Patrik Antonius Discusses Surgery Recovery and Staying Fit
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In September last year, the healthy and fit Patrik Antonius underwent surgery to get him back in the game after being side-lined from his regular activities for three years. From the looks of his recent Instagram posts, the Finnish high roller and former tennis player has fully recovered, and is back to his normal health routines.
Last week, he talked to PokerNews about his recovery and staying in good health.
Training Regiment
"I had both Sportsmen's Groin, also called sports hernia, operated from both sides end of last September," Antonius recalled.
The sports hernia injury is a common one among athletes, and Antonius was satisfied with a speedy recovery.
"My recovery went well and I am very happy with the results."
Just a week later, he had his post-op workout:
Asked about his current physical goals, Antonius responded: "I have always had the same type of physical goals with my training. I always want to feel as good as possible and I keep on changing my training all the time to introduce new ways to give my brain something new to work on. Sometimes the hardest training where you really suffer for a moment can make you feel the best after."
For a peak into the training of a lifelong athlete, have a look at this video that Antonius recently shared on Instagram.
Sometimes the hardest training where you really suffer for a moment can make you feel the best after.
At age 38, Antonius is looking in peak physical condition, much like a friend of his. Roger Federer remains one of the top contenders in tennis at age 37 and we asked Antonius how he thinks the Swiss tennis phenom continues to dominate the game.
"Roger is a very special person. He has something really special that you never see in tennis. He is always so relaxed that it's even hard to get a picture of him where he would cringe his face while hitting a shot. Because he is so relaxed and maybe the biggest talent ever in tennis, he has been able to manage his body from all the wear and tear and can keep on playing year after year on a top level."
Eating Right
Besides keeping a rigorous physical training regiment, Antonius has found decisions regarding his diet to be a big difference-maker.
"I have been eating gluten free since 2011 which has made a massive difference to better for me," Antonius said. "All the physical problems I was struggling with before have disappeared because gluten was causing me lots of inflammation."
For Antonius, eating gluten free is not too restrictive and his diet includes plenty of healthy fats.
If you are not satisfied the way you are feeling maybe you should look more into what you are eating.
"In general, I eat everything except no fast food; lots of good fats are part of my diet. My new thing is to do intermitted fasting and so far I have been feeling good doing it once in a while."
While many poker players like Daniel Negreanu advocate for the benefits of a strict vegan diet, Antonius believes it comes down to listening to your body.
"I think different diets are good for different people," stated Antonius. "If you are not satisfied with the way you are feeling, maybe you should look more into what you are eating. I know that it might be very difficult to get all the needed nutrition from a vegan diet if you don't know exactly what you need to eat."
In terms of what's most important for poker players trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, Antonius thinks it depends on the particular situation of the individual, but he had one piece of advice.
"In general, diet is more important than exercise," Antonius says.
