Lower Body Fat Means Better Performance
These days，fashion models and pop stars are not the only people who have to watch their waistline.Football players who miss a few kicks and let their belly hanging out a little too much are likely to be attacked by rabid fans or even the president of a country1.
The latest football star to draw the attention of the “fat police”is Barcelona’s Ronaldinho，26.Last Friday，a Spanish sports daily published two photos of the Brazilian star without his shirt.One was taken in November 2003；the other was taken this month.In the most recent one，the star’s waistline seems to have a little extra padding2.
Another Spanish sports daily published similar before-and-after photos and argued that the star has “l(fā)ost his explosiveness and velocity”and is “worn out”.The cause，according to the news paper，is his poor physical fitness.
However，the player’s coach，F(xiàn)rank Rijkaard，insists that he’s satisfied with Ronaldinho’s form and fitness.And after Barcelona’s victory over Athletic Bibao on Sunday，Ronaldinho challenged photographers to take pictures of him when he took off his shirt.
“I don’t have’anything to hide，”he said.
Fellow Brazilian Ronaldo，30，of Real Madrid，faced similar criticism before the 2006 World Cup.But the criticism didn’t come from a bunch of sports reporters：It came from the president of Brazil.
“So，what is it?”Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asked the national soccer team’s coach in his office last June，according to the Associated Press.“Is he［Ronaldo］fat or not?”
“He is very strong，president，”Carlos Alberto Parreira reportedly said at the time.“He is not that boy anymore.His body type has changed.”
The game of footfall demands that players put as much emphasis on fitness as they can do on dribbling，passing or shooting.
During a proper training regimen，football players normally follow a load-fatigue-recovery pattern3.They push their body toward a higher mark of fitness and experience a slight and brief drop in performance.Then they begin the recovery process，which will ideally carry their performance to an even higher plane.
However，sometimes non-physical factors can influence a player’s poor fitness.In Ronaldinho’s case，for instance，people-often unnamed-have blamed everything from the pressure of contract negotiations to personal problems and too many advertising commitments.
詞匯：
rabid/5rAbId/adj.偏激的 padding/5pAdIN/n.贅肉
velocity/vI5lCsItI/n.速度 dribble/5drIbl/v.運(yùn)球
regimen/5redVImen/n.常規(guī)訓(xùn)練
注釋：
1. Football players who miss a fewkicks and let their belly hanging out a little too much are likely to be attacked by rabid fans or even the president of a country.足球運(yùn)動(dòng)員沒有踢中幾個(gè)球或是他們的肚子耷拉得稍多了些，都會(huì)受到瘋狂的球迷甚至是國家總統(tǒng)的譴責(zé)。
2. In the most recent one，the star’s waistline seems to have a little extra padding.在最近的一張照片里，這個(gè)球星的腰圍上似乎多了一小塊贅肉。
3. During a proper training regimen，football players normally follow a load-fatigue-recovery pattern.在正式的常規(guī)訓(xùn)練期間，足球運(yùn)動(dòng)員在一般情況下需要按照大運(yùn)動(dòng)量—疲勞—恢復(fù)這一方式訓(xùn)練。
These days，fashion models and pop stars are not the only people who have to watch their waistline.Football players who miss a few kicks and let their belly hanging out a little too much are likely to be attacked by rabid fans or even the president of a country1.
The latest football star to draw the attention of the “fat police”is Barcelona’s Ronaldinho，26.Last Friday，a Spanish sports daily published two photos of the Brazilian star without his shirt.One was taken in November 2003；the other was taken this month.In the most recent one，the star’s waistline seems to have a little extra padding2.
Another Spanish sports daily published similar before-and-after photos and argued that the star has “l(fā)ost his explosiveness and velocity”and is “worn out”.The cause，according to the news paper，is his poor physical fitness.
However，the player’s coach，F(xiàn)rank Rijkaard，insists that he’s satisfied with Ronaldinho’s form and fitness.And after Barcelona’s victory over Athletic Bibao on Sunday，Ronaldinho challenged photographers to take pictures of him when he took off his shirt.
“I don’t have’anything to hide，”he said.
Fellow Brazilian Ronaldo，30，of Real Madrid，faced similar criticism before the 2006 World Cup.But the criticism didn’t come from a bunch of sports reporters：It came from the president of Brazil.
“So，what is it?”Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asked the national soccer team’s coach in his office last June，according to the Associated Press.“Is he［Ronaldo］fat or not?”
“He is very strong，president，”Carlos Alberto Parreira reportedly said at the time.“He is not that boy anymore.His body type has changed.”
The game of footfall demands that players put as much emphasis on fitness as they can do on dribbling，passing or shooting.
During a proper training regimen，football players normally follow a load-fatigue-recovery pattern3.They push their body toward a higher mark of fitness and experience a slight and brief drop in performance.Then they begin the recovery process，which will ideally carry their performance to an even higher plane.
However，sometimes non-physical factors can influence a player’s poor fitness.In Ronaldinho’s case，for instance，people-often unnamed-have blamed everything from the pressure of contract negotiations to personal problems and too many advertising commitments.
詞匯：
rabid/5rAbId/adj.偏激的 padding/5pAdIN/n.贅肉
velocity/vI5lCsItI/n.速度 dribble/5drIbl/v.運(yùn)球
regimen/5redVImen/n.常規(guī)訓(xùn)練
注釋：
1. Football players who miss a fewkicks and let their belly hanging out a little too much are likely to be attacked by rabid fans or even the president of a country.足球運(yùn)動(dòng)員沒有踢中幾個(gè)球或是他們的肚子耷拉得稍多了些，都會(huì)受到瘋狂的球迷甚至是國家總統(tǒng)的譴責(zé)。
2. In the most recent one，the star’s waistline seems to have a little extra padding.在最近的一張照片里，這個(gè)球星的腰圍上似乎多了一小塊贅肉。
3. During a proper training regimen，football players normally follow a load-fatigue-recovery pattern.在正式的常規(guī)訓(xùn)練期間，足球運(yùn)動(dòng)員在一般情況下需要按照大運(yùn)動(dòng)量—疲勞—恢復(fù)這一方式訓(xùn)練。