We see them on court during a match scoring incredible goals, making spectacular saves and performing expert defence. But what does it take for a player to arrive at that moment, of performing their very best in a given game or championship? What does the day-to-day of a professional handball player look like? 

As part of our celebration of International Handball Week, we take readers behind the scenes with three noteworthy players: 2019 Men’s Youth World Championship winner and MVP and Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 semi-finalist Ahmed Hesham from Egypt, 2013 world champion with Brazil Barbara Arenhart, and recently retired multiple individual record holder and Macedonian legend of the game Kiril Lazarov. 

The three have shared with us how a normal day looks for them. 

MORNING

Ahmed Hesham: The first thing I do when I wake up is hold my phone for a while then brush my teeth, wash my face and pray, then go have breakfast. I’ve been on a diet for a while now, so I eat eggs with meat or pastrami. After that, normally I do a mix of cardio and strength trainings. During my rehabilitation after injury last season, I had to wake up every day at the same time (8:30 AM) to eat breakfast and be at the gym at 10 because I take a lot of time in the gym for my leg and rebuilding my body. During a competition, we wake up and have breakfast, then we have a light training just to move our body. Then we do something together before lunch, then rest till the match. 

Barbara Arenhart: During my weekdays, I wake up around 7:45 AM. First thing I do is to say good morning to my little dog, then I go do my skincare routine, wash my face, my teeth, and then I go prepare breakfast. Usually for breakfast I eat either eggs with avocado and some white cheese or I eat this Skyr, which is a kind of yoghurt, with some protein, red fruits, berries, kiwi. I drink two cups of coffee — the first thing before preparing breakfast I have one cup of coffee and then after another one. Then I go and walk with my dog for around 20 minutes, and then I head to training. I'm there usually around nine o'clock and then from there, I go to eat lunch. 

About the morning on a match day: usually I wake up with no alarm and then first thing I do after washing my teeth and having a cup of coffee is to go on a long walk with my dog, which I use as an activation as well. So usually it is around one hour of a walk, then I do some stretches. I do some mobility routine and that’s the morning on a competition day. After this, I eat a good breakfast. Sometimes it’s a brunch because I like to eat closer to the game, so I’m fulfilled nutritionally talking for the game.

Kiril Lazarov: Whether you want it or not, when you are a handball player, you have to think about handball all the time. Even when you have an off day, your mind always veers off to handball. I like to think that is the same in all sports, where professional athletes compete at the highest level. In the mornings, for me, it was always important to have a good and healthy breakfast, to have the level of energy required to give 100% on the court in the training sessions

Then, I always spoke to my kids before they went to school and it was mandatory for me to drink a coffee, whether it was alone or with my wife. In that time, I also read the papers and whatever was available to connect with what happens in the sport.

AFTERNOON

Ahmed Hesham: The afternoons are normally for rest till my evening training. I go back from the morning training, take my supplements and eat lunch with my family. My favourite food is stuffed pigeon (an Egyptian dish), but what I usually eat is salad and a little bit of pasta or rice and protein such as salmon, beef or chicken. I watch a series or play video games with my friends till I go to training. I usually spend my free time playing video games or other sports – my favourite is basketball. 

To be honest I never knew how important it is to take care of my body until I got injured. In full fitness, I trained once a day and ate anything I wanted to, so I wasn’t in great shape. But after the injury I started taking care of what I’m eating and training twice as hard to come back even stronger, so in a way I thank God for this injury. 

Barbara Arenhart: I don’t usually eat lunch at home. I eat always somewhere else. Usually, I have some sort of protein – mostly fish, which is my favourite – and some vegetables and a big, big salad always next to it. I’m a big salad fan and I cannot have a meal without it. I go for another walk with my dog before afternoon training, which is around usually five or six o'clock.

In my free time, I really like going to coffees with friends. I enjoy watching movies. But most of all I like to be outside – I do not like to spend so much time at home doing nothing. I’m not this kind of person and I am really active. So I’m either walking around the city or I’m sitting drinking a coffee. Only if I am having two trainings in a day, then I come home and rest, but also not so long. In my free time, I also like to shop. Sometimes I go just for a walk in a shopping centre to see the clothes, to see people, to see some movement. I really love travelling as well. Sometimes we don’t have this time during the season, but if I have a day off or something, I always try to find a new place to go, either a restaurant or a new city around, or something in nature.

On a match day, after lunch, I usually do some things – I mean supermarket or if I need to go somewhere or fix some things. Otherwise I come home for a rest. I do not have naps anymore – only if I’m really tired – so I usually watch some documentaries or movies, or talk to my family. I use this time to really disconnect and rest my body and my head. 

Kiril Lazarov: Nutrition is paramount to having a good and lengthy career. It is very important to eat good throughout the career, not only before a match, for example. You can earn a lot and improve your performance just by having a good diet, and it is not only on a physical level, it is also true on a mental level, because you will be feeling better. Or, at least, I was.

From what I remember and what I have learnt throughout my career, I never ate much, because I felt better like that, I had the energy and I did what I had to do on the court. But every person is different. A player needs to learn about himself or herself to be better.

EVENING

Ahmed Hesham: Normally, the evening training is handball at the club or with the national team. Even now when I’m in rehab it’s the same – morning is gym and evening is handball with a little bit of specific trainings for my knee – jumping, landing, change of direction. For dinner, I don’t eat carbs, so it’s normally yoghurt, protein and fruit. When I have free time, I go out with my friends to eat or do any kind of activity. If I have a free day the following day I can stay a little late but normally I have a pretty set bedtime. I don’t have any special bedtime routine – I just hold my phone, scroll through Instagram and TikTok, and then sleep.

Barbara Arenhart: Sometimes the trainings here finish at 9 PM, so I had the whole day to do everything I needed to do. I really don’t have a heavy dinner after the second practice of the day. Otherwise, if the training is finishing around 6 or 7 PM, I like to go to dinner. Again, with some friends, and then I like to spend time with people around me. I really enjoy it and I think this is the best thing handball would ever give us – these kinds of moment. So, this is what I do and I am going to bed usually around 10:15, 10:30 PM every day. So, this is my bedtime but I’m falling asleep around 11:30, midnight max. 

Every time I come home after training or after dinner, I go for another walk with my dog and I’m playing with him and then he comes to bed with me usually. Then before bed I watch something again or talk to my family and that’s pretty much my routine.

Kiril Lazarov: I would like to talk about the evening where I played, because I did not talk about handball a lot. I always liked to listen to music before a game, it was like a ritual. Which music? Did not matter, it always made me feel better. A secret, which I never used to tell, was that I never could sleep good before a game. That meant that every game was important for me. 

However, there were games where I did not sleep well and I played well and I always got a good nights’ sleep after that. I always loved to play in the evenings.