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Watch an Average Guy Attempt to Train Like Cristiano Ronaldo for a Week

In his most recent video, YouTuber Brandon William takes on a week-long challenge with the goal of improving his soccer game: for seven days, he follows the physically demanding daily diet and workout routine of star athlete Cristiano Ronaldo.

"Something that I've always admired about Ronaldo is that he has the perfect athletic physique," says William. "A balance of skill, stamina, power, speed, strength and muscle. I might have the muscle, but I lack many of the other characteristics that create an athletic physique."

Ronaldo is known for his explosive power, with a vertical jump of 30 inches, and so William uses this as one of the benchmarks of his training. On day one he is able to jump 28 inches, and sets himself the goal of reaching 30 by the end of the week. He also sets PRs in the 30-metre sprint (4.9 seconds) goals scored (1 out of 10) and headers (2 out of 10), all of which he intends to improve on after a week of following Ronaldo's workouts.

With the help of football influencers Brandon and Esteban, William begins his day as Ronaldo would: with a 5 a.m. calisthenics workout. "My body is used to sleeping in until around 9 or 10, which made working out so early feel awful," he says. He follows this with breakfast (one of six small, high-protein meals that Ronaldo eats each day), and then a conditioning session consisting of several cardio-heavy drills which help build agility and mobility as well as speed.

William also incorporates a rest day into the challenge, as recovery is an important part of Ronaldo's overall regiment: he reportedly takes as many as five 90-minute naps on his off days. On top of all that napping, William tries hydrotherapy, switching between hot and cold water to improve blood flow, and cryotherapy.

As the week progresses, William starts to find the early starts getting easier, although the workouts themselves remain a struggle. "The one thing that is killing me, other than my legs, is the amount of food that I have to cook in order to hit five to six meals a day," he says.

On the final day, he retakes each of his day 1 tests to measure how much he has improved in the space of a week. He is now able to hit a vertical jump of 32 inches, completes the 30-metre sprint in 4.3 seconds, scores 5 goals out of 10, and gets 5 header goals out of 10, setting new PRs in every single exercise.

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