Our man and England legend Ben Stokes has drawn up a fitness and diet programme lasting a whole week for Mirror readers as we battle through isolation together
By:Ben Stokes
5 Apr 2020
Hello Mirror readers,
It has been a strange time in lockdown when we are all so used to getting out and about living our normal lives.
There have been changes for all of us, but we must do the responsible thing and stay at home to try and beat this coronavirus.
As a professional athlete I am lucky enough to have various bits of equipment to help me stay in shape and ready for when I can play cricket again, but it is important for everyone to stay as active as possible during this time for our health and well-being.
With that in mind I have put together a six week fitness diary for you to try at home highlighting the sort of exercises we can all do with minimum basic equipment, with some nutrition tips, the odd cricket skill game and a little insight into what I’ve been up to during this period.
I think the adventures of our new poochon as we try to train her will get a regular airing!
My aim is to keep the body ticking over and in decent shape so that whenever we get the word that cricket will start up again it won’t take me too long to get back up to match fitness and sharpness.
We are all used to playing a lot of cricket and that causes natural wear and tear, especially for fast bowlers or all rounders like me, so when you get an enforced break like this it your body can recover fully before you start pushing it at the highest level once more.
I am trying to make the most of my time, and I think we will all make sure that when we finally get back out on the field, we enjoy every second of it.
MONDAY
Breakfast
3 egg omelette with cheese, ham and tomatoes. Small coffee.
Warm-up
Light dynamic stretch working both lower body and upper body. Hamstrings, Hips, Quads, Shoulders, neck, etc.
Morning session
INTENSE WORK OUT
Exercise 1
10 x Burpees
10 x Squat Thrusts
10 x Pull ups or TRX (?) rows
10 Sit Ups
2mins REST
Exercise 2
Skipping (2mins)
Rest (30secs)
Squat holds (1min)
Rest (15secs)
Plank (1min)
Exercise 3
10 x press ups
10 x Burpees
10 x Sit Ups
Rest (1min)
CHALLENGE
Squat Challenge
“Bring Sally Up” – can you last the whole song?
Warm Down
500ml bottle of water. Followed by cup of tea after a shower.
Lunch
Chicken salad
Afternoon session
Dog training: We’ve recently got ourselves a poochon puppy so we are all getting to know each other and starting her training. We’ve called her ‘Shelby’ after the characters in my favourite show Peaky Blinders.
Dinner
Grilled Chicken fillets for the adults, fish fingers for the kids, small salad, chips for everyone.
We kick off the week with an intense workout
TUESDAY
Breakfast
3 eggs, 2 wholemeal toast, beans. Cup of tea.
Morning session
I’ve been speaking to my folks back in New Zealand fairly regularly and it is great to see the improvement my dad is making following an illness in South Africa.
I’m in charge of P.E. With the kids now that we are home-schooling. Both Layton (7) and Libby (5) love running so sprints have been the favourite activity.
2km run time trial
Lunch
Small lunch, Chicken wrap, halloumi, salad.
Afternoon session
Red Bull Sugarfree 250ml energy pre session, will need this to get me through this tough session
MEDIUM WORK OUT
Exercise 1
4 x 15 bodyweight squats
4 x 15 goblet squats
Press/Pull circuits
20 x lunges
Warm down
3K run with one of the kids
Dinner
Lasagne for everyone, made by mum.
It’s important to stay active during lockdown
WEDNESDAY
Breakfast
Rest day, athlete fry up. 3 poached eggs, bacon medallions (rather than rashers to reduce calories), baked beans, mushrooms. HP sauce.
Morning session
“REST” WORKOUT
Try out a Yoga session on YouTube
Get the foam roller out. Work from head to foot (min 30mins)
Warm down
500ml bottle of water. Followed by cup of tea after a shower.
Lunch
Light lunch – Chicken sandwich – side salad, Chips.
Afternoon session
I’m in charge of P.E. With the kids now that we are home-schooling. Both Layton (7) and Libby (5) love running so sprints have been the favourite activity.
