Jack Nowell is a standout name in the world of rugby. An England International & British and Irish Lion, Jack is no stranger to performing at the highest level. How does he maintain those levels of performance though? To consistently compete at the very top of his game. What does Jack do to relax and how did he even get into rugby in the first place?
We sat down with Jack Nowell to find out the answer to our burning questions and to get to know the rugby star & fourfive team player a bit better.
How did you get into rugby? Was this always your dream job growing up?
I got into rugby aged 5, really didn’t like it at first. Learnt to love it after getting to know my teammates and learning to play their game. If I’m honest, it wasn’t my dream job growing up, not that I had another job in mind but I just thought it would never happen to me and would be totally out of reach.
How do you prepare for an upcoming match, do you have a process?
There are very few processes in place for me, I do things I can always re-create when I’m away in hotels as well. I like to keep things pretty chilled all the way up to the start of the game. I’ll always have chicken fajitas the night before the game, the full works. I always sleep with my pillow from home, and will always take my Neom diffuser with me, lavender scent obviously. I’ll have a good stretch the night before and the morning of the game, a good activation before and I feel I’m pretty good to go then. I tend to not spend too much time thinking or visualising about the game, I’d prefer to just turn up and go from there.
As an athlete, how important is your mental and physical health to you? And how does CBD contribute to your mental and physical wellbeing?
Very important, for me, it’s the most important thing. I’ve recently had a string of injuries and I’ve never struggled as much as I have this season but I try to keep things simple. My family is very important to me for that mental side of things. But I always try to find an advantage or something that’s going to help me better. A big one for me is sleep, if you sleep well a lot of things then take care of themselves.
My sleep has completely changed since taking fourfive. I wake up most mornings feeling refreshed and well rested, straight away my day has started on a massive positive. Like I mentioned after my run of injuries, as rugby players we are constantly trying to fight against swelling and inflammation. Since using fourfive I seem to be able to bounce through session and rehabilitation without worrying about areas swelling.
During the season, what do you do to avoid overworking your muscles?
I am constantly trying to recover so I can be as fresh as I can the next day, so I can push myself again. Overworking comes into play when you’re not properly recovered from the day before. Unfortunately, we can’t decide how much we lift, how much we run because we are in a team environment and that is set by the coaches and conditioners. But I can definitely affect how my body feels when I turn up each day. If I sleep well, it means my body has recovered properly, and I wake up in a positive mindset and I’m good to go. I feel fourfive aids me massively in this area. Straight after any exercise or session, I try to have a muscle flush on the area I feel is fatigued, I use fourfive muscle rub to help flush soreness and any inflammation out of my system.
Is CBD oil something you use after a workout?
I tend to try and stick to the same times most days, CBD muscle rubs after our last session of the day or game at the weekend. CBD oil with breakfast, after training and half an hour before bed.
There’s a lot of pressure that comes with being a public figure, what’s your favourite way to relax, and when’s the last time you did it?
I feel anything away from the game is the best way I relax. Spending time with family, my two little girls. They have no idea about rugby so time chasing them around is brilliant. I’m originally from Cornwall so grew up on beaches and in the sea. So I try to get in the water as much as possible whether that’s paddle boarding, swimming, diving, or just sat on the sand.
I feel CBD oil helps me to relax. It definitely takes the stress away from sleep and just that feeling and stress of ‘I’ve got to recover or…’. I feel you can tick off a lot of boxes during the day to enable you to be able to perform at 100% the day after.
