“As I’m getting older and more experienced, I’m starting to listen to my body more. If I feel great, I push it, if I’m fatigued I’ll add more rest. It’s all about training smarter not harder.” Chris Baber

What does a typical training day look like for you?

Nowadays, it would consist of either a full body workout in the gym or a four-five mile run. As life has got busier and the demands on my time have increased, I find a full-body workout first thing in the morning gets my heart-rate up and leaves me feeling the gym totally energised.

Hitting full body also makes me feel relaxed and flexible on which days I train, knowing that I’m covered if I have to miss a day or two depending what’s happening in the diary. On my cardio days, I typically do a run but I might throw some intervals in based on how I feel – I don’t put pressure on myself like I used to when I was competing.

My normal week would include three days resistance, three days cardio and one day off. I also do plenty of walking. I find it good to keep trim and great for the mind.

Can you remember the first time you stepped foot in a gym? And why?

I was 14-years-old and it was the Wentworth Leisure Centre in Hexham. I was so keen to get in the gym. All my friends had already been but because my birthday was later in the school year, I had to wait! I remember stepping in and got chatting to this guy who was probably around 20 (let’s call him Big A) and he took me under my wing, I started to train with him most nights for a couple of years. I just fell in love with it, especially when I started to see results. I’ve been training consistently ever since.

How strict are you on nutrition? What’s your food guilty pleasure?

I’m not strict, I’m just mindful. I used to be more restrictive when running competitively but I’ve learned to relax and that, when it comes to food, we shouldn’t deprive ourselves. I’ve found that, in striking the right balance between eating food and eating well, that the food is just naturally a treat. Quite frankly I’m not very strict at all!l especially as I enjoy food that happens to be healthy, beautiful fresh produce and protein.

I never feel like I’m restricting myself but I have just such a good awareness through cooking. I don’t really have a guilty pleasure as I think we should all have a healthy association with food. Associating guilt when you eat something is not a healthy thing in my opinion. When I eat something like an Indian takeaway, I just feel enjoyment.

What’s your favourite training session?

It’s different because I have a running background but I’m also a big fan of the gym. When it comes to running, my favourite session would be something like 10 x 200m with a 200m recovery. It’s an incredibly intense session and really gets my endorphins going the most. I remember lying on the track and feeling a sense of euphoria – and it’s all done in 20 minutes.

I really miss training before the advent of social media: you’d be in a gym with loud music and a bunch of people so focused on training with everyone putting maximum effort. I mostly train on my own now but I miss that camaraderie: training with a group of people who have the same goals as me. Nowadays I enjoy all my training: exercise is a highlight of my morning that sets me up for the day.

And your least favourite?

Something that would have been a traditional big winter training session: longer reps on the track. The monotony I felt doing one-kilometre intervals is something else. I used to get a sense of anxiety the day before – I stopped asking the coach what the session was going to be! Until you’ve run hard like this, it’s difficult to appreciate. One thing I never miss though is the feeling after a good workout.

What’s one essential item you can’t live without?

Probably a good pair of trainers and a Hexclad medium sautépan! I travel a lot with work so knowing that if throw some trainers in a bag that I can pretty much exercise anywhere with minimal kit. And also because you never know when you’re going to have a to cook a post-workout meal!

What’s the best piece of fitness advice you’ve even been given?

Can I have two? First, keep it simple. Millions of people are posting every day about complex workouts and sessions but give me some trainers and a stopwatch and I’m ready. On the resistance side I’m happy with the basics too.

The other thing is focus on rest and recovery. Recovery is just as important as the training especially as you get older. Don’t be afraid to give your body a break. I think the old saying your muscles grow outside the gym is true.