{"id":778345,"date":"2026-07-03T20:22:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T20:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/778345\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T20:22:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T20:22:15","slug":"how-joe-marler-is-training-for-a-200kg-bench-press-and-why-chasing-strength-keeps-him-sane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/778345\/","title":{"rendered":"How Joe Marler Is Training for a 200kg Bench Press \u2013\u00a0and Why Chasing Strength Keeps Him ‘Sane’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joe Marler <\/a>spent 17 years training, eating and recovering like a professional rugby player. Because he was one. Since retiring, the former England and Harlequins prop has had to work out what fitness looks like when it\u2019s no longer quite literally his job.<\/p>\n

The answer? Still pretty serious. The bodyweight may have come down, the 7,000-calorie days may be gone, and the need to be \u2018big\u2019 is a little harder to justify. But Marler says training still gives him clarity, structure and, perhaps most importantly, a clear head.<\/p>\n

We caught up with him to talk post-rugby training, chasing numbers in the gym, changing his relationship with food, and taking on Vodafone\u2019s 5G Plus Serve robot<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What does a training week look like for you now, post-rugby?<\/p>\n

It has changed dramatically since retirement.<\/p>\n

The four-to-six month window when I first retired I went, \u2018Oh my God, I\u2019ve spent the last 17 years training rugby and weights and fitness\u2026 my body needs a rest. Let\u2019s do that.\u2019<\/p>\n

And then \u2013 a lot quicker than I thought it would, actually \u2013 the melted wheelie bin presented itself in the mirror, and it was me. And I was like, \u2018Oh, I need to get back in the gym, I think.\u2019<\/p>\n

Obviously to stay healthy, but also for my mind. I had underestimated how much I needed the gym to keep me sane.<\/p>\n

I now do three days on, one day off. I do push\/pull\/legs. And then occasionally I\u2019ll throw in some big dog walks with the wife and kids, go play football with the boys, and Padl. Play a lot of Padl.<\/p>\n

So that\u2019s my training week. It usually starts in the morning, up at five, get to the gym half five, by 6.45 I\u2019ve been n there like 90 minutes, feel great for the day and then crack on.<\/p>\n

What sort of movements are in regular rotation in that push-pull-legs split?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll never not do my bench, I\u2019ll never not do my squat and I\u2019ll never not do my RDLs. Don\u2019t do deadlifts, I like my RDLs.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m going through a bit of a bodybuilding-type phase at the minute. It\u2019s a lot of hypertrophy. Then I\u2019ll probably mix it up and go back to a bit more strength-based and concentrating on that, just because I loved it so much when I was playing.<\/p>\n

It just makes you feel strong and makes you feel good.<\/p>\n

Do you have any benchmarks in your lifts or training that you look to, to assess, \u2018Okay, I\u2019m where I want to be\u2019?<\/p>\n

I\u2019d love to get back to my playing-day strength, but I\u2019m also realistic that I\u2019m a bit older now.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d love to get back to a 200kg bench. I\u2019d love to get back to like a 250kg squat. But I\u2019m also realistic that, as long as I\u2019m shifting some tin and I can feel like I\u2019m shifting some tin, that\u2019s my expectation now.<\/p>\n

Realism aside, do you chase those numbers?<\/p>\n

Yeah, I have to chase something.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been sort of institutionalised for the last 17 years to chase a goal, whether that\u2019s weekly, monthly, six months, every year. I was always chasing a goal of sorts.<\/p>\n

To replace that feeling, and to stay on top of that, it\u2019s, \u2018Right, by the Christmas period, I want to be benching at least 180 for three\u2019, and then working back from there and how I program that to get to that point.<\/p>\n

Do you relate to training differently now, post-rugby?<\/p>\n

I think I relate to it more as \u2018this is for me\u2019 than before.<\/p>\n

Before, it was, \u2018Oh, this is my job. I need to be strong. I need to hit that number for work.\u2019 But now it\u2019s like, \u2018No, I want to hit that number for me.\u2019<\/p>\n

