Common Ground
- Harry Lightfoot, 25, is the UK's Fittest Man for 2024 and will compete in the CrossFit Games.
- Lightfoot fuels training for up to six hours a day by eating 5,000 calories.
- He recovers by making sure he gets enough sleep, he said.
Harry Lightfoot, 25, is the UK's Fittest Man for 2024 and is set to compete at this year's CrossFit Games, which kick-off on Thursday.
Lightfoot only started CrossFit at the age of 18 because he thought it would help his rugby career. "I couldn't do any of the movements or any of it in this first class I went to. And that really annoyed me," he told Business Insider.
That lit a fire in Lightfoot and made him go back to classes again and again, and he ultimately shifted his focus from rugby to CrossFit. After finishing first in his country's CrossFit semi-finals, he earned the title of UK's Fittest Man for 2024.
Lightfoot shared how he's been training, eating, and recovering as a full-time athlete ahead of the games.
Courtesy of Common Ground
Training up to six hours a day
Lightfoot said he isn't trying to "reinvent the wheel" with his training, instead sticking to exercises and modalities that are important in CrossFit.
Key components of his training include squatting, gymnastics, and running, using an array of equipment. He makes sure to work different energy systems by doing some shorter, intense workouts, and some longer, lower-intensity ones.
That includes endurance-based workouts lasting around 40 minutes, rather than 20 to 30 minutes, for instance. The events at the CrossFit Games aren't released in advance, but he and his coach predict it may feature some longer ones.
Three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday), Lightfoot does double training days, meaning 1.5 to two-hour morning sessions and three to four-hour afternoon sessions.
On Tuesday mornings he does strength training, and on Thursdays, he swims and might do some low-intensity steady-state cardio like cycling.
On Saturdays, Lightfoot trains with other athletes in his gym. "We all come together and we do the same thing, which is really, really cool. It's something to look forward to at the end of the week," he said.
On Sundays, Lightfoot might go for another low-intensity bike ride depending on how much steady-state cardio he's done that week, he said.
Courtesy of Common Ground
Eating 5,000 calories per day, including plenty of carbs
Lightfoot eats around 5,000 calories a day to support his training, but unlike for some athletes with large energy requirements, it doesn't feel like a chore, he said.
Over 3,000 of those daily calories come from carbs, which provide fuel for workouts and also help replenish glycogen stores in muscles.
On an average day, Lightfoot might consume:
- Breakfast: oatmeal, toast and jam, plus electrolytes
- Post-training: carb shake, fruit biscuits, and a banana
- Lunch: spaghetti bolognese or curry with rice
- Snacks: fruit, smoothie bowls, carb shakes, cereal bars, fruit purée pouches
- Post-training: chicken, cheese, tomato, and lettuce sandwich
- Dinner: chili con carne with rice and cheese
- Post-dinner: Greek yogurt with strawberries and granola
"It's a lot of rice dishes, but I can have burgers and stuff," Lightfoot said.
Referring to the classic "gym bro" meal, he added: "It's not like I'm eating rice and chicken and broccoli every meal or something like that. It is actually quite fun."
Recovery is as important as training and nutrition
Lightfoot likes routine in everything he does, he said, and that goes for recovery as much as training and nutrition.
Before committing to CrossFit full-time, he would sleep around seven hours per night. He's now able to get nine, which helps his body recover from the intense training (he said he realizes this a "luxury").
"Sleep is the number one for me and I'm really quite strict on that," Lightfoot said. He tries not to be on his phone for an hour before bedtime so he has time to wind down, and he keeps his bedroom cold and dark, he said.
Lightfoot is also a fan of saunas and cold plunges, and he uses compression boots to help his muscles recover, but he acknowledged that these make a small difference compared to the impact of sleeping and eating well.