Cristiano Ronaldo's work ethic is famous. Alex Ferguson once remarked of him:
During my time at Manchester United I was lucky enough to have a lot of people who put in countless extra hours to get better. Gary Neville turned himself from an average footballer into a wonderful one because of his work ethic, as did David Beckham. But Ronaldo used to completely exhaust himself, and still does. He just wanted to be the best in the world.
It is a widely held belief that while Lionel Messi's brilliance comes largely from natural ability, Cristiano Ronaldo's incredible performances - while obviously having their roots in sensational gifts - are as a result of the huge work he puts in at the gym and on the training field. And one commonly held belief about Ronaldo was that he would often bang out incredible sessions of 3000 sit-ups in front of the telly. This was first reported by the Daily Star and then picked up on by the Mail, before being common assumed knowledge. This writer can certainly remember attempting to do even a tenth of that figure some years ago and being in awe of the Portuguese.
But now Ronaldo has debunked this myth. Speaking at the launch of a new chain of gyms in his name ('CR7 Fitness'), Ronaldo (via Marca) denied that he would do 3000 sit-ups a day:
It's not true that I do 3,000 a day, I usually train three or four times a week...I do not know if I even reach 1,000 a week.
It's not true that I do 3,000 sit-ups every day. I usually train 4 or 5 times a week with 200 or 300 sit-ups.
It's not good to do too much because you can have problems with low back pain.
There you are, fellow mere mortals. He doesn't even know if he reaches 1000 a week! It's a wonder he's in any sort of shape at all.
