130 MEN’S FITNESS APRIL 2017
Power
Panther
SpeedyPenrithwingerJoshMansour
washavingastellarrugbyleagueseason
upuntilhetorehisrightACLonthe
Kangaroos tour of Britain last year. Here
theNSWStateofOriginrepopensupto
MF’s Ashley Gray about the pain of rehab
and the power of preparation.
Did you realise how serious your injury was straight away?
I was down on the ground in pain and I kept on telling myself
Ididmyhammy.Butthephysiodidn’tsayanythingandIknew
itwasbad.ItwashardformywifeDaniella.Wejustgotmarried
anddidn’thaveahoneymoonbecauseIhadtogoonthe
KangarootourofEngland.Shewasjustaboutto fly over.What’sthehardestthingaboutbeingsidelined?
It’smentallytough.Itdidn’treallykickintillIwasstaringatthe
ceiling in bed. Not being able to walk for a couple of months has
beenhard.IfeltlikeIwasbringingpeopledown,butIliketocrack
jokes,andIthinkthathelped.I’vekeptdoingrehabmorning and
night.AndwhenIcouldwalkI’dgotothebeach or café.What have you learnt from this setback?
Havingtheinjuryhasmademestronger,andit’smademe
moreawareofmybodyandhowitworks.Adversitymakes
youappreciatewhatyouhave.Beinginjuredhasmademethink
that I’m lucky to do what I do and realise that there are many
peopleworseoffthanme.When will your return to the field?
IhopetobebacklateMayorearlyJune.Therehabisgoing
well.I’vebeendoingboxjumps,single-legbalancingwork,
singles leg raises and hamstring bridges to get my strength
back.WhenI’minthegymandfullyrecoveredIcanbench-
press180kg,butcoreworkisprobablythemostimportant
thing for me, especially at the moment. I’m also big on
chinups and planks.What’s your favourite piece of equipment?
MyAdidasX16boots.They’rereallylightonmyfeetandhave
greatgrip.Wearingthemhasimprovedmyperformanceon
the field. Last year was the best year in my career because I
got called up for Origin and the Australian Kangaroos and
I think the boots were part of it.How’s having Moodi Dennaoui as your nutritionist improved your game?
IusedtoeataFootlongSubbeforeamatch!ButIfoundthat
Iwasgettingto60-65minutesinamatchandhittingawall.
That’swhenIcontacted[Men’sFitnesscoverguyandcolumnist]
Mooditoseeifhecouldcomeupwithadietplanformeand
improvemyendurance.PreviouslyIthoughttheideawasnot
tohavetoomanycarbsbecausetheyputonweightbutMoodi
told me I needed them for energy and brain power. Now I have
no cramping or fatigue issues.How do you psyche up before a big match?
Mypre-gameritualisthatIhavetohavecleanbootsandafresh
haircut.(Laughs)It’sjustsomethingthatIdo.Ialsolistento
music:r&bandhouse.IfIwanttogetaggressiveIputonTupac.
IliketotalkalotonthefieldbutI’mnotabigniggler.Idon’t
worry about the opposition. Ultimately, preparation is the key
to success. Don’t leave everything to the last minute.Speediskeyforawinger.Whatdrillsdoyoudo?
I’vehadtodoalotofworkonmyglutestogetmorepower
inmyhamstrings.Wealsodothishardcoreworkout:Ten50m
sprintswith10secondbreaks,followedbyten70msprintswith
10 second breaks and ten 100m sprints with 10-second breaks.
Agility is also important: for that I run around poles, spaced
apart,anddoladdersteps.Whoisyourtoughestopponent?
Jordan Rapana, the Canberra Raiders winger. He’s got
everything:he’sgotpowerandspeed and he’s unpredictable.How will the Panthers go in 2017?
Ialwaystakeanoptimisticapproach.Wehadagoodyearlast
yearandIthinkwecangetatop-fourfinish.We’vegotagreat
forwardpackandlotsofdepthsoIreckonthat’sarealisticgoal.The Penrith Panthers are sponsored by Oak flavoured milk.The Cooldown