This week's fitness profile features author, comedian and much more.. Ashok Ferrey.
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Current weight: 66 kg
How and when did you adopt training and a healthy lifestyle?
When I started working on building sites, after university. After digging drains all day the guys went to the gym in the evenings. Mad, I know.
How do you stay motivated?
With extreme difficulty, that’s how! Look long and hard and truthfully at yourself in the mirror. There is no better motivation.
What types of cardio have worked best for you?
I love running. Sadly, around where I live there is no running track, so I run on the road. This is extremely bad for the knees. You also get
cars following you. To a Sri Lankan driver, a runner on the road is exactly the same as a chicken on the road. You are there to be run over.
What does your diet consist of?
I have a huge appetite. (For food as well.) I don’t eat breakfast (this is really bad – kids, please don’t try this at home!). I have a massive rice and curry lunch at noon. I try to eat less for dinner. But the really important thing: I always eat dinner by eight.
There is nothing worse than your average dinner party where you drink and drink, and then the hostess puts the food out in a hostile manner somewhere near midnight, at which point you gorge yourself. You have hardly finished eating when there is a mad dash to the door to get home.
How do you deal with cravings for junk food, sweet and salty foods?
I don’t particularly like junk food, but I do have a craving for salt and sugar. It’s a habit, like anything else, and you have to work hard to get rid of it.
Top 3 favourite exercises?
Running, swimming and my abs routine.
Do you like to listen to music whilst you train/exercise?
No, because I do most of my writing in my head while I train.
What is your training routine like?
It’s a very punishing abs routine which, if done properly, lasts one and a quarter hours.
What are you most proud of?
I can still fit into the clothes I wore 30 years ago. Why would I even have clothes from thirty years ago? Good question. I’m not sure I know the answer.
Have you had any setbacks in achieving your goal?
All the time. Every time I go abroad I lose all control. I come back bitterly regretting the excesses of the holiday!
How do you measure your progress?
I don’t measure progress. Sadly, at my age it is just a holding operation. Like the hamster on the wheel I have to run very hard to stay in the same place.
Who are your favourite fitness models/athletes?
None in particular. In my opinion, it is definition and proportion that make for the perfect body - not slimness (for a woman) or bulk (for a man). In terms of exercise this means you have to try and do a little of everything. So it’s not rugby players or body-builders who have the best physique. It’s gymnasts or divers, and interestingly, dancers.
What are your favourite healthy foods?
Ha ha. Sushi? Smoked salmon? Who’s paying?
By Nivedha Jeyaseelan
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0 Comments
Stefanie Wege-Aluwihare says:
Mar 21, 2013 at 12:00 amLove the interview and the muscles on display! Well done, Ashok, my early morning hero on the mat ... ha, ha! x Steffi