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From boxing and cardio to organic food and yoga, NHLer Georges Laraque is powering upDate: 21.05.2007
Posted by: Anabolic Info Team Canada
With each punishing haymaker he has unloaded against willing combatants over the past decade, ex-Edmonton Oiler Georges Laraque has forged a reputation as one of the most feared fighters in the NHL.
But it seems his toughest fight occurs after the season ends.
That's when the six-foot-three enforcer has to contend with his sluggish metabolism - and the inevitable off-season weight gain.
Laraque, 30, admits it happens every year without fail.
After a gruelling season, the right winger takes a few weeks of rest and relaxation to help recuperate his rundown body.
"Once the season is over you have to take a break," he insists.
But with inactivity comes more than a few unwanted pounds for the tough guy.
"When I don't work out my body weight just goes up every day," he explains.
After the Pittsburgh Penguins were ousted from this year's Stanley Cup playoffs, Laraque took three weeks off.
In that time, he says he put on 20 pounds.
Last week, he began his offseason training at a beefy 280.
But that's nothing compared to several years back when Laraque was forced to lose 60 pounds one summer after ballooning to 300 following a month-long hiatus.
"I was fat. My face was round," he recalls. "I worked so hard to lose it, I got mono."
This summer in his quest to get back to a solid 260, Laraque is working out five times a week with personal trainer Simon Bennett of Edmonton's Body by Bennett.
Laraque's 90-minute weight training sessions emphasize aerobic-type movements that focus largely on what he calls hockey's two most important muscle groups - legs and abs.
"Hockey's an aerobic sport," he says, explaining that he doesn't waste time on bodybuilding-type lifts such as bench presses and arm curls because they don't translate into an on-ice advantage.
The Montreal product who maintains a home in Edmonton -despite being traded in February from the Phoenix Coyotes to the Pens - always follows up his strength training with cardio.
His cardio sessions typically include stair-climbing, running and cycling. With the warmer weather, Laraque heads outside, often going for an hour-long bicycle ride.
"You know those crazy guys on the road who almost get hit by a car? I'm one of those crazy guys," he admits, adding he also enjoys running five-km and 10-km charity races throughout the summer with the Running Room. "I love running."
Of course, as an NHLer who makes a living dropping his gloves, Laraque also trains three times a week with boxer Franco Sestito.
The two tangle in a variety of training sessions, including sparring. And in an effort to keep himself limber and stave off injuries, Laraque regularly does yoga at Shanti Yoga Studio with instructor Breanna Johnson.
The reputed pugilist admits he's about as flexible as a bench press bar.
"But I'm better than I used to be," he says.
Fuelling all this exercise is a balanced diet composed strictly of organic food.
Laraque, who prefers to do his grocery shopping at Planet Organic Market, explains that because he cuts back on calories on his stringent summer diet, he wants to make sure he's getting the most nutrients possible. To make doubly certain he leans up for training camp, Laraque stays away from white rice, pasta and bread.
"White flour, when you want to lose weight, is the worst thing for you," he explains.
Laraque says he doesn't have a problem sticking to his diet or his rigorous training regimen.
To keep himself motivated, he just thinks about Minnesota Wild enforcer Derek Boogaard - who weighs close to 275 pounds at six-foot-seven.
"Boogaard is so tough. He's the toughest guy in the league. When I work out and I get tired, I just think about him and I just push myself," says Laraque, who will be heading into his 10th NHL campaign this fall.
"The job that I have, people are bigger and tougher. You have to be in shape, otherwise you get killed." |
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