The Diet & Training Regime Behind Dina Asher-Smith's Sprinting Success

Someone who certainly hasn’t forgotten her routes, Dina Asher-Smith still trains on the same athletics track in Bromley that she did as an eight-year-old.

Along with an abundance of talent she has an intelligent approach to her sport, having risen up the ranks to become world champion over 200m.

She’s shown spectacular form again this season, which makes her the favourite heading into the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Consistency and a love of hard work are two of the core values behind her success, and - now at 25-years of age - Asher-Smith has developed a rigorous diet and training routine.

Dina Asher-Smith’s All-Natural Diet

Asher-Smith says she tends not to touch supplements like protein shakes and instead tries to get all her nutrition from natural food sources.

She prioritises getting in plenty of protein at each meal.

Breakfast might be eggs with fruit and granola, then salmon with rice and vegetables for lunch, and chicken with more rice and salad for dinner.

That gives Asher-Smith the vitamins, antioxidants and fibre she needs to keep training hard.

Although she craves cheat meals or treats regularly, her team is strict with her and she waits until the end of the season to indulge.

How Dina Asher-Smith Trains

Asher-Smith trains six days a week and is on the track for five of those.

The types of sessions she’ll do varies depending on the time of year, with more of a focus on speed endurance building in the winter. She and her coach John Blackie believe strongly that working hard through the cold wet months will pay off in the summer.

Track sessions typically last around two and a half hours, starting on the physio table before about an hour of warm-up drills.

The sprinting only lasts about 20 minutes in total, involving reps like 50m, 100m or 200m with lengthy rest periods in between.

She also gets to the gym three days a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to focus on conditioning and building power, although she rarely does heavy lifting.

Instead, Asher-Smith focuses on body-weight work like push-ups and pull-ups, as well as vast amounts of coordination, stability and core work.