Greg Hammond is a man who has plenty of laurels to rest on. He’s been dubbed one of the country’s sexiest men, won the South African version of BBC Entertainment’s Come Dine With Me, and was our 2011 cover Guy winner.
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All this and he’s still the down-to-earth dude that you can share a few beers with, and doesn’t take himself too seriously. He works hard to earn his play time. Besides playing in the South African national touch rugby league, Hammond runs, cycles and rows to keep in shape. Here are some of his lessons.
The Hard Times Will Motivate You
“Back when I was 17 playing first team rugby, I was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit for 10 days for playing rugby with flu. If I hadn’t stopped playing when I did I would have flatlined on the field and gone into cardiac failure, permanently damaging my heart and possibly dying from a heart attack. Thank God I stopped and got rushed off in an ambulance to ICU.
“It was a long journey back to full fitness (six months) before I was allowed to push myself in training again. It motivated me to get my body and mind back to the level where it was. Five years later, it has made me fitter than ever.”
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Do A Little More Often
“Moderation is key to everything I do. I don’t expect things to change overnight. I wake up everyday to a shot of wheatgrass, oats and gym, and end my day off with an evening run. I eat a lot of raw food, and steer clear of high-cholesterol foods.
“If you keep to healthy habits in the week, you can afford weekend cheats (a few of my cheats are nuts, honey, fruit juice, booze and bread). Cashew nuts are my absolute soft spot, especially roasted and salted!”
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Use His Secret Training Tactics
“Kettlebells. They work more than two muscle groups simultaneously, and I love the feeling of 80 percent of my body being stimulated at once – the burn is unbelievable. And if you want to get toned but don’t want to lose muscle, don’t do 8km runs slowly, rather run 3km fast! And make sure you work your core everyday.
“I like hanging leg raises (place your arms into loops that are suspended on the shoulder pull-up bar, place a small weight between your feet and then lift your feet towards the ceiling while keeping your legs straight). Works every muscle fibre in that region.”
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Food Formula
“To start: oats, cinnamon, a touch of honey and a shot of wheatgrass. Hands down the healthiest breakfast. Tuna with brown rice for lunch, and then protein (chicken breasts or white fish) for dinner with plenty of steamed veg.
“I also snack on fruit and veg throughout the day and don’t eat carbs at night. Raw carrots and apples are great on-the-go healthy delicious snacks. The I make sure I avoid ‘white’ carbs (white bread, pasta and rolls) and stick to ‘brown’ carbs like oats, brown wild rice and wholewheat pasta.”
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Getting Ripped Has It’s Benefits
“Exercise releases endorphins which ultimately lead to ‘happy’ chemicals being released throughout the body. I sleep better, concentrate better and have more energy.”
