Lifestyle

5 ways Glenn McGrath gets more out of life after 50

Former test cricketer Glenn McGrath with his family. Image courtesy of the McGrath Foundation.

Citro ambassador Glenn McGrath was trained to be ‘unbreakable’ in his cricket days, but these days he trains his body for other reasons.

By Alex Brooks

Changing the way we eat, move and embrace our purpose can make all the difference to how we feel as we get more runs on the board, says McGrath Foundation director Glenn McGrath. 

After more than a decade playing cricket for Australia, Glenn continues to train his body and mind by working out 4-5 times a week, doing a mix of strength, cardio and high intensity interval training.

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“I think as we get older, weight training is really important for everything - our muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, you name it,” he says.

“When I played, it was all about a strong core, glutes and legs but now I try to work more on the beach muscles - the chest and arms.”

Glenn continues to work on his mind, too, embracing new challenges and learning new things, using the same mental determination that made him one of Australia’s most accurate bowlers.

His wife Sara speaks Spanish, Italian and English so he’s been learning Spanish so he can help his youngest daughter Madison master the language, too. He’s also learning the piano, while his wife is learning to play drums.

Glenn also reads Citro’s weekly emails, which regularly publish evidence-led advice about health and longevity, including:

●  10 lifestyle swaps that lead to longevity gains

●  How exercise and movement help reduce cancer risks

●  10 amazing benefits of strength training when you’re older

●  The healthy 8 habits that slow ageing by up to 6 years.

Citro has also covered government benefits for older Australians, including the 8 hidden benefits of your Medicare Card and how you can hack the health system to stay fit for less.

“I like all the advice that Citro has, and a community to help support you,” says Glenn.

The driving need to keep active

“I've always been very active, so I need to keep active…” explains Glenn. “I think that’s really important as we age, because the last thing we want to do is start getting, you know, weaker and more frail. You take a tumble and you break something [and] it’s all downhill from there.”

Glenn has a home gym set up with rowing, bike and ski-style cross-training equipment, along with weights and dumbbells.

He trains 4 to 5 times a week in his gym and stays active maintaining his property (there’s plenty of lawn to mow) and indulging other hobbies like golf, free diving and flying.

Glenn has run the New York marathon and plans to compete in the Noosa Triathlon later this year.

“That’s a 40 km bike ride, a one-and-a-half km swim and a 10 km run, so I’d better start doing more training,” he laughs.

He never skips breakfast

Glenn doesn’t skip breakfast. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You know, growing up on a farm, I think that was instilled in me at a young age,” he says.

“We always had Weet-Bix with hot water. My father would put hot water on, mix them up, a bit of milk, a bit of sugar. That was it. That was always the way I ate Weet-Bix.”

Glenn with his father during his cricketing days. Image: Instagram/@glennmcgrath11

His wife Sara disagrees and instead skips breakfast to practise intermittent fasting. Meanwhile, nowadays Glenn prefers to eat peanut butter on toast, Greek yoghurt with berries or eggs.  

Eggs are a high-protein breakfast fix - he likes them boiled scrambled or sunny side up. 

Coffee’s out, Milo’s in

Glenn likes a cup of English Breakfast tea in the morning - no coffee. He hates the taste and the smell.

“I don't know why. It's just something that I've never been able to stomach,” he says.

He also likes to drink hot chocolate every now and then. “I still make Milo by mixing it with hot water before adding milk,” he says.

When Glenn first moved to Sydney to play cricket at the age of 19, he cooked for himself in his caravan - it was usually meat with mashed potatoes, peas and carrot.

He’d make enough for 3 meals, so he could reheat and eat rather than cook every night.

His wife is a fantastic cook, who prepares healthy family meals - but she doesn’t eat breakfast, preferring the Italian breakfast of coffee.

Living to eat and eating to live

Glenn says he has to be careful not to put on too much weight now that he’s no longer playing cricket.

“If you bowl 20 or 25 overs a day, they put GPS trackers on the boys and they reckon you’re travelling 30 to 35 km a day,” he says.

The Polly Waffle chocolate bar was Glenn’s favourite chocolate bar to eat during his cricketing days.

“My wife is always on at me about my sweet tooth, but I love chocolate,” he says. “I’m trying to cut down on sugar, though.

These days, plain Dairy Milk chocolate is his go-to sweet treat, but he prefers his chocolate be kept in the freezer so it’s rock hard. That way he has to work to get his sweet fix. 

“When it comes to diet, I’m sort of trying to find balance between living to eat and eating to live…” says Glenn.

Young Glenn, who loved his family, his cricket and his sweets. Image courtesy of Glenn McGrath.

On the (not-so-healthy) joy of having a sweet tooth

Glenn says he has to be careful not to put on too much weight now that he’s no longer playing cricket. 

“If you bowl 20 or 25 overs a day, they put GPS trackers on the boys and they reckon you’re travelling 30 to 35 km a day,” he says.

The Polly Waffle chocolate bar was Glenn’s favourite chocolate bar to eat during his cricketing days.

“My wife is always on at me about my sweet tooth, but I love chocolate,” he says. “I’m trying to cut down on sugar, though.”

These days, plain Dairy Milk chocolate is his go-to sweet treat, but he prefers his chocolate be kept in the freezer so it’s rock hard. That way he has to work to get his sweet fix. 

“When it comes to diet, I’m sort of trying to find balance between living to eat and eating to live…” says Glenn.

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