Dina Asher-Smith is flashing her abs on the track. In a new social media post the runner shows off her incredible six-pack in an ab-baring Nike crop top and leggings. “April,” she captioned the series of Instagram snaps. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.
Dina is one of the few athletes who don’t recommend weightlifting. “I don’t lift weights,” she told Runner’s World. “There are lots of other ways to get power. It’s not about how much weight you can throw around, but how well you use the power that you have.”
Dina does do a lot of planking, an isometric core strength exercise that is great for strengthening abs. She tweaks the traditional plank by starting in plank position, then, one arm at a time, moving into a press-up position. Then, she returns, one arm at a time, to the starting position. She tries to do five rotations in 60 seconds, keeping her hips level.
Dina focuses her diet around protein. For breakfast she eats scrambled eggs with spinach and black coffee. “I need help in the morning,” she told Runner’s World. Next up, salmon, rice, and vegetables for lunch. “I really love carrots and sweetcorn.” Dinner is generally chicken, salad, and rice. “It’s fairly repetitive, which is hard for a foodie like me.” Cheat meals are “Definitely!” part of Dina’s life, she added to Cosmopolitan. “If I were constantly ‘on’ all the time I would eventually crash,” she said. “I really like cupcakes, so once or twice a fortnight (sad how infrequent it is) I’ll stop and get my favorite Cookies and Cream one from Lola’s. They make me unbelievably happy.”
Dina understands the importance of rest. “As odd as it sounds I take a break – which might not seem productive with a deadline approaching. However, when I get stressed it feels like my brain shuts down and can’t do anything efficiently, so I will listen to some music or make myself something to eat and then come back when I’m more relaxed,” she told Cosmopolitan.
A big part of Dina’s training is running and sprinting. She does three sets of 5x160m at race pace, with a 45 second break between reps. “When it feels OK rather than deadly, you know you’re in good shape,” she told Runner’s World. According to the Mayo Clinic, running is great for cardiovascular health, muscle building, and weight loss. “For every mile run, the average person will burn approximately 100 calories,” they say.