Australian Football
How I Train: AFL midfielder Travis Boak on reaching peak performance
The Port Adelaide midfielder reveals just how much goes into reaching peak performance and why setting goals helps him stay focused.
Port Adelaide star Travis Boak knows all about the importance of training. Having played 327 games and counting for Port Adelaide, Travis Boak has worked with both Australian and overseas experts to get more out of his body. His form in recent seasons speaks to his dedication to preparation, including a runner-up finish in the 2020 Brownlow Medal.
Whether it’s off-season, pre-season or in-season, Travis’ commitment to training has seen him maintain and elevate his standing as one of the league’s premier onballers. Read on to learn more about how Travis Boak ensures he’s ready for every season, as well as why he places the utmost importance on honing the mental side of his game.
Travis Boak
© Brett Hemmings/Red Bull Content Pool
01
How much time do you spend training in any given week?
A lot. In pre-season, I’ll train on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and I'll be at the club from 8am until 3pm. They’re generally on-field training; gym or craft sessions. They're our biggest days. Saturday might be a running session or an off-leg session for a couple of hours. It's a pretty full-on week. We have Tuesday and Thursday off, and they’re spent completely off legs. They’re more recovery days. I’d say 75% of the week is training, and the rest of it is recovery or a day off. It’s a pretty solid week, especially during pre-season.
02
What does a typical training session at Port Adelaide look like?
A pre-season session is typically broken up into a block of skill development and then a running development session. A session can go for two to two-and-a-half hours. Adelaide gets quite hot, so some days can get to 30-35 degrees. The session starts at about 8am to 8:30am, and we’ll be off the track at 11am.
We do more ball work now than we used to in pre-seasons, but those drills can be quite long. They're quite repetitive. During pre-season you are working really hard, and a lot of our sessions involve repeat efforts. Usually, at the end of the session, we'll have a running block. Our head of High Performance, Stuart Graham, will set some running drills for us to do during this block. None of the drills are really ever over a 300 or 400 metre effort. Instead, they’re done at high speed and low recovery – we put in a lot of effort. We can run anywhere between 10 and 15kms within those pre-season sessions.
In-season, we won't do a running block. We’ll focus on drills, and the extent of the session depends on how much recovery we've got during the week. Those sessions can contain anywhere between two to four drills. A lot of it is skill development - nothing too major, but we'll always have one drill that will simulate who we're playing on the weekend. That's our main drill. That session can go for about 45 minutes to an hour, and we’ll focus on trying to replicate what it might look like on the weekend.
03
When during a training session will you have your Red Bull?
I'll have a Red Bull about an hour before I hit the track, whether it's an in-season or pre-season session. That way, the caffeine spike kicks in around the time I hit the track. That's probably the optimal time to have a Red Bull, and drinking a Red Bull then gives me my best chance to perform and train at my highest level.
04
Have you always been driven to get the most out of yourself, or was there a moment where that drive clicked into gear?
I've always been driven to work really hard and to push myself to the limit. However, in the past, I’ve tended to focus on the basics. At the end of 2017, I wanted to learn more about myself and what more I could do. I wanted to find and focus on little one percenters. That was the conversation I had with the footy club. At the time, Ian McKeown was our head of high performance, and he mentioned some people over in the States.
Learning about my body and knowing that there's a little bit more out there to do has helped my performance. It wasn't necessarily having to do more than everyone, it was more about understanding myself a little bit more and opening my eyes to things that were a little bit different. What can I learn? Where can I improve?
Travis Boak celebrates during a game.
© Port Adelaide Football Club
05
Are you someone that feels more confident when you know you’ve done as much preparation as possible heading into a season?
I think so. I mean, it's not about doing more. It’s about being really detailed with what you do - especially the little things - and taking note of what you've done. I think that’s what gives you confidence. Knowing that I've done – not so much more than anyone else - but more than I could have otherwise done, more than I did last year, or more than the normal athlete can do.
It's not about doing more. It’s about being really detailed with what you do - especially the little things.
06
How important is sleep to your performance?
I'm pretty particular about my sleep. I track it all now with my Oura Ring and I aim to get at least eight hours a night. That doesn't always happen, however. Sometimes I don't sleep well, for whatever reason. I can feel the difference when I’ve had a rough night's sleep. I’ll feel a little bit more tired or fatigued during that training session. I've always been a late sleeper, so I go to bed at about 10:30pm. However, if we have an early session then I'll try and get to bed a little bit earlier. I like to relax at night and watch TV until about 10:30pm. Having a good bed routine ensures I get a good eight hours of sleep, which then helps with my deep sleep and REM sleep.
07
How important is the mental side of footy to your game?
I think the mental side of footy is the most important part. I've understood that so much more over the last four or five years. You really have to enjoy what you do. Mentally, that enjoyment helps create better performance and puts you in a better state when you find yourself in those pressure moments. That’s what becomes really critical for us, whether it's during the season or in a final, When the pressure rises, if you’re enjoying things, then mentally you are capable of handling those situations.
When you do get challenged the most, purpose takes over. That motivates you to keep going.
08
You’ve played over 300 games – are there any specific factors that have helped you get so much out of your body?
There are a few different factors. I mean, there's no doubt that there’s an element of luck. Injuries can happen in freak accidents, and I've been fortunate enough to avoid them during my career. However, it also comes down to the work that I've put into improving my body during the off-season and during the pre-season. I’ve been really aware of my body and knowing what I need to focus on.
The training that I've had over in Santa Cruz has really helped me understand my body. Recovery becomes vital during the year, and I love that part of it, whether it's saunas, ice baths, beach, sleep or nutrition. All that becomes crucial. I just love playing footy, and I have to keep my recovery at a really high level if I want to continue to take from my body when I go and play a game of footy.
09
Finally, when you’ve had a tough quarter/half/day, how do you find that extra bit of motivation to get that little bit more out of yourself?
For me, I’ve asked myself “what's my purpose? Why am I going out to play a game of footy? What are the key drivers to who I am as a human being that make me want to go out and perform?” I’ve learnt a lot after asking these questions. When you do get challenged the most, purpose takes over. That motivates you to keep going. It's really about understanding who you are.
I think that's the answer, but I’ve been on a pretty lengthy process in order to find out what drives me. I've begun to understand my purpose over the last few years, and I’ve really tapped into that in difficult situations. As humans, we've all been through pretty challenging times before in our lives. It’s important to understand who we are and what makes us tick. “What do we love, what do we love to do? What's our passion?” Understanding our values. That takes over when I get into those situations.