Gareth Bale reveals new lean physique is down to ROWING during pre-season while his Real Madrid career nearly hit the rocks
Gareth Bale has revealed the secret to his new fitness regime – rowing!
The Real Madrid superstar looks leaner and sharper than in previous seasons.
Bale is back in favour under Zinedine Zidane at the Spanish giants and has hit the ground running in La Liga.
The 30-year-old scored twice in the 2-2 draw at Villarreal on Sunday.
But Bale, who was off the pace in Wales’ Euro 2020 qualifying defeats to Croatia and Hungary in the summer, conceded he wasn’t physically sharp and had to change his training programme.
And the Wales captain, who faces Azerbaijan in Cardiff tonight, believes he is now stronger than ever thanks to summer sessions on a rowing machine.
Bale said: “Maybe not playing for four, five, six weeks coming into those games, physically I wasn’t where I wanted to be.
“But I’m fully fit and raring to go now. “The rowing machine kept me fit over the summer. It’s a good workout and does a bit of everything.
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“You need to keep ticking over especially without running and putting your legs through all the strain. You take your weight off the legs so it’s been good.
“I feel probably stronger than ever. When you get older you learn from mistakes in the past, doing a bit more prevention work in the gym and keeping yourself fitter.
“I feel in very good shape, hopefully I can stay on top of that and continue to keep playing well.”
Bale opened a gym in London called Rowbots this summer.