His daughter Jean Gough told how Matthews would wear lead in his shoes walking to the ground, so that "when he put his football boots on they felt like ballerina shoes." Having trained to a level of fitness few other players would reach, by the mid-1950s he was able to cut back on his intense training as his level of fitness was by then ingrained in his body. He never smoked; instead, he was very conscious of every item of food and drink he consumed, and he maintained a rigid daily training regime from childhood up until his old age. In an interview with the FA he said, "I had some very good advice and started to eat more salads and fruit, and every Monday I had no food. Just one day, on a Monday, but I felt better." The only time he knowingly consumed alcohol was when drinking champagne out of the FA Cup in 1953.