How about nutrition? How has that changed?<\/p>\n

It took some reshaping. I retired and I was still eating like a rugby player, even though I wasn\u2019t playing rugby.<\/p>\n

When you end up tipping the scales at 135 kilos, you go, \u2018I think I should work on what I\u2019m eating now,\u2019 because I\u2019m not training as hard as I used to be and I don\u2019t need to be eating that.<\/p>\n

So my relationship with food has had to change a bit.<\/p>\n

I still try and stick with everything in moderation. I\u2019m not a monk. I\u2019ll still enjoy the odd glass of red wine and some chocolate and some crisps. I\u2019ll enjoy it all, but just not as much.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not hitting the 6,000, 7,000 calories a day like I had to at rugby now.<\/p>\n

What do you miss most from your playing days, and are you doing anything to try and cultivate those aspects on the other side?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the team day-to-day.<\/p>\n

Knowing that in the middle of winter, it\u2019s crap, rain\u2019s out, freezing, maybe you don\u2019t feel good. But knowing that as soon as you drive in and arrive, you\u2019re going to have fun at some point, whether it\u2019s training together, or just going to work with a group of friends and a team environment where you go, \u2018I know I\u2019m going to have fun today.\u2019<\/p>\n

That day-to-day crack.<\/p>\n

Trying to replicate that is so hard because it\u2019s such a unique environment.<\/p>\n

Every month I go and meet a load of the boys and we keep in touch to sort of keep that ticking over. We go play Padl together.<\/p>\n

But also, on jobs that I end up doing, I try my hardest to try and get to know people a little bit and make it more of a team. Not in a forced way.<\/p>\n

The jobs that I go on now, I just try my hardest to make a team environment and have fun doing that to replicate it.<\/p>\n

What don\u2019t you miss? What on the other side do you realise, \u2018I can live a healthier, more fulfilling life now\u2019?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t miss my ears getting stuck to my pillowcase the morning after a game from being absolutely battered.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t miss it taking three or four days for me to feel normal again, only to then start bashing each other again. I don\u2019t miss those moments.<\/p>\n

And I think most of the other stuff I sort of do miss a little bit, or I try and replicate in other walks of life for me.<\/p>\n

I just think how lucky I was to do it. Rather than being sad that I don\u2019t do it anymore.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been on some mad adventures over the last few years. What\u2019s been the highlight so far?<\/p>\n

My highlight so far? I\u2019d say probably being sat round a table with Stephen Fry and Cat Burns, and them both teaching me all the different lingo for the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n

All the different things. My eyes were completely open, just sitting there listening to them two go back and forth about what a butch femme is, what a femme femme is, what a dom femme is, what a pillow princess was.<\/p>\n

I was just sitting there like, \u2018Wow. This is incredible. Such an education.\u2019<\/p>\n

And with a knight of the realm and an incredible singer, I was like, \u2018This is wild. How have I got away with this? How have I wangled this one?\u2019<\/p>\n

I\u2019m just embracing everything that comes at the minute while still trying to figure out what the next 30 or 40 years looks like. <\/p>\n

What do you think is more menacing: standing across the court from Federer, or trying to return a 130mph serve from the Vodafone 5G+ Serve Robot?<\/p>\n

I think the 5G+ Serve is definitely more intimidating, only because I think I\u2019d be able to trash talk Federer a little bit, or at least attempt to get in his head, even though he\u2019s like the coolest, smoothest guy going.<\/p>\n

Whereas the robot seems to just give me a blank stare all the time. So it\u2019s not intimidated by a lot.<\/p>\n

Did you try and trash talk it?<\/p>\n

Yeah. I won\u2019t repeat what I said.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it\u2019s how to optimise your body composition for performance. To tap into his knowledge as an elite athlete and coach, we asked him to create a 4-week plan to help you move faster, recover quicker and keep pushing when the fatigue sets in \u2013 all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio.<\/p>\n

Ready to build muscle, burn fat and come out the other side looking, feeling and performing better? Click here<\/a> to get 14 days of free access to the plan via the Men\u2019s Health app.<\/p>\n

\"fitness<\/a>