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Ben Stokes fitness and diet programme

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

On Key

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