IPL 2021: [Watch] RCB ramp up preparation for UAE leg with their first gym session 

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have begun their preparations for the second leg of IPL 2021 after arriving on September 6. The team started their training with a football session yesterday after completing their mandatory quarantine period. RCB have now taken things up a notch with a fully fledged gym session with strength and conditioning coach Shanker Basu.

Shanker Basu had a pivotal hand in revamping Virat Kohli's fitness and physique. With the likes of Navdeep Saini, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar and Shahbaz Ahmed among others hard at work in the gym, Basu outlined the aspects of the regime that the players go through. He said:

"These guys are proper athletes now, it's not like yesteryears. It is unique in nature and each athlete has different requirements and based on that, we design the program and take everything into consideration, all factors like current fitness status, injury status, niggles, training load everything. Always when we come to Dubai, weather is the first focus and load monitoring is the key feature here. It's not only the weather, it's the electrolyte imbalance."

Basu also noted that the T20 format requires a completely different gym routine due to its fast-paced nature. He added:

"T20 is very very different from Test cricket. It's explosive, fast and the guys have to use the fast twitch fibers and anaerobic energy and they need to train to get to that."

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will resume their campaign with a fixture against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Abu Dhabi on September 20.

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RCB players reveal their gym feats

The body of an athlete is the most prized asset of all, and it is up to the athlete to fine tune it as per the requirement. The current contingent of the RCB bio-bubble revealed the milestones achieved in the gym.

When asked about their highest weight for a bicep curl, Mohammad Azharudeen led the way with 30kg. Devdutt Padikkal claimed his highest to be 20kg. Rajat Patidar and Navdeep Saini had 16kgs as their maximum while Shahbaz Ahmed listed his as 14 kg.

Speaking about their maximum squat weight, Azharudeen claimed it was 125kg while the trio of Padikkal, Saini and Patidar all had their highest listed at 100kg.

To conclude, the players also revealed their highest treadmill speed. Being a pacer, Saini led the way with 23kmph. Patidar came a close second at 20kmph while opening batsmen Padikkal and Azharudeen were tied at 18kmph.