A chat with Greg Rutherford

For this week's post, I was lucky enough to catch up with Greg Rutherford before he jets off to Arizona for a training camp, so we could discuss his training and the season ahead amongst other things. For those of you that don't know (which I imagine is very few of you if you are reading this blog), Greg is the reigning Olympic, Commonwealth and European long jump champion. Last year he jumped a personal best of 8.51 metres, ranking him number one in the world for 2014. After a solid indoor performance, in which he jumped 8.17 metres in his only outing, Greg is positive about the upcoming season.

Greg leaping to victory in the London 2012 Olympics.

The first thing we discussed was his weight. The BBC commentary team mentioned a couple of times that Greg had put on weight since last year. Greg explained that he had gotten stronger over the winter and had focussed more attention on his lifting. He reduced the weight he was lifting slightly, but increased the number of repetitions completed, citing examples such as five sets of ten cleans at 70 kilograms with two minutes recovery between the sets and five sets of five cleans at 90 kilograms also with two minutes recovery. He also continued with some of his higher intensity, lower volume type lifting, including pairs of cleans at 110 or 120 kilograms. All of this culminated in a new one rep max of 137.5 kilograms. In addition to cleans, Greg's main lifts have been box step ups and deadlifts. Following his lifting sessions, Greg often completes some single and double legged plyometric exercises whilst wearing a weighted vest. He explained that he has noticed more muscle bulk on his legs after this winter's training block.

Nutrition wise, Greg has often been a fan of intermittent fasting, but this year he has been eating three meals a day that are high in protein and low in carbohydrates, a strategy that has still been successful in allowing him to get lean. Greg now weighs in at 90 kilograms, a couple of kilograms more than he would usually compete at, but he explained that when he did runway tests prior to the Birmingham indoor meeting, he was still running very quickly. In fact, in Birmingham, he hit 10.9 metres per second three metres from take-off, the fastest he has ever recorded in an indoor competition, and 0.3 metres per second faster than he recorded the previous year. Clearly the extra weight has not had a negative impact on Greg's speed.

Throughout the winter, Greg has usually run four times per week, but the vast majority of these sessions have taken place on a set of steps in a woodland area behind his house, as opposed to the track or hills (which Greg has often used in the past). Greg explained he would do up to 10 fast sprints up the steps off a short recovery if he was feeling good, but on days where he felt more fatigued, he may do as few as six runs. He still kept in touch with his hill running, doing a few sessions throughout the winter, but interestingly he only completed two sessions on the track in the lead up to his competition. One of these was a jumps sessions off a short approach, and the other was a session focussed on the run up. I asked Greg if there were any issues with his run up as he only practised it in that one session and he explained that because his running speed was higher than usual for this time of year, it was more in line with how fast he runs during the outdoor season, which meant his run up was very similar to last summer's.

Greg's plans leading in to the outdoor season start this week, as he heads to Arizona to visit his former coach, Dan Pfaff, for five weeks. Dan coached Greg to his Olympic title, and has worked with many successful athletes at the World Championship and Olympic level in the sprints and jumps. Greg explained his training would become more specific during this trip with more track based sessions and more technical work. Last year, after April 12th, Greg did no jumping sessions outdoors due to a knee injury, but still had his best season to date, having largely focussed on his run up. Therefore after his return from the United States, he will likely avoid jumping in training again. He believed that the attention he gave the run up helped him ensure he was hitting the necessary positions for take off, and this is an approach he plans on taking heading into the 2015 season as well, as he hopes to build on last year. His first two scheduled jumping competitions are the Manchester Street City Games on May 9th, and the Shanghai Diamond League on May 19th.

Greg accelerating down the run way in Birmingham last year.

After six rounds of jumping last year, and in a pair of borrowed spikes, Greg ran 10.44 seconds for 100 metres. With a personal best of 10.26 seconds, I enjoy seeing him sprint, so naturally I asked if there was any chance of that this season. He explained that he may do so whilst in the United States, possibly at the Mount SAC Relays, but only if he felt ready. His 2015 jumping schedule is already planned, in which there are a couple of two or three week breaks. He views these as opportunities to potentially sprint competitively.

When asked about what lessons he learnt last year, he referred back to jumping less in training. Previously he feels has been too obsessed with this aspect of training, but the break from it lessened the stress of his spine, hamstrings and knees. He explained he's able to load up in the gym in what he feels is a safer way. Greg also pointed out that he won two major titles only 17 days apart.  Usually he would expect his body to shut down after a major competition, but this has given Greg the confidence to go straight to the Diamond League Final after the World Championships in Beijing with high expectations, despite there only being a short break in between.

The final point we touched on was Greg's son Milo, who was born in October, and the impact that has had on Greg in terms of his athletics. He explained that he has found it helpful when it comes to striking a balance in his life. It has become easier to switch from athletics whilst he is home playing with his son, which has also enabled Greg to enjoy the sport more.

I don't want my opinions to influence the readers' (if there are any) thoughts about Greg's preparation for this season. The only thing I will say is that this is another example that shows me how many different approaches can work when it comes to producing a successful athlete. It sounds very cliche, but the more I learn, the less I know and the more I realise that an extreme opinion on any facet of training usually demonstrates closed-mindedness. I hope Greg won't mind me saying that his approach is not conventional, particularly in terms of his running, but it clearly has helped him get in very good shape. I am beginning to learn the importance of athletes doing the work they are happy with and allowing them to do what they feel works for them. The psychological benefit due to this could very well be greater than we (or I, at least) think.

I'll close by thanking Greg for his time and wishing him the best for what I'm sure will be an exciting season for him. Victory in Beijing would mean he has won everything there is to win in his event!

The interviewer and the interviewee.