Usain Bolt’s Workouts and Diet

Usain Bolt at the Anniversary Games in London 2013

Usain Bolt is currently the reigning Olympic champion over 100m and holds both world and Olympic 100m records with a time of 9.58 seconds. He is also World Record holder for the 200m, running at 19.19 seconds in Berlin on 20th August 2009.

Bolt is also the world junior record holder in the 200 meters (19.93 seconds), and Jamaican national record holder in the 200m (19.67 seconds). His name and achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname “Lightning Bolt“.


In 2009 Usain Bolt was named sportsman of the year. He is one of the most charismatic athletes that have hit the world stage in a long time.

He maintains his 6ft 4in, 196 pound frame (193cm, 13st 8lb / 86kg) in peak condition with a simple but perfectly balanced diet.

Usain Bolt Stats

  • Born 21 Aug ’86 in Trelawny, Jamaica
  • Height: 193 cm / 6 ft 4
  • Weight: 86 kg
  • 100 m in 9.58 (WR)
  • 200 m in 19.19 (WR)
  • 400 m in 45.28

Usain Bolt’s Training Program:

Bolt uses a combination of plyometric training and weight training to build functional strength. The core exercises for improving performance over 100m and 200m are:

  • Weighted Lunges with heavy dumbbells
  • Weighted Squats
  • Cable Leg Drives
  • Explosive step ups with weighted barbell
  • Bunny Hops / Box Jumps
  • Frog Leaps
  • Ankle Rolls
  • High-knee Skips
  • Strides

Lunges and squats are the core weight training exercises to build strength. Ideally performed with free weights, and go heavy. Sets of 8-12 reps are ideal. The bunny hops and frog leaps build explosive strength. See our plyometric workout for boxers to get more information on plyometric training. Circuit training is also an essential part to all round athletic fitness.

In addition to building core functional strength, Usain Bolt’s workout plan includes a lot of flexibility training and sprint drills. Bolt trains for about 3 hours a day, but this is intensive training, followed by rest, massage and relaxation to ensure full recovery before the next session.

Usain Bolt’s Diet and Nutrition


Usain Bolt is one of the few professional athletes who does not take supplements. He admits to taking vitamin C, but nothing else. Instead, Bolt opts for a high-energy diet to maintain his engine, ensuring that each of his six daily meals contain 60% protein, 30% carbs and 10% fats. Sprinters should consume one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight to build and maintain muscle. So at approx. 14-stone, Bolt needs to consume 196 grams of muscle-building protein every day. He alleges to achieve this by eating a lot of chicken fillets, pork and fish. On the day that he beat the world 100m record, he described his preparation as:

“I woke around 11am and decided to watch some TV and had some nuggets.” – Usain Bolt

Bolt also loves his yams, which are an excellent source of energy-transporting carbohydrates, digestion-aiding fiber and vitamins C and A. Yams are a tropical root vegetable, but can often be purchased from shops in Caribbean communities. Usain Bolt is currently sponsored by Puma. An Usain Bolt diet will not suit all athletes, and many believe that supplements play a vital role in obtaining peak performance.

Personal bests and World Records

Date Event Venue Time (seconds)
17 August 2009 100 meters
Berlin 9.58 – World Record
20 August 2009 200 meters
Berlin, Germany 19.19 – World Record
5 May 2007 400 meters
Kingston, Jamaica 45.28

Usain Bolt Running Training and Sprint Workouts

(the previous video is no longer available, so here is a new one from YouTube showing him doing some basic sprint training.

Now take a look at Tyson Gay’s training and diet regime.

Web Resources

female sprinter on the blocks
The Gun and the Tape

Usainbolt.com provides some further insights into Usain Bolt’s training and race preparations.


The information is provided by Usain’s coach, Glen Mills. Glen talks about Usain’s strength training and specifically how they try to increase his strength each season. He may time also give more insights into Usain Bolt’s diet and workouts. You can learn more here: http://www.usainbolt.com/page/training.

New Studies in Athletics (NSA) interviewed Glen Mills and from this we can learn a lot about the training methods used to get Usain Bolt into world-class shape.

NSA Interview: Glen Mills” by Lenford Levy, 2009, Column 24, Issue 1.

If you want to keep track of what Usain Bolt is up to then follow his Twitter page: https://twitter.com/!/usainbolt

Photo of Usain Bolt by Phil McElhinney.


 

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