Scientific advisor Lombard conducts online session with Navjot Kaur focussing on muscle mass

Bengaluru, May 15: Scientific advisor of the Indian women's hockey team Wayne Lombard supervised forward Navjot Kaur's intense workout session via video call on Friday (May 15) despite being in the same location, the SAI campus in Bengaluru, due to the coronavirus-forced lockdown.

Both the men and women hockey teams have been stuck at the SAI campus since lockdown was enforced to contain the contagious disease and have been strictly practising social distancing.

The session conducted by Lombard was focused on maintaining and improving Navjot's muscle mass during lockdown.

Calling it a hypertrophy focused session, Lombard said it was important for him to focus on maintaining the muscle mass of the players during such circumstances.

"I think it is one of the key areas which often female players struggle to maintain if they are not able to train for a prolonged period of time.

"However, the drills in our fitness session focused on maintaining or improving Navjot's muscle mass during lockdown to ensure that when we return to full training, there is not much of a difference in her fitness levels," said Lombard.

The session saw the 25-year-old Indian forward do four different giant sets of exercises of the same muscle groups. It involved repeating the sets with one minute rest period between them.

Both Lombard and Navjot were seen answering some questions from the fans, who had joined online.

Lombard was asked about the importance of having intense workout sessions.

"With the regulation changes that have come into the sport gradually, hockey has become a really physically demanding sport," he said.

"It is important to prepare the players for high intensity sessions during practice sessions and matches, and we can only do that through fitness sessions in the gyms and indoors, which eventually make them strong and agile, and improve their stamina."

Navjot said it was important to maintain fitness during lockdown.

"Even during lockdown, it has become important for us to maintain our fitness levels and devote some time to exercising. It will ensure that once we are back on the training pitch, we will only take a few days to get back into our rhythm of playing top-level hockey," she said.