet and that it is three months since you rode a racing bike for the last time. After these tests we go back to the initial workout plan, in combination with some more days of bike riding before the season starts. Once the World Championship has started we focus on maintenance and endurance, but in a much softer way because the real physical exertion happens during the racing weekends.

For Rub�n Baraja, the season is long and intense..

League, the Cup, European Cup... Keeping the physical fitness for over nine months in such an intense season needs some balance... "The level we are playing at doesn't let much time left for anything else, because with an average of two matches a week, there is not much you can do for your physical training. After a match you usually look for recuperation after the exertion and do not think about working out your physical fitness. When we have a whole week available, i.e. when we only play a match on Saturday or Sunday, we have enough time to dedicate some time to recuperation and maintenance of the physical fitness. But we usually have two matches a week and that forces us to resort to physiotherapy and to more specific work to recover.

The daily life of Baraja and Nieto

Baraja and his Valencia CF team-mates usually start their working day at around ten thirty in the morning, although many of them, like number 8 of the Valencia CF, arrive at the team's training facilities one hour before. "The training starts at 10.30 but I usually arrive at 09.30 to make some previous warm-up, stretching and if necessary some complementary workout exercises, i.e. on a personal level. The team's training starts with twenty or twenty-five minutes of warm-up on the field, some days running, some days with the ball and then, depending on the needs, some endurance work or endurance with tactical or technical layouts, short matches, etc... The training session usually lasts one hour and a half and the afternoon is free. If we have a complete week, with a single match, we would possibly train one day in the afternoon as well"

The day before a match, the team meets in a hotel at approximately 8.30 in the evening. This is called "the concentration". After a dinner chosen by the team's doctor, Baraja and his team-mates go to rest to get ready for next day's match. If the match is held at approximately 8 o'clock in the evening, the team uses the morning to practice a bit of ball control and finalize details. After the training they watch a video of their rival, have some light meal and rest. Most of the players take a little nap. After a light afternoon snack, the team goes to the field, one hour and a half before the match, to get ready.

Fonsi Nieto and his physical trainer Javier have quite a different work programme. For Javier Navas, "after a Grand Prix, i.e., after three days of constant physical effort, Monday is used for resting and it is usually the day we need to get back home.

The working week really starts on Tuesday, and lasts until the following Tuesday, when we have to leave for the next Grand Prix. The first day after a race is a recovery day, we do stretching and start with progressive work, which usually lasts another day. During the days we have until the next Grand Prix, we only work really hard on two days, namely on Thursday and Friday. Then we slow down the rhythm again to allow the rider to be relaxed for the next race. Therefore Fonsi usually rests on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday and Tuesday we do some light physical work. During the preseason, we usually dedicate three hours to physical training and during the season we reduce the sessions to approximately one hour and a half.

Food

Food is another clue in the preparation of high level sportspeople. Carbohydrates and proteins at the right time and in the right quantities provide the food with an important complement, which is very important for the care of our protagonists. They both have balanced and varied diets, which are very different from the strict diets of, for example bicyclists or athletes. This is probably the field where we will find more similarities between them.

According to Rub�n Baraja, "we fortunately have no limitations due to a strict diet. We can eat almost everything, obviously as long as it is controlled. Our diet is usually very varied with carbohydrates and sugar in the morning, one hour before training, to get the necessary energy. On mid-day we continue with carbohydrates to recover from the training and in the evening the most important are proteins. I usually have a coffee with milk and a couple of toasts with oil and salt for breakfast. For lunch I have a salad and a bit of pasta or rice and in the evenings I have either fish or meat with vegetables. They advise us especially not to combine carbohydrates with proteins, as well as to avoid red meat and sausages. After a match we have a lot of micro breaks and the most advisable is to facilitate the recovery process with hydrates. The constant intake of water is also very important. During a match we loose up to 2.5 Kg, which are mainly liquids.

Fonsi Nieto agrees in most of Baraja's comments with regard to food.

"The type of diet I follow has no real limitations. I can eat everything but always following basic nutrition rules. Javier and I have developed a plan based on hydrates and proteins for breakfast, hydrates for lunch and proteins for dinner. Accordingly, I take cereals, scrambled eggs with turkey, toast and orange juice for breakfast, in order to have enough energy for the first practice session. The lunch is very light because the second session or the race is right afterwards. I usually have some pasta, rice or vegetables as hydrates. In the evenings and after the physical exertion I combine vegetables with fish or meat but avoiding, if possible, red meats. But, as I said, I do not strictly follow this diet every day, there may be exceptions, but always under control."

Different but the same, these two sports people of the highest level in their corresponding sports are proof that being on top of the world in competition requires a lot of work and sacrifice. Although sometimes, both protagonists can take the liberty of skipping some of the rules and enjoy the pleasure of a good meal.