Post-game bodycheck (mentions CMT)

[Guest guest]

Post-game bodycheck

With his days of heavy hitting over, former Toronto Maple Leafs

captain Wendel now practises moderation, from drinking green

tea to running his farm.

http://www.thestar.com/living/article/267044

J. White

Living Reporter

You'll never see Wendel on a mountain bike or jogging down a

country lane. For that matter, you'll rarely catch him in his home

gym.

" I hate working out, " confesses the former Toronto Maple Leafs

captain who retired in 2000.

But you may well spot him on a tractor or up a ladder, at his farm.

And you'll likely find " Captain Crunch, " not known for his on-ice

gentility, toting a cup of green tea – part of his health regimen.

The hard-charging winger's advice? " Everything in moderation. "

Retirement can change a guy's perspective, especially after years of

gruelling games and battered body parts.

" There's not a lot of research on what happens to athletes

physiologically following their careers, " says Tim Taha, lecturer in

exercise physiology at the University of Toronto. " They train very

hard then suddenly stop. "

They, like the rest of us mere mortals, must squeeze exercise into

busy schedules, spur themselves on without teammate camaraderie and,

no longer burning thousands of calories, cut back their diets.

But a retiring professional athlete has spent most of his or her

life in top physical shape. " It's part of who they are, " says

Dennis, player development coach with the Maple Leafs. " To put on

extra weight, feel lethargic and not good about yourself – they're

not used to that. To lose their fitness would be a real culture

shock. "

With the puck in play on a new hockey season, three former National

Hockey Leaguers talk about staying fit after the final horn blows.

Casually dressed, Wendel sits in an Air Canada Centre hallway

before a promotional event. Always a fan favourite, , 41, now

does public relations work for his former team as well as for some

corporations and charities.

" I'm at about 200 functions a year, " he says. " I've had rubber

chicken dinner every way you can cook it. "

Dinner is his main meal. Actually, his only meal. He tries to avoid

breakfast and lunch to keep his weight down. Then he eats what he

wants in the evening.

" I know I do the opposite of what nutrition books tell you. But I do

what my body reacts well to doing. "

Fifteen years of aggressive pro-hockey took a bodily toll.

ticks off enough injuries to fill a medical textbook – two broken

feet, two broken knees, separated shoulder, back problems, neck wear

and tear, concussions, two broken hands.

" If I'm too heavy, everything flares up, " says , who played at

200 pounds and now keeps his weight below 215.

Although he skips meals, he drinks a lot of straight green tea –

touted for such health benefits as cancer and heart disease

prevention. He takes a liquid general vitamin supplement and one for

joint protection.

His father has Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease, a neurological disorder

that can lead to muscle weakness and wasting, and carries the

gene. For that, " the less weight I carry, the better, " says .

He doesn't keep to a rigid routine on his home gym equipment.

Rather, , who grew up on a Saskatchewan grain and cattle farm,

prefers the physical labour of maintaining his 40 acres north of

Toronto, where he lives with his wife and three children. He also

plays 40 to 50 rounds of golf a summer, he says.

But no hockey. " My body doesn't like hockey much. It's the reason I

retired at 33. My body said, enough. I was 33 going on 63. "

And now?

He laughs. Some days 33. Some days 63.

" Moderation is now the big word, " he says, heading off to sign

autographs.