Fitness
How Morgan Lake juggles sports and studying
Let the Team GB high jump star show you how to manage your time better.
Any athlete at the top of their game has to work super-hard. But Morgan Lake may just have to work a little bit harder.
You see, not only is Morgan a Team GB high jump athlete, but she’s also a psychology student at Loughborough University – famous for its top-level sport facilities – fitting a strenuous training and competition schedule around her lectures and assignments.
Who better, then, to give you an insight into how to manage your time? Take it away Morgan.
I usually have either a 9am lecture or 9am training session each day…
I wanted something different to just sport
Halfway through my first semester at Loughborough, I changed from the sport and exercise psychology course to the psychology course…
I wanted something that was a bit different to just sport, so that I wasn’t thinking about that the whole time. My course has still got sports elements in it, and because Loughborough’s such a sporty uni, everyone on my course does sport as well – it’s not like I’m pushing that element out of my life! It’s just nice that I can do something else.
Morgan training at Loughborough
© Greg Coleman/Red Bull Content Pool
Partying? I never do it in-season…
At Loughborough, there are quite a lot of high-level athletes. I live with swimmers, netball players and other sportspeople, so I don’t feel like I’m missing out all the time. That’s good because I think that the pressure to go out and party would be quite strong at other unis. I think I’ve got the right balance at Loughborough.
I'm quite last-minute when it comes to revision and deadlines
Planning is really important for me…
I sit down with my coaches, Aston Moore, Kelly Sotherton and Fuzz Caan, and go through my uni timetable to see when they can fit in my training. It’s quite a lot of work, especially because I’m quite a last-minute person when it comes to revision and deadlines.
Before focusing on the high jump, Morgan competed in the heptathlon
© Aaron Rogosin/Red Bull Content Pool
When I’m away training or competing, I watch all my lectures online…
That means that I don’t miss out on those, and all of my lecturers and tutors have been good about me going away and making sure I catch up on all the work. So far, it’s been alright.
Nothing bad is going to come from me doing the degree
I did think about not going to university…
Last year, I took a year out, just to see what it would be like to do full-time training. But I ended up having a lot of spare time, so I thought that if I could go to uni, it would be good as a distraction as well. It doesn’t really matter how long it takes me to do the course, and I’m in a place where I can train at the same time. Nothing bad is going to come from me doing the degree, and if it does get too much, I can put it on hold for a while. I’m keeping all my options open.
In 2018, Morgan's pro career shifted to focus solely on high jump
© Getty
Keeping energy levels up is essential…
A lot of days, I’ll have several training sessions. So what with still being tired from the day before, combined with studying and training, it can all get a bit much. Having a can of Red Bull definitely helps me along. I'll plan it so that I’ll have caffeine about half an hour before I need to be in the zone, to make sure that I’m concentrating hard – whether that’s to do a training session or get a piece of work done. It’s a really crucial part of my regime.
My best piece of time management advice? Plan things in advance…
Make sure you know when deadlines are and what events are coming up in your life. Also, plan short-term goals. If you’ve got an essay, break it up into blocks so that you don’t end up doing everything all at once.