Driven Hibs ace reveals details of diet and gym programme to meet 'physicality' of Scottish Premiership
Man of the Match performance in historic win over Celtic shows plan is working
He’s flung away the fufu and cut down on the spiced chicken. Removed plantains from the menu for a little while, at least. And now spends more time hitting the weights than worrying about the odd extra ounce in the wrong place.
Already demonstrating an athleticism that had marked him out as a player of enormous potential, Miguel Chaiwa freely admits that he’s had to double down on the workload – and cut out a few helpings of traditional carbs-heavy Zambian grub – just to cope with the physical intensity of the Scottish Premiership. A good two thirds of a way through his first season, the 21-year-old feels like he’s getting close to where he wants to be.
Fresh off the back of a Man of the Match performance in last weekend’s historic away win over Celtic, the Hibs midfielder always looked as fit as the proverbial butcher’s canine. But, within himself, he knew he’d have to change a few things to avoid being devoured in the midfield dogfights that dominate the Scottish game.
And so he decided to change everything, revealing: “What surprised me is the aggressiveness. Most of the time it's always duels, each and every time. The physicality.
“So I had to speak with one of the physios and I had to mostly adjust to my physique. Because looking at it, I was a little bit, I might say, less thin!
“So I had to speak with one of the physio coaches and I had to build on that. That meant in the gym, adjusting to what I'm eating as well. So that helped me really, really good.
“I'm sure after two months, I think, I decided. After that, I had to adjust to myself. Like: ‘OK, this league is all about …. some teams are more physical. Some teams are more in terms of long balls.’
“So I spoke with my physical trainer about it and he was the one who decided: ‘Perhaps maybe let's try to shift from what we were doing. Maybe let's try to do this and this. To build muscle, to build speed, agility.’
“I still have more work to do. I still have more work to do.”
Why ditching ‘African food’ was important to AFCON star
Pressed on what changes to the diet looked like for the former Young Boys star, who has been in Europe since he was 18, Chaiwa smiled as he said: “Mostly my African food, obviously. We have like fufu (a starchy bread/dough dish), obviously chicken, mostly the spices. And there's mostly plantain. I had to put it away.”
Chaiwa, who missed a chunk of fixtures while away with Zambia at the Africa Cup of Nations, looks pretty near peak fitness levels at the moment. But everyone at Hibs feels there is more to come from a footballer still developing and learning.
Hibs boss David Gray, possibly a little surprised to find that Chaiwa had been sharing details of his body rebuilding programme, said: “He's a really hard-working, humble boy who works really hard. Even the fact that you just mentioned he was speaking to you a minute ago, talking about his diet, talking about everything else.
“Looking at him, he’s certainly not carrying any weight. So I think it just shows his performance, yes, but that he’s also got that drive to be the best he can be at such a young age.
“He’s played at a high level. He’s come here to kick on again, knowing that this is a brilliant platform to go and do that, if he can.
“He’s got all the attributes to do really well. I think the biggest thing is that physicality, the intensity the he’s capable of playing at.
“It really allows him to showcase his talent in Scotland. He really suits the league. And the biggest thing is he’s a pleasure to work with, because there’s a lot more to come.
“He’s very conscious of his level of performance. And also you're going up against your opponent, so you need to know how you feel within the game.
“A couple of times he's had a bit cramp within games, so he'll be looking at it from that point of view. But he's another one who's a young player who's come in done really well.
“He’s adapted to a different style. I think he's got all the attributes as you've seen. He's still got a lot to do, he knows that.”