Sunrise presenter shares his health & fitness tips

Mark Beretta doesn’t just talk the talk when it comes to sports. The Sunrise sports presenter has walked the walk — even if it was on the water.

Beretta is an incredible 10-time Australian water skiing champion, who has turned his passion into a successful career in the media.

“I loved water skiing and have so many great memories from my time on the water and competing at the highest level was fantastic,” he said

Even more impressive than his sporting pedigree, however, is the tens of millions of dollars he has helped raise for charity and cancer.

Today, Beretta along with his wife and two children will be taking part in the charity uphill race the Balmoral Burn.

The lung-busting 420m sprint, which has helped raise more than $20 million for the Humpty Dumpty Foundation, really tests its participants.

“I know a lot of people will think it’s only 420m but it is seriously steep and it curves right up at the end. Everyone starts out gung-ho at the bottom of the hill and they hit it hard at the start before hitting the wall and struggling to get to the top,” Beretta said.

“The great thing about taking part in events like this is that not only is it a great way of giving back but it gives me something to train for and is a fun physical challenge.”

Beretta’s other annual sporting charity challenge is the gruelling 10-day Tour de Cure bike ride, which has raised more than $30 million and seen him cycle from Hobart to Sydney.

It’s an emotional cause for him after two close workmates lost their children to cancer recently. So how does he push through the pain?

“Whenever I am struggling to get up a big hill and am tired I just remind myself of the people who need my help and how tough they are, going through what they are going through,” he said.

TEAM EFFORT

“I couldn’t do these sporting events without my wife Rach. It’s a real team effort as she helps prepare all my meals and makes sure I am sticking to my diet and eating my veggies and having some salads as I would be too lazy to do that,” he said.

“This is huge for me as diet is so important to be able to have the energy to train and work, plus I am a monster on the tooth so I need that help to try to be disciplined.

“Because I am up early I eat a lot early in the day. In fact, I have three breakfasts but then I try to not eat very much later in the day as I need to go to bed early at about 7 pm.”

LEAD BY EXAMPLE

Beretta believes being a good role model for your kids is best done via your actions.

“Your kids are you, they will live the way you live so it’s critical to teach them how to eat healthy, be fit and find the benefits of exercise, sport and teamwork. Plus, by me being fit I can keep up with my kids and really enjoy our time together.”

MIX IT UP

Beretta is a big believer in keeping things fresh when it comes to exercising.

“I have to keep mixing it up when it comes to exercising as I must have the shortest attention span in the world and I have to go from one form of exercise to another,” he said.

“However, I do find the benefit to this is that not only does it keep things interesting but it is also good for your body as it keeps your body balanced with you not becoming too strong in one area and I find mixing it up is a good way to go plus I get to meet a new bunch of people.

“I believe that as blokes we speak shoulder to shoulder, so we talk best when we are doing something like playing sport.