Up at 5:12am, I love the grind – inside the brutal training build-up for The Boat Race with Oxford’s Paolo Cicuta
Paolo Cicuta is no stranger to hard work. While most of us are easing into January, Oxford University Boat Club’s Cicuta is already up at 5:12am, grinding through two-a-day sessions as The Boat Race looms. The brutal reality of winter training coupled with a determined mental toughness has created a standout athlete in Cicuta – known as an absolute beast on the ‘erg’ rowing machine. As The Boat Race build-up intensifies, Cicuta opens up to Men’s Fitness about early mornings, relentless training, mental toughness, and why Bulgarian split squats are universally hated.
Men’s Fitness: What does a typical day look like during Boat Race season?
Paolo Cicuta: A typical day means I wake up at 5:12am – very precise – with alarms at 5:11 and 5:12. I aim to be at the boathouse by 5:35, on the bus at 5:45, because the bus leaves on the dot. We’ll head out on the water to train, often doing something like 16-18km at Wallingford, which is a really nice stretch of river. Then we’re back by just before 9am. After that, I go straight to the office – in my case, research – or for undergrads, lectures. I’ll work through until about 4:30pm, then head to an erg session or weights. After that it’s back home, quick dinner, into bed… and repeat.
MF: That’s quite a workload. How do you strike a balance?
PC: “I don’t! I think it’s more like controlled chaos until you get to the holidays or the race. That’s how I do it, anyway – it’s probably not the best method! The key thing is really loving both sides of your life. If you genuinely care about rowing and your studies, it gives you the ability to push yourself. Our coach says you can do two things at a world-class level, but you definitely can’t do three. You need to be very clear in your own head about which two things really matter.
MF: Do you push yourself harder on the water, or on the erg?
PC: It depends, but I really love the erg. It’s just so honest. There’s no one else to blame – your score is your score on that day. I really enjoy that simplicity. My training evolves throughout the year depending on what we need. Earlier in the season my gym work was more hypertrophy-focused – pretty standard lifts: deadlifts, rows, quite a bit of bench pressing for injury prevention, leg press… infinite quantities of leg press!
MF: Any aspects of training you don’t look forward to?
PC: Bulgarian split squats. Sometimes I love them, but it’s weird because when you actually do them properly, with good form, they feel awful! If you do them wrong, you can load loads of weight on. But when you do them right, you have to strip it back – and I hate taking weight off the bar.
MF: What about mobility and recovery?
PC: Stretching is definitely encouraged, but everyone’s different in terms of what gets tight and what needs work. I’m a big fan of yoga videos – I’ll do 40 minutes at home. I’m not sure how much it helps objectively, but I feel great afterwards, which counts for something.
MF: Aside from the physical workouts, how do you build mental toughness?
PC: Last year was my first year in a high-performance environment, and the mindset was: I want to prove I belong here. (Paolo took part in the Reserve Race in 2025 but is on course to make the Blue Boat for 2026.) Every day was about showing I deserved to be part of that world. The reward was the experience. It was amazing. Even though the race didn’t go how we wanted, going down the course with seven of my best friends was incredible.
MF: You recently took part in a trial race along the 4.25-mile Championship Course of Tideway Thames from Putney to Mortlake, how was that?
PC: That’s the one chance clubs get to benchmark progress. Crews are closely matched and race down the course with the right tide. In theory, it’s very even racing. You almost hope for bad conditions – it’s worst-case scenario training. It takes place halfway through the season so your rowing isn’t perfectly polished yet. It feels even heavier and harder than the race day. The main goal is convincing yourself that you will not die no matter what. It’s about proving you can get across the line.
MF: That sounds like a great motivation to get out early on a cold morning?
PC: For sure, this year, the motivation is different. I know what’s waiting at the end, and that’s the carrot. I also genuinely love training. At this point, my body feels wired for two sessions a day – taking rest days almost feels wrong. And being outdoors helps massively. Yes, waking up at 5:15am is hard, but spending an hour and a half on the water at sunrise is just wonderful.
• The Boat Race 2026 takes place on Saturday 4 April and will be broadcast live in the UK on Channel 4.
