A Night in the Life of Max Whitlock

How important is a sleep regime when training or competing?

Sleep for me is vital. To make sure I’m getting good sleep I go to a lot of effort as it makes me feel good. If I have a bad night’s sleep, I don’t wake up in the best of moods and it’s a bad start to the day. So, I always try to get my sleep right as it makes the whole day easier.

 

How do you find sleep (or lack of) affects your performance?

If I’m tired when I train, the concentration won’t be there which means I’m risking injury, so the importance of sleep for me is massive. I’ve always felt that, being an athlete. A good night’s sleep means when I go to the gym to train I can put in 100% and ultimately give a better performance in competition.

 

How does sleep help with injury recovery?

Sleep helps recovery by a massive amount which is why I prioritise it. It is so important for recovery especially being a gymnast (and I’m sure it’s the same in any other sport). You often have muscular pains here and there which makes the muscles tighten up. Sleep helps to relax them which aids recovery, so for me sleep is essential for keeping me as fit as possible.

 

I like to be in bed before 10 o’clock

 

When the alarm goes, do you leap out of bed or sneak in a snooze?

When it’s build-up to competition time I refuse to snooze. Snoozing is just a bad habit which I don’t want to get into during competitions. But I don’t mind snoozing when I’m not in a strict routine.

When do you get to lie in?

I’m lucky that I don’t have to get up early usually, that’s really nice. So, when I’m in training I don’t usually start until 11 or 12 o’clock, but in a competition phase, as soon as that alarm goes off I’m up!

 

Sleep helps your muscles to recover 100%

 

Do you nap?

I don’t really nap. I think sometimes it would be nice, but I’ve never really been accustomed to having naps during the day. I think it’s good to save it all for the night to get as good a night’s sleep as possible.

 

What keeps you awake at night?

I’m always looking to improve and upgrade what I’m doing in the gym. And sometimes I have the best ideas when I’m lying in bed. So it’s important that I write them down and don’t worry about forgetting them. Knowing I’ve written them down then helps me get to sleep.

 

Hear more about Max in this quick-fire interview.