Men’s Fitness UK – September 2019

Words

Rob Kemp

Photography

Filip Komorous

MINDSET

“I feel that I'm incredibly lucky

to travel the world training and

competing with my teammates and

friends. When I was younger my

parents were incredible, taking me

to training and competitions all over

the country and sacrificing a lot – I’m

hugely grateful.”

Repaying his parents’

commitment and dedication isn’t

Cooke’s sole motivation, of course. “I

enjoy pushing to be the best possible

version of myself. I’m a massive

believer in hard work, and hopefully it

pays off. There’s no better feeling than

reaching the end of the competition,

knowing you have given everything,

and standing proud on that podium.”

Retaining his world title won’t

be easy – and that breathtaking

finish isn’t likely to be replicated.

Cooke has also adapted his mental

approach to competition thanks to

the help of elite performance coach

Dave Alred and his philosophy of

'bettering previous self'. “Now I'm

heading into the competition to

compete against myself, sticking to

the process and trying to constantly

push to be better, knowing that if I

perform to the best of my ability I

should be in a good position on the

final results.” There’s a touch of

superstition involved, too. “I have a

quick ritual before the swim section

of the event: touch the water before,

just to make sure it’s still there!”

NUTRITION

With such a demand on the body from

the ultimate cross-training event,

Cooke has to pay great attention to his

nutrition. “I start the day with a bowl of

porridge with fresh fruit, and after the

morning’s first session I try and get a

snack of eggs on toast in before we

get back to training.”

Lunch is served at the university

before the afternoon training kicks

off. “Dinner is usually a healthy mix

of lots of veg with some protein and

some healthy carbs such as quinoa or

sweet potatoes.

“For recovery I have protein

shakes: the strawberry flavour from

Pro Athlete Supplementation goes

great alongside a dash of Green

Magic from Proto-col Nutrition. I don't

count calories, I feel like that’s taking

the relationship with food too far. I

basically go along with the rule that

my plate has to be colourful.”

Cooke lists eating a whole

cheesecake as a guilty pleasure on

the occasional cheat day, but with his

incredible success in one of the world’s

most challenging of sports to excel in,

we won’t begrudge him that.

Tale of the tape:

Cooke crosses the line

milliseconds ahead of

second place to become

world champion

Making waves:

the modern

pentathlete needs

to be a multi-

discipline master

Photo finish: the fine line

between victory and defeat