(This is by far the best statement I’ve ever heard about fitness and nutrition)

Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.
~Greg Glassman

It’s been a very hectic month of July, returned from playing 2 futures in Italy where i played quali for the first time in a very long time, passed both times and reached quarters in the second week, won all my final set matches easy except one that should have won but lost 7/6 in the third, I had this problem last year but not anymore, I discovered that being really fit just helped me mentally and made me stronger, so it was nice to play with no pressure there and play well. I returned to continue my work in my academy and to play Davis Cup. I had a bit of an argument with our new Davis Cup captain who just put me in an unnecessary situation that result in me leaving the team and not participating for the first time since 98. I really felt bad about it not that I didn’t play because anyway it was easy as we played in group three but it seems that my history as a tennis player in Egypt was not put in consideration at all, I was treated from the captain who didn’t participate in any Egyptian event since 98 in the same manner as a junior player on the team, no exceptions for me what so ever. So I decided not to abide to his so called (rules) and leave the team. Well everything happens for a reason, i am glad that i took this decision . Next month will be really tough in Ramadan with  the academy and hope that it will be a successful one too.

It’s been a while since I last traveled to play outside Egypt, almost 6 months, especially after starting my own academy. Stars Academy located in Galaa Army Club, Mostafa Naim ex Davis Cup captain, Ramy Saleh fitness coach and ex top tennis player in Egypt, Ahmed Siddik our financial and business planner and myself have opened this academy shortly after the Egyptian revolution.

So I traveled for the first time as a coach and player with one of our top players Bassam Beidas, a college player in one of the top universities in the states, it’s been really an exciting experience for me, as I participated in 2 Futures in Morocco after almost losing all my points and ranking, I actually did pretty well , I reached semi final in the first week with my player so of course as a coach I had to give him the chance to pass me and reach the final to win his first ever future after coming out from the quail. The second week almost the same happened but I had to let him pass in the quarter final so as a result he reached finals but lost which is still great, the first 2 futures to play in almost 2 years , he wins one and reaches final in the second. I am satisfied as a coach and feel good and played good as a player.

Now I have to train for Davis Cup that will be held in July in Cairo so I will be traveling to Italy as a player to play some tournaments over there to get ready for the tie, it’s really nice to play with no pressure and enjoyment, tennis feels good like that when u just focus on performance and not results.

It’s been three months now since I ‘ve been working out in a crossfit style. Crossfit involves constantly varied high intensity functional movements, it includes power lifting, kettle bell swinging, jumping and pull ups, squatting and throwing. Stuff, carrying heavy stuff and running, it’s amazing how it is, it’s raw fitness I’m actually addicted to it now and I wish I worked out like that when I was younger but its; never too late, it’s true no pain no gain. A person is not called fit until he works out in this manner; crossfit focuses on power endurance, strength endurance, speed, agility, u name it. Gym Jones is the same thing but even tougher they train athletes to become indestructible, I ve been working out with my partner who is the first certified trainer in the Middle East in crossfit and Gym Jones. Now since I ‘ve tried it and loved it I am trying me and my partner Ramy to mix it up and introduce this way of training into all sports and especially tennis where we want to change the old mentality of people saying ( a tennis player doesn’t need all this fitness or doesn’t have to work out in this way coz it’s too tough) well I am sorry to say that the world changed and it’s time to evolve and to understand that if u are not fit and strong enough then u can’t play tennis.

The Paleo Diet includes fruits, vegetables, lean meat, sea food, nuts and seeds and that’s it:) no grains, no dairy. Of course lots of people won’t accept that but the whole idea behind it is that our bodies are designed to eat like that and will perform better in that way, all questions and answers about this diet are posted on the main site of Paleo diet. You will be shocked how healthy and beneficial it could be for u. Now a lot of top athletes are using this diet and i tried it too. It doesn’t mean that all what i said before about nutrition was wrong, on the contrary, all what i said before was healthy but if u really want to reach peak performance and fine tune your nutrition program then i highly recommend the Paleo Diet.

This year wasn’t successful for me, it started well but ended badly, I can also call it the year of the final set lost lots of close matches that could have turned things around, there is one thing that was good at least I didn’t get injured on the other hand I didn’t play so many matches to get an injury .Not having a coach with me to see my mistakes was a key in all the matches that I lost, after all the experience that I have it’s always important to have someone who can tell u something extra that u can’t see while playing instead of throwing the blame all the time on the mental side or the physical side, maybe there is a tactical problem that I don’t see. In the end 2010 wasn’t as good as 2009 but there is always something to learn from my mistakes and losses, hope next year will be a better year for me and my family.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I just came back from Romania; I played the challenger in Brasov and the ATP Bucharest Open. I really played well but I won’t blame it on the mental again. In Brasov, I passed the qualifying rounds then lost first round main draw final set again.. then I lost in the second round of the ATP after winning a first good match against an ex top 150 player which gave me a boost that faded away after a 4-1 lead in the second match. It was really nice to play there, another atmosphere, great courts, nice hotel and everything easy to reach. I am preparing now for the last tournaments of the year including club matches and 2 futures plus some local tournaments. As for the club matches I really want to know when they are going to separate men’s club matches from the juniors. I really think that it would be much better for the Egyptian tennis. Firstly, because there will be more competition and all the good juniors could participate in it to strengthen the men’s team.. well as I said before there are no men playing now so they are all juniors. Secondly there are some clubs that have good men’s team but don’t have a junior team so like that they aren’t able to participate in the league which is really a waste. Thirdly, people are interested to watch high level or men’s tennis more than watching juniors so these matches could be broadcasted on TV with big prize money for the winning team. This leads me to the other point which is the prize money, the biggest incentive for any sportsman is to earn money and since we are wondering why all our players quit at the age of 22, well it’s simple they don’t see how they can earn money from playing in Egypt without traveling and blah blah blah. You can earn money in men’s tennis by separating it from the juniors. There should definitely be more men’s tournaments than juniors, not the opposite, and with money included, which will raise the level of competition and players will play for longer like in France and Italy and Germany. It’s like a job, maybe better than a regular one because u will do what u like and earn good money for it. The prize money in tournaments has been the same since 10 years can u believe that? 3500 Egyptian pounds which is 600$ for the winner for the last ten years if the tournament is full, it’s a joke. Well if u play 3 tournaments a month or more and win 600$ each week then it’s ok and for one year then it’s worth it, but there are like 4 or 5 tournaments a year for that, it takes 2 to 3 weeks to finish a tournament consisting of juniors starting from under 10( I don’t know even why do they make tournaments for this age) until men’s. So as I said club matches should be a tournament on its own with its own prize money for men weather it’s for one week or 5 consecutive weeks. There should be more prize money tournaments, trust me, the players when they find that they earn money from competing they will continue and always try to improve. In France there are so many good players who play money tournaments and their level is even better than a top 400 guy, most of them don’t have even an ATP point but it’s a worthy job. If we take a step towards this Idea, I think that there will be more players continuing to play for a longer period of time not just finish college then quit, and even better coaches in the future because they have played the game.