How Derek Ramsay conditions himself for all his sports
From leading roles to prime endorsements, acting awards and blockbuster movies, Derek Ramsay has successfully navigated the sometimes rough waters of showbiz.
It has been more than 10 years, but the seemingly ageless actor is still at the top of his game. You can say that his passion keeps him young and fit. Acting may be his profession, but his heart belongs to sports.
“I’d rather be called an athlete than an actor. I was wired this way since I was born and sports has been my life, so it’s a thing that I love to do the most in this world,” said Derek.
Derek is, indeed, a world-class athlete in multiple sports. “I play competitive football (soccer), Ultimate Frisbee, golf, rugby, and water polo (the last two in college). I played in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) in 2004 for basketball, and it’s not even my main sport.”
“There was no football in the Philippines at that time. It wasn’t big, and that’s why I got into basketball. I played against Samboy Lim, and he said that I should try out for Letran Knights because they were the champions of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and they were putting up a team for the PBL.”
“So, I tried out and made the team. Although I was playing basketball for awhile, it is in Ultimate Frisbee where I’ve gone further in competing all over the world. My team has joined the World Cup and represented the country many times. We’ve won third place in the World Cup in Dubai. We’re competing this year in the World Cup in London. So yes, we’ve accomplished a lot in Frisbee. Now, I’m also serious about golf. I love all sports except probably ice-skating. I haven’t tried it, so I don’t think I’m good at it,” he explained.
His home network has capitalized on his love for sports and adventures, thus giving him hosting stints involving those. He is also currently filming several movies.
“It’s cool how my network (TV5) has tapped into who I am. They gave me an opportunity to host The Amazing Race because I love to travel and the show’s format involves competition. Right after that, they gave me a show Extreme Series: Kaya Mo Ba ’To? (Can You Do This?) which involves a lot of crazy stuff that I love to do.”
“No one wants to insure me because I always want to do crazy stuff. Like on one of these reality shows, I rappelled off a 200-foot crane on one episode, and jumped out of a helicopter on another, which I both completely enjoyed doing like I wasn’t doing work,” said Derek.
How does he condition himself for all his sports? And what are his fitness tips to his followers?
“What I’d like to do for myself in terms of conditioning is a lot of leg workouts through explosive squats and burpees. I think burpee is the best exercise since it engages many muscle groups in just one movement. I do about 200-300 burpees a day in the morning as my workout. I don’t like to lift weights that much because it gets difficult for me to move when competing in Frisbee. The said sport (Frisbee) is all about finesse, and when I start lifting weights, I start throwing badly. I’m more into bodyweight workouts.”
“Most of us take our health for granted. We are so involved and dedicated to our career, which is good, but when you overdo it and forget about your health, you’re not going to spend all that wealth for a very long time. Everyone should put everything at a balance. I’m all about being happy with what God gave us, and since God gave us a healthy life, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important. This makes your life easier and less stressful,” Derek expounded.
“Don’t starve yourself. If you want to be an elite athlete and compete at the highest level, you need to eat. In fact, Manny Pacquiao is on a 12,000-calorie diet. Like me, I eat so much rice since I work out. The more we work out, the more we can speed up our metabolism. Rice is the fastest food to burn when working out. For me, having rice in the morning after my workout keeps me energized the whole day.”
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