When professional boxer Heather “The Heat” Hardy isn’t teaching clients for nine hours each day, she’s training hard herself. And it’s paying off.
Not only is she undefeated (12-0), but the current UBF and WBC International Super Bantamweight Champion is also the subject of the documentary “Hardy,” directed by Natasha Verma, that’s making the festival circuit.
Next up, she’ll be duking it out this Saturday at Barclays Center as part of the Premier Boxing Champions. Before she goes to battle, we caught up with the DUMBO resident, 33, who trains at the world famous Gleason’s Gym, to find out just how she does it.
What’s your workout regimen like in the ring?
I’m either sparring or working to enhance my boxing skills with my head coach, Devon Cormack. We work on everything from proper punching form and execution to footwork. I have a few different trainers. Devon is in charge of everything boxing, inside the ring. I put in a minimum of two hours of training per day.
What do your exercises entail outside of the ring?
No one day of training is like the other. Tony Ricci is my strength and conditioning coach, a few days of week — anything from hurling medicine balls at the wall to weight lifting to resistance band training to ab and core conditioning circuits. My running schedule alternates long distance, slow-paced runs with high-intensity sprint days.
Do you take days off?
I rest whenever I’m tired. I listen closely to my body. At 33 years old, I know the difference between soreness and pain, fatigue and wear and tear.
What is the most challenging part of your workout?
The diet is the most challenging for me. I love cake so much.
What’s your diet like?
Devon and I both enjoy cooking for each other. Fight time: I stick to high protein and greens for every meal. I don’t eat much red meat, so it’s mostly chicken and fish, and eggs, paired with kale, salads. I try to stay away from flour, sugar and grains as best as I can.
Where do you go for healthy food in NYC?
I love the vegan/organic bakery in Life Thyme. Their coconut cake is amazing and gluten free. Fish Tales in Carroll Gardens for all my seafood, and if I can’t get to Fairway or Whole Foods, then I pick up my produce from the street vendors.
Where do you eat on cheat days?
Milk & Cookies Bakery on Commerce Street in the West Village has the best red velvet and peanut butter cookies on the planet. One Girl Cookies in DUMBO has the best cakes, Catch in the Meatpacking District has a wicked chocolate/ice cream dessert and Negril in the West Village for a coconut margarita.
What’s most rewarding about being a boxer?
I love the idea that I have a chance to win every time I step in the ring. There have been so many times in life that I’ve given 110% of me, and still had no chance of coming out on top.
IF YOU GO: Premier Boxing Champions on April 11, first fight at 4:15 p.m., tickets $57-$307; Barclays Center, 620 Atlantic Ave., Fort Greene, 917-618-6700, barclayscenter.com
