Hurdler and Model Michelle Jenneke in Two-Piece Workout Gear is "Back Walking"

Michelle Jenneke, the dynamic hurdler known for her spirited warm-up dance, has faced an unexpected hurdle of her own. Following her inspiring return to the Olympics in 2024, Jenneke encountered an injury requiring surgery. But last month, she shared a hopeful update on Instagram, captioned simply, "Back walking." Her dedication to training shines through even amid recovery, as she revealed to Body & Soul: "I do three track sessions a week, and they can be from 2-3 hours each, which can be full on." From intense track workouts to a balanced, protein-packed diet, Jenneke's holistic approach to wellness keeps her grounded and resilient, showing fans that setbacks are just another obstacle on the track of life.

Jenneke shared some of her wellness secrets in an interview with Body & Soul. In it, she shared what her training sessions on the track look like. Jenneke makes sure to do her training on a regular basis. "I do three track sessions a week, and they can be from 2-3 hours each, which can be full on. You do some warm up, a hurdle session, and then a sprint session after that."

Jenneke also shared what her gym days look like in her Body & Soul interview. She says that she does a lot of different things to stay fit. "It's a lot of heavy weights there, plus full body exercises and quite a bit of plyometric [exercises]. I start with heavy weights, and then I'll do some lighter functional circuit, towards the end. All up, that takes an hour and a half to two hours… and sometimes when I finish a session I just lie on the ground. I think to myself, 'it's just gym, why is it so hard?"

Jenneke shared her diet in her Body & Soul interview. "I actually eat a lot," she said. "I talk to my sister, and she says she has three meals a day – sometimes two if she's busy – and I'm like 'I have to eat six times a day! "It really depends on what my training day looks like, but if I've got training in the morning (which I often do at the moment) I'll have cereal generally before I go out and train. Then, I actually love having a Milo after a hard session – it's got good levels of protein and iron in it – and then I make myself a second breakfast, which could be muesli with yoghurt or bacon and eggs. Lunch is pretty basic – usually I just have a sandwich – and then for dinner I like to keep it simple. I have either some pasta or some rice with meat and veggies."

Jenneke makes sure to push herself when she trains, and that means having the right mindset and attitude toward it. She talked about the approach she takes in an interview with Kate Conklin. "I fall a lot in practice. Like, every training session. I'm always trying to push myself to go faster and do better and get as close the hurtle as I can, and when you do that, you hit them… I really like it when I fall over in training…It shows me that I'm doing the right thing."

Jenneke doesn't like to let her sport take over her life, and she makes sure to still enjoy it. "I think it is quite a big commitment, but if you think about it like that it's really going to wear you down and you're going to think about it being a big commitment and how it's taking over your life and that's not the way I like to look at it," Jenneke said on the Big Sports Breakfast. "I like to look at it as the fact that I compete in the hurdles and I train all this time because I love it so I go into all those sessions just thinking, 'It's not the hard work, I'm just going out and doing what I love.' I don't really let that weigh on me, I just try to enjoy myself."