Lessons in fitness by the kabaddi champion Deepak Hooda #LikeAPro

For the uninitiated, Deepak Ram Niwas Hooda is an Indian professional Kabaddi player and the captain of India national kabaddi team. He was part of the Indian team which won the gold medal at the 2016 South Asian Games. His association with GNC has been since early February 2021 and it’s humbling to see him grow and prosper in the world of health and fitness, leading India to new horizons in the realm of Kabaddi. In the game, he primarily plays the role of a raider, but being a gifted and skilful player he also plays an all-rounder role. He is fondly and popularly called the “Dubki King”.

His signature move is the Running Hand Touch, a move where the player extends his body for a fast touch together with his hand before escaping to safety. To achieve this level of expertise and proficiency the player undergoes hard and rigorous training with a fitness routine #LikeAPro that truly enables him to be strong and agile. Hailing from the village of Chamaria in Rohtak, Haryana, Deepak Hooda received the prestigious national award and reflected back on his arduous journey saying, “It would have been easy for me to give up when I lost my parents and had to struggle to make ends meet for my family. I had one of the strongest excuses possible to quit and no one would have questioned me.” This shows the strong and sound values on the basis of which the player has gone on to achieve numerous awards and accolades in his career.

His fitness routine includes training for a minimum of four hours everyday, with a morning and evening session of nearly two hours each. The national award winning player trains using techniques such as HIIT, heavy weight lifting, strength training as well as body strength routines.

He makes sure to not miss out on essential vitamins and nutrients needed by his body to help combat game and workout injuries as well as develop core strength and overall well being. His regular dose of vitamins from GNC include: Triple Ginseng for greater and improved muscle strength, Mega Men Sport Multivitamins to help achieve daily nutritional goals that everyday diet may not provide, including the right electrolytes that may be lost during intensive exercise sessions. L-Arginine that helps maintain healthy blood vessel tone, Beta- Alanine to combat muscle fatigue after an intense training session. Isolate protein that promotes muscle growth and supports healthy metabolism and Milk Thistle to support liver health and help remove toxins from the body.

Deepak Hooda has played kabaddi for many clubs in the Pro Kabaddi League, that includes the Telugu Titans, Puneri Paltan, currently playing for the Jaipur Pink Panthers. He has also played in a significant number of international tournaments, representing and being part of the Indian National Kabaddi Team, including but not limited to the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup, 2018 Asian Games, 2018 Dubai Kabaddi Masters and the 2016 and 2019 South Asian Games.

Deepak Hooda was also part of the Haryana team that bagged gold at the Senior National level tournament in Patna in the year 2014.

He also bagged the Arjuna award at the National Sports Awards in 2020 after leading the Indian team to win gold at the 2019 South Asian Games. Doing so, he joined the elite group of former Kabaddi players, Anup Kumar, Ajay Thakur, Manjeet Chhillar and Rakesh Kumar among others, who have been honoured with the award. Reminiscing his journey since its inception, he goes on to say in a popular interview, “Failures are inevitable, but there is nothing that sheer hard work cannot accomplish.”

Deepak Hooda is an inspiration for many as he faced many hardships during his Kabaddi career but was determined to fight to the end and achieve his goals. He recounts his experiences in his fitness journey and shares a key lesson for all young players: “In my journey of fitness, something that I have learnt is that you can never get closer to the goal while you are comfortable, and if you are too comfortable you are not chasing the right goal. Challenge yourself everyday not to become like someone but to become a better version of yourself everyday. Don’t look at your journey as a workout routine but as a lifestyle choice.”

GNC is proud to collaborate with a dedicated and steadfast sportsperson who truly lives the values of great sportsmanship. We look forward to Deepak Hooda winning many more awards and accolades in the future and we wish him the best in the coming year and for all his endeavours.