We are in the middle of March and people are still talking about the great physical change that has hit Carlos Alcaraz in this 2022. In Indian Wellsthe man from Murcia once again referred to the importance of gaining strength and endurance to be able to compete head-to-head with the best in the world, and both he and his team have had to work very hard on the ascent they are making towards the top of the Ranking, adding his first ATP titles.
That is why, on our YouTube channel, we have met with Alberto Lledo, his physical trainer, who reveals the details behind this process and how that physical work has been, as well as the diet that Carlos has followed to gain weight. Alberto also works at the Equelite Academy, run by Juan Carlos Ferrero, so everything stays at home. He has been working with Alcaraz for several years and they are all very determined to take the Murcian tennis player to the top.
Interview with Alberto Lledó, physical trainer of Carlos Alcaraz
“What cost us the most was that he could gain weight and improve his body condition,” Alberto tells us. In order for Alcaraz to gain strength, he needed to eat a lot of food, and for someone as skinny as him, it took him a while to acclimate to a diet that currently hovers around 4,500 calories. “I ate very little. He had the habits of a normal boy, not a jock. That’s what cost us the most with him,” he says.
They were looking for a hybrid body for him, a mix between a sprinter and a marathon runner. “Speed is a manifestation of strength. Strength is measured by speed, in high performance. And we were also looking for resistance because, for example, at Roland Garros, five sets, you can spend four or five hours on court, so you must have metabolic resistance to withstand those loads. You have to be strong and fast, but at the same time, resistant”, he declares.
About Carlos, Lledó highlights how involved he is in his project as a tennis player. “He has never said to me ‘Why? Why do I have to do this job?’ He has never said no to something, and that is very important for the process and the work. Carlos is a very good athlete. He is not only a good tennis player, but he is also a very good athlete”.
Regarding food, Alberto tells us what the food that the tennis player eats is based on and what he eats on match days and what routines he follows. “Carlos’ diet is based on real food. He doesn’t eat processed food or anything like that. Even the supplements he takes are based on real food. A high performance athlete, like him, needs glycogen to function and get energy, a lot of carbohydrates and a part of fat. Of course, he also protein, which is a recuperator and a generator of muscle mass, depending on the work he does, ”he points out.
With all this work, between physical work and food, Alcaraz has gained around four kilos in weight in the last year, but not all of it corresponds to muscle mass. “Carlos has a deficit of fat mass, which is important even for hormonal development, growth. He now he is at a good fat percentage. Of those four kilos, two may be muscle and the other two fat. Fat is health, too. Fat has always been reviled in the field of health. It is also important for the body. It’s more important than we think.”
In this way, as Alberto tells us, Carlos has reached the body desired by all. “Right now, thanks to food, rest and work habits, he has developed the body of a proper tennis player. He is already looking. He has already reached the ideal body of him”, he sentences.
