At 32, the Kiwi-born Red Bull athlete and England Test Team captain Ben Stokes says his fitness training is ‘a pretty open book’.

He may have no secrets when it comes to his fitness routine, but how he’s consistently one of the best sportsmen on the planet is a mystery unto itself. Stokes, of course, achieved legend status in the 2019 Cricket World Cup, being the top-scorer in England’s innings before saving the day in the tied Super Over, collecting the Man of the Match award in the process.

2019 and 2020 saw him named Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World, and his on-pitch successes saw him scoop up an ICC Award for Best Men's Cricketer and BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award also in 2019.

Since then, he’s been captain of England's Test team and led his team to triumph in the 2022 T20 World Cup, top-scoring in the final. Oh, he also has an OBE.

To find out if there’s nothing Stokes cannot do, and exactly how he stays in shape as he enters his third decade, we carved out some time between training sessions with him and ex-England cricketer and England assistant coach Paul Collingwood to talk all things fitness.

Active Training

Perhaps surprisingly, Stokes says he isn’t a ‘huge gym user’ these days, with a focus on skills-based training and injury prevention helping him stay on top of his game. ‘I will typically do 15 mins of mobilisation and preparation before heading into the nets for about two hours,’ he says. That two-hour net session typically includes 90 minutes of batting, and half an hour of bowling, rounded out by team fielding drills at the end.

ben stokes workout
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‘Ben is very mature when it comes to what he needs,’ adds Collingwood. ‘He'll never shirk on getting the work done. When it comes to strength and agility, I don't think I've come across a stronger cricketer in terms of robustness.’

How Stokes maintains this robustness even without a focus on daily gym work, is by a focus on ‘prehab’ – that is, fixing injuries before the happen. ‘The main areas I focus on at the minute are my hamstrings because they help secure my knee,’ Stokes explains. ‘I’ll do quite a lot of core work, mainly core circuits to look after my back as that can bear the brunt of being a fast bowler. It’s about making sure all the small muscles around my knee and back are used to fatigue.’

Stokes credits staying on top of his prehab routines as crucial to staying in the game for as long as he has.

Another key part is of course skills-based drills, and Collingwood is impressed at Stokes’s consistency, even after so long in the sport. ‘We'll make sure that he’s hitting the balls into the areas that he wants to hit, or making sure that he’s fielding how he wants to with things like 100 catches on the boundary,’ Collingwood says. ‘It’s about keeping the arms strong, so he’s able to throw the ball as hard as he wants to.’

Years on The Clock

Stokes made his one day debut at the Oval in 2009, and he's just turned 32 years old. Which means, for a sportsperson, he has quite a few miles on the clock. An intelligent approach to fitness helps him stay one step ahead of age-related injuries.

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I think Ben has gone through a transition in terms of how much physical activity he does during training,’ explains Collingwood. ‘When he was slightly younger he used to be an incredible physical trainer, in terms of the amount of sprinting and running, he would do – even the day before games.’

Stokes agrees, explaining that the main difference between now and when he was in his 20s is a better understanding of how to manage his workload. ‘The body isn’t as fresh as it used to be, so approaching things differently to my mid 20s is key,’ he says. ‘It’s all about training smarter, not necessarily harder.’

Collingwood points out that part of this smarter approach to training is appreciating that after decades in the sport, some things are second nature, and his body no longer requires quite as much intensity to get the same results. ‘As long as he keeps his strength up and keeps his skill work up, then all of his energy is going into the game itself,’ he says. ‘And that comes down to experience, understanding what you need as a, as a cricketer.’

Fuelling The Fire

Naturally, Stokes’s meals change around training plans, actively playing, match location. ‘When I’m at home, I fast and control diet through time-restricted eating to compensate for a more chilled training schedule at home – when I'm back the priority is time with family,’ Stokes explains.

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In camp, all of this meals are led by the performance team, and are carefully managed to ensure he has a balance of nutrients. Caffeine is also a huge factor for Stokes, be it a coffee when he’s fasting, or a can of Red Bull when he’s fielding, or to help keep his focus and energy levels high through long batting innings.

As for treats, ‘Yorkie Raisin and Biscuit bars are probably my cheat meal,’ Stokes admits. ‘Also Revels and Haribo Tangfastics. If I eat well 90% of the time, when I do want to reach for a cheat meal or snack it is ok. If you’re on top of your nutrition most the time then the odd Chinese takeaway isn’t the end of the world.’

The Swing of Things

Stokes has very little time away from cricket, but has found golf helps improve his game – in more ways than one. ‘It keeps the hand eye coordination there and, I guess, some basic body movement.’

Collingwood takes a coach’s view. ‘Cricket is a sport where you spend six-and-a-half hours out in the field for five days, you don't want to take too much energy out of the body with anything else,’ he says. ‘That said, golf is such an amazing way to actually relax the mind. The golf swing you can take into batting as well. With Test Cricket, we’re trying to be a lot more dynamic and aggressive with with the body. The golf swing is great for getting that swing and bat speed down.'

‘But mostly it's just a social and time to get away from the game!’ Stokes adds.

To find out more about Ben Stokes, head to his Red Bull athlete profile page