Want an Olympic diver’s body without the 10m board? Here are Tom Daley’s 5 health tips

If you’re on a health kick this January, who better to take a bit of fitness inspiration from than British diving hero Tom Daley?

After winning bronze at London 2012, Daley put British diving well and truly on the map and became somewhat of a national treasure. And as we all proudly watched him in Rio, yes, seriously impressed with his diving prowess, but everyone also kind of noticed he was in REALLY good shape.

So aside from spending hours throwing yourself off a 10m diving board (which we don’t recommend without some serious training from a professional), we asked Daley what fitness rules he follows.

Here are his mini mantras.

1. Diet is key

“You can’t really eat pizzas and chips if you want to be lean.”

2. Exercise regularly

“If someone’s never exercised before, just going for a 30-minute walk or doing one of the routines in my book will help. Make sure you work on different muscle groups. Often people disregard doing leg exercises because they’re like ‘Oh I don’t worry about legs, I want to just look good upper body’.

“But, actually, the muscles in your legs are the biggest muscles in your body, so they burn the most calories while you’re doing things like squats and lunges. You’ll be able to strip fat the quickest by doing lots of leg exercises. Don’t ignore your legs, because it’s a very important muscle group to help you get lean.”

3. Set goals

“Not just the long-term goal of ‘I want to have this body’, but say ‘What do I need to do today in order to be able to achieve that goal?’ and ‘What do I need to do by the end of the week?’. Set goals and plan what you need to do to fit them in.”

4. Make time for you

“Lots of people say ‘I don’t have time to do this, or that’, when actually you can make time, even if you were to get up half an hour earlier and just do something in the morning for 30 minutes.

“All the routines in my book are 25 minutes long, so you can get up out of bed and do the routine, get in the shower, and it makes you feel so much more energised and ready to take on the day.”

5. Buddy up

“Set yourself up with someone who wants to have the same outcome or the same goal. Having a gym buddy can really help you to stay motivated, because on the days you don’t feel like going, they might be like ‘No, no, come on let’s go’ and you feel like you have to go, which can motivate you.”

Tom’s Daily Plan by Tom Daley is published by HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins, priced £16.99. Available now.