The Northern Irishman has four championships PGA wins under his belt, and he’s on the quest to obtain his first green jacket and Masters title.
Having turned pro in 2007 at age 18, McIlroy is one of the new-generation of golfers that take their fitness seriously. He consistently finishes the season in the top ten, but he’s yet to finish the season at the PGA leaderboard's top spot.
Rory lives a quiet lifestyle with his wife, Erica Stoll. The couple tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at Ashford Castle in County Mayo in April 2017.
His success comes from a tightly regimented training schedule and daily routine. Let’s take a look at a typical day in the life of one of golf's top pros.
A day in Rory McIlroy's life
Mornings
If he is playing in a tournament, he'll wake between 6:30 am to 7 am. The Northern Irishman says that he has a finely-tuned body clock and can get up without an alarm. However, he says he doesn't like to sleep in, and when he's not on tour, he'll usually be up before 7 am.
Mornings are his favorite part of the day. He adopted the early rising habit from his father when he was young and stuck with it, believing that starting his day the right, i.e. early, is incredibly important to his performance on the course.
He doesn't skip breakfast, which is usually Greek yogurt with blueberries or strawberries and some poached eggs on wholewheat toast. He has the attitude that food is the fuel he needs on the course and in training, but he doesn't overeat. He'll watch some TV while eating, tuning in to the "Today Show" on BBC or "Good Morning Britain" on ITV to catch up on news and current events in the world.
Rory eats breakfast with his wife Erica, and he values the time he gets to spend with her in the morning before he heads out to training. On route to the golf course, he will stop past Starbucks for a coffee.
He is known for his strength training, which he says has given him the edge when competing. In a typical week he puts in 3 or 4 sessions at the gym, depending on his schedule.
Workouts last for around 90 minutes with the focus on building strength and endurance. He likes to start with 40 minutes of warmup, using mobility drills and activation exercises to keep his flexibility and range-of-motion at peak performance levels.
After finishing the session around 10 am, he heads home to shower, change, and grab his golf gear before spending the rest of the morning practicing golf.
Afternoons
With the morning's practice over around 12:30 pm to 1 pm, he heads to the clubhouse for lunch. Lunch is light and clean, consisting of either grilled chicken, steak, or fish, and vegetables. He may add in a few carbs like sweet potato or couscous and prefers drinking water with his lunch.
After lunch, he heads back to the course to play a few holes in the afternoon. The day's practice is normally over by around 3:30 pm to 4 pm.
Evenings
Rory arrives back home around 5 pm after leaving the golf course. He spends the next few hours around the house relaxing and catching up with Erica. This is the time he uses for email and social media.
The couple have dinner around 7:30 pm, and it’s always a healthy meal, low in carbs. However, the couple enjoy red wine, indulging in a glass or two after dinner.
Rory takes his sleep seriously, which he optimizes using the Whoop sleep monitor. He tries to get between seven to eight hours every night after turning in at around 11 pm.
