Building Strength with Matt McCormick

What’s your usual diet like while training during the off-season?

“I find it much easier to maintain a more regular diet during the off-season. Unlike in winter months, training sessions are more structured and easier to plan for, making it more achievable to create a complimenting diet plan. I’m not too strict, but I tend to target higher protein foods whenever possible, usually aiming for three meals with 30g of protein and 3 snacks with 10g of protein a day.”

What’s your favourite quick and easy healthy meal/snack?

“I really enjoy mixed nuts/trail mix, smoothies and peanut butter and jam sandwiches.”

What’s your typical workout routine in the off-season?

“If I’m not injured, I’ll try to get 3-4 gym sessions in a week. These mostly focus on lower body exercises, particularly single leg stability and balance, though I do always include some upper body and core exercises. Workouts typically include back squats, single leg Romanian dead lifts, single leg squats, split squats and hopping/jumping circuits (ft. hurdles, bosu balls and boxes). Sets/reps depend on whether I’m going through a block of building muscle or looking to increase power but often I end up doing round 3 sets of 5 reps.”

What’s your favourite exercise and why?

“I really enjoy doing the hopping circuits. You get to be a bit creative when you’re setting them up, so it usually feels a bit more like a challenge you’ve set yourself rather than and exercise you need to do.”

Any tips for someone wanting to get active?

“I think the most important thing is to find a sport/activity that’s right for you! Some people love being in the gym and seeing the progression they can make, but plenty don’t and there are so many other ways to keep fit. I recently started bouldering which has been really good fun. It’s very social, you can go along in a group or just put some headphones in and do a quick 30 min session yourself. Some other summer activities I enjoy are skateboarding, hill walking and paddle boarding.”