‘How I build my body’

Morgan Lake

The training secrets of GB high jumper Morgan Lake

SKILLS

‘Right now, my training is completely geared towards getting in peak condition for the Tokyo Olympics. I train for around 18-20 hours a week, five days a week, and often do “double day” sessions involving technical work in the morning followed by strength and conditioning in the afternoon. After a thorough warm- up, I’ll do stretching and movement drills specific to high jumping. Then I’ll practise the high jump, with run- ups, short sprint jumps, long approach jumps and jumping off 10cm boxes. I’ll finish with bounding drills into the pit. I’ll often put my ipad on a tripod so my coach and I can see what needs improvement.’

STRENGTH

‘I strength train three times a week because I need a strong power base to jump well. I do a lot of Olympic lifting with basic moves like squats, cleans, and high box step- ups with a barbell on my shoulders. Plus, plyometric work and circuit- based training using power bags and weighted jackets, before I finish with a core workout. Going into competition season, I need to be strong and explosive but as light as possible.’

NUTRITION

‘My nutritionist helps me understand when I need to eat more to fuel my training, how I should balance my nutrients for maximum energy, and how to reduce my weight safely approaching competition time. I try to avoid red meat and dairy as I find them inflammatory, so I eat lots of fish instead. Living on my own, I cook for myself using Mindful Chef (mindfulchef.com).’

‘I train for 18-20 hours a week’

RECOVERY

‘On my days off, you’ll find me meeting up with friends for a coffee, watching Netflix, doing active recovery sessions like walking or yoga, or studying as I’m in my final year at Loughborough University. I deferred everything to this year to avoid having to study while I focused on the 2020 Olympics, but that didn’t work out! Luckily, I’ve still had access to physios. Receiving physiotherapy and soft tissue massages is key to my recovery as it allows me to train even harder.’

VITAL KIT

‘I always have a can of Red Bull in my kit bag, along with my spikes [shoes]. I always drink Red Bull midway through a long training day for a muchneeded energy boost, and it’s also vital for when I’m competing – I don’t think I could get through a competition without it! I also carry a hand- held muscle recovery device with me called the Roll Recovery R8 ($129, rollrecovery.com) to iron out kinks, especially on flights to competitions or after training sessions.’