Dinner
Chicken thighs, Salad, sweet potato fries.
THURSDAY
Breakfast
3 egg omelette with cheese, ham and tomatoes. Small coffee.
Morning session
Light dynamic stretch working both lower body and upper body. Hamstings, Hips, Quads, Shoulders, neck, etc.
Cricket challenge
Using a tennis ball, stand with your feet shoulder width apart two metres away from a wall throwing the ball against it and catching the rebound. See how many catches you can take in 30 seconds (see Ben’s video attached
Warm down
Large glass of water
Lunch
Fish Fingers, Smilies for the kids, salad for the adults
Afternoon Session
Red Bull 250ml Enregy pre session, will need this to get me through this tough session
INTENSE WORK OUT
Exercise 1
10 x Burpees
10 x Squat Thrusts
10 x Pull ups
10 Sit Ups
2mins REST
Exercise 2
Skipping (2mins)
Rest (30secs)
Squat holds (1min)
Rest (15secs)
Plank (1min)
Exercise 3
10 x press ups
10 x Burpees
10 x Sit Ups
Rest (1min)
CHALLENGE
Press up Challenge
“Bring Sally Up” – can you last the whole song?
Warm down
Longer stretching session, yoga with the missus to end the day.
Dinner
Pizza night, homemade pizzas, cheese, plenty of Veg, chorizo, chicken.
Thursday is an intense day
FRIDAY
Breakfast
3 eggs, 2 wholemeal toast, beans. Cup of tea.
Morning session
250 ml Red Bull Energy here for motivation before hard session to come.
Light dynamic stretch working both lower body and upper body. Hamstrings, Hips, Quads, Shoulders, neck, etc.
MEDIUM WORK OUT
Exercise 1
4 x 15 bodyweight squats
4 x 15 goblet squats
Press/Pull circuits
20 x lunges
Small stretching session, hips glutes, hammy’s, shoulders.
Lunch
Left overs from pizza from last night.
Afternoon session
Go for a walk with the family
Potty train the dog
Help Layton with his golf swing
Dinner
Chicken pesto pasta with spinach + pine nuts.
It’s almost the weekend!
SATURDAY
Breakfast
Rest day, athlete fry up. 3 poaches eggs, bacon medallions (rather than rashers to reduce calories), baked beans, mushrooms. HP sauce.
Morning session
“REST” WORKOUT
3 x long lunges (Each side)
4 x lateral band walks (10 x side)
Watch Libby’s new dance performance. Libby has been doing her dance classes online and is trying to get me to join her, but I don’t think we are quite ready for TikTok just yet.
Lunch
Left over pesto pasta from last night.
Afternoon session
Cricket challenge – Using a tennis ball, stand with your feet shoulder width apart two metres away from a wall throwing the ball against it and catching the rebound. See how many catches you can take in 30 seconds (see Ben’s video attached
Dinner
Spaghetti bolognese night.
SUNDAY
Breakfast
Large bowl of porridge made with oats + 200ml milk + water with a tsp honey and raisins
Tea/coffee small cup
Morning session
A cup of coffee – caffeine boost for extra motivation
INTENSE WORK OUT
Exercise 1
10 x Burpees
10 x Squat Thrusts
10 x Pull ups
10 Sit Ups
2mins REST
Exercise 2
Skipping (2mins)
Rest (30secs)
Squat holds (1min)
Rest (15secs)
Plank (1min)
Exercise 3
10 x press ups
10 x Burpees
10 x Sit Ups
Rest (1min)
500ml bottle of water. Followed by cup of tea after a shower.
Lunch
Chicken salad, light lunch, Side of pita with humus
Afternoon session
Free time – I have been practising my F1 virtual driving skills all week in preparation for my race against the professionals on Sky Sports on Sunday. I’ve got a long way to go.
Dinner
Sunday Roast!!
CREDIT: Mirror
