Britain’s fittest man consumes 5,000 calories a day – mostly carbohydrates. He shares how he trains, eats and recovers to prepare for the CrossFit Games.

It ignited a fire in Lightfoot and kept him returning to lessons again and again, and he eventually switched his focus from rugby to CrossFit. After finishing in the semi-finals of his country’s CrossFit, he won the title of Britain’s Fittest Man of 2024.

Lightfoot shared how he has been training, eating and recovering as a full-time athlete for the Games.

Training up to six hours a day

Lightfoot said he’s not trying to “reinvent the wheel” with his training, but instead sticks to exercises and techniques that are important to CrossFit.

Key elements of his training are squats, gymnastics and running, using a range 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 about 40 minutes, rather than 20 to 30 minutes, for example. Events at the CrossFit Games are not released in advance, but he and his coach predict they could be longer.

Three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday), Lightfoot does double training days, which means a 1.5- to two-hour morning session and a three- to four-hour afternoon session.

On Tuesday mornings he does strength training and on Thursdays he swims and may do low intensity cardio such as cycling.

On Saturdays, Lightfoot trains with other athletes at his gym. “We all come together and 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 do another low-intensity bike ride depending on how much steady state cardio he’s done that week, he said.

Eating 5,000 calories a day, including plenty of carbs

Lightfoot eats about 5,000 calories a day to support his training, but unlike some high-energy athletes, it doesn’t feel like work, he said.

Over 3,000 of these daily calories come from carbohydrates, which provide fuel for exercise and also help replenish muscle glycogen stores.

On an average day, Lightfoot might consume:

• Breakfast: oatmeal, toast and jam, plus electrolytes
• After training: carb shake, fruit crackers and banana
• Lunch: Spaghetti Bolognese or curry with rice
• Snacks: fruit, smoothie bowls, carb shakes, cereal bars, fruit puree pouches
• After training: chicken, cheese, tomato and salad sandwich
• Dinner: Chili con carne with rice and cheese
• After 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 anything like that.

Recovery is just as important as training and nutrition

Lightfoot likes routine in everything he does, he said, and that applies to recovery like training and nutrition.

Before he started CrossFit full time, he would sleep around seven hours a night. He’s now able to get nine, which helps his body recover from intense training (he said he realizes it’s a “luxury”).

“Sleep is my number one priority, and I’m actually pretty strict about it,” Lightfoot said. He tries to be off his phone for an hour before bed so he has time to relax and keeps his bedroom cool and dark, he said.

Lightfoot is also a fan of saunas and cold jumps, and he uses compression boots to help his muscles recover, but he admitted that these matters little compared to the effects of sleeping and eating well.