A WORLD-CLASS athlete has a training routine ordinary mortals would readily describe as vicious. But that’s how winners are made, especially on the world stage.
Ernest John “EJ” Obiena’s routine in his training base in Formia, Italy—where legendary pole vault coach, Ukrainian Vitaly Petrov, holds base—is basically just that.
“I wake up normally at 6:30 a.m., wash my face and brush my teeth,” said Obiena, a basic for most mortals. “Then I prepare my breakfast—yogurt, fruits and eggs.”
Obiena does his own cooking and the eggs? He fries them with no oil, some butter sometimes.
“I barely use oil, the pans are non-stick anyway, no need for oil,” he said.
“Unlike the rest of the guys [Brazilian Olympic champion Thiago Braz, American Chris Nilsen, to name a few], they have a team with them, they have somebody else doing the cooking for them, even the grocery,” he said.
At 9:30 a.m. it’s off to the track where Petrov has already prepared his poles and drawn the day’s training program.
Some four hours later, it’s lunch time at the training center mess hall. There, food is prepared by a nutritionist—no ala carte for him.
“I do a Keto diet for lunch, take some two-hour break, then it’s back to training—track, gym, whatever the program says for the day,” he said.
Obiena shuns sugar almost totally.
“Mostly, it’s no sugar, I get sugar anyway from other sources,” he said. “We use fats as our main source of energy.”
With training day at the track over, Obiena packs his bags, drops by the grocery or does some errands.
“After 4, it’s non-track for me, maybe talking with my family here, attend to some meetings [virtual] and answer questions from media,” he said.
Maybe an hour or so later, he’ll be at the gym, working on his speed and endurance and strength by lifting some weights. The session ends at around 8 p.m. or even a half-an-hour further.
Then it’s back to his pad where, because he’s by his lonesome, he’ll be cooking his own dinner.
There are times when his cooking is interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Random [dope] testing,” said Obiena, referring to agents from the World Anti-Doping Agency who does random tests—unannounced—to the world’s top athletes.
After dinner, he’s got a moment for himself.
“At past 9, I call my girlfriend, family, friends and before 10, it’s lights off,” Obiena said.
That’s how world-class athletes do it and for Obiena, it’s a six-day cycle that doesn’t rest on a Sunday.
Today, and for the next two weeks, Obiena won’t be doing that routine. He’s in town with his girlfriend, German longjumper Caroline Joyeux, for a much-needed vacation.