LONDON | Milos Raonic suffered severe foot and Achilles tendon injuries and was unable to do any cardio training for months during his rehabilitation as he limited himself to muscle work. So much so that he gained about forty pounds, which he had to shed quickly last month to get back into the sport.

“I couldn’t run for a year, so I just did the gym and weights,” he said Thursday shortly after retiring. in the second round at Wimbledon. First, I put on too much muscle mass and gotten a bit too heavy because I couldn’t do the cardio portion.

“I was a lot more sedentary than I’ve ever been in my life,” he continued. So I started making adjustments and lost weight much faster than I thought. I lost the first 40 pounds in four or five weeks.”

A steak and water

And what did the 1.95-metre-tall Canadian giant do to lose so much weight so quickly that he could compete again on what appeared to be his farewell tour?

“I ate a steak every day! And I drank water. Anyway, I don’t drink coffee or sodas. So for four or five weeks in December and January I ate a steak that I cooked myself. And it was a small steak, not a tomahawk.

Not very “healthy,” he admits

Raonic – reported to weigh 216 pounds on the ATP website, although those readings aren’t always reliable – admits, “It wasn’t the healthiest way to lose weight.”

The first two weeks [de ce régime] are not particularly easy, he also mentioned. But then you get used to it.

But while he’s returned to much more normal eating habits (for an athlete), the Canadian won’t be celebrating his return to the All England Club with a steak. “I’ve eaten too much!” he said.