In a league as competitive as the NFL athletes and coaches are all trying to find those incremental gains that can make the difference between victory and defeat.
Although devising new training exercises or sprucing up playbooks can go a long way towards building long-term success, there’s currently more pressure on athletes to put in the extra work at home, so they are in tip-top shape both mentally and physically.
Below, we take a look at how some of the NFL’s biggest stars eat, train, and recover, as they go about crafting themselves into the ultimate football machines.
While readers cannot be expected to follow such diet and training programs, there will certainly be aspects of each that anyone looking to stay in shape can benefit from.
Russell Wilson – Boxing Smart So He Sees the Big Hits Coming
The world of sports is abuzz with NFL athletes crossing over to become an MMA fighter or boxer.
There is no sign of this Seattle Seahawks quarterback making such a move anytime soon, but he does find the footwork drills and hand-eye coordination of boxing training useful when he is preparing to upset the NFL odds lines come gameday.
And Wilson has not just been playing at boxing, enlisting the help of legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach, who is most famous for being the long-time trainer of Manny Pacquiao.
Of course, this star QB is doing plenty of other training alongside his pugilism, mixing in huge amounts of core and leg work in the gym. That’s one of the reasons his name is always on the tip of the tongue of top online tipsters whose NFL picks regularly single out Wilson’s mobility and running game as qualities that help Seahawks to overcome their rivals.
Away from his punch bags and free weights, Wilson’s diet consists of nine tiny meals spread across the day, with none of them featuring dairy or gluten. Even so, his daily diet still adds up to an impressive intake of just shy of 5,000 calories.
To unwind after a hard day of working out, and fitting in time to consume nine meals, Wilson kicks back and listens to music, with his playlist probably having some input from his wife, the pop songstress Ciara.
David Johnson – Legs, Legs, and More Legs
When you’re a running back, your legs are your main tools, so ensuring they are ready to stand up to the rigors of a long football season is important.
NFL athletes like David Johnson most certainly do that and more, with his leg workout routines renowned for being some of the most punishing.
The Houston Texans player mixes in a whole load of box jumps, sled pulls, and weightlifting exercises so that when he chooses to put the afterburners on, the men tasked with covering him are given next to no chance.
Johnson also does extra resistance training in the swimming pool, using water to counteract his movements, so that running through the air becomes a pleasure rather than a chore.
Although diet-wise Johnson has not gone completely vegan, he has been actively working aspects of a good vegan diet into his eating regime after revealing that a short stint on a vegan diet made him feel like a million dollars. Ultimately, though, this thick-set athlete could not maintain his muscle mass without some high protein doses of meat and poultry.
Rob Gronkowski – Partying and Training Can Go Hand in Hand
Longevity in a sport as grueling as being NFL athletes never comes down to luck but is instead all about how you care for your body.
Tom Brady’s best buddy, Rob Gronkowski, knows a thing or two about that, putting his body through its paces no matter where he is.
Indeed, Gronk is known to shun the regimented lifestyles of some of his peers, unwilling to let finely brewed hops go to waste over a holiday weekend or to pass up on the opportunity to party with his fellow bros.
However, this veteran Bucs player atones for letting his hair down by hitting the gym as hard as any other player in the NFL, and backs that up by following Brady’s very own diet plan.
Antonio Brown – Off-Seasons Just Do Not Exist
At first glance, Antonio Brown’s workouts are just like anyone else’s, with weights and speed exercises all blended together to form the ideal program.
However, what makes Brown unique is that he lives in the gym 365 days a year, conditioning his body in such a way that it never expects to get a day off, allowing it to harden and adjust accordingly.
All that training can, of course, have disastrous consequences if a player does not intake foods and drinks that will help him recover quickly, and to that end, Brown gorges on high fiber foods like sweet potatoes as well as treating himself to a daily breakfast that consists of no less than six eggs.
Von Miller – Chickens Are Good for More Than Just Protein
So far we have just focused on the physical aspects of training, recovery, and diet, but more and more top players are coming round to the realization that in order to have a well-balanced lifestyle, they need healthy distractions that have little or nothing to do with football, allowing them to decompress mentally before taking on the next challenge the NFL throws their way.
Denver linebacker Von Miller knows this all too well and has taken to raising chickens at his Texas ranch. He finds that the relatively simple routine of having to feed, muck out, and generally care for his beloved brood leaves him flush with positive vibes which he can then take into the Broncos locker room. As you can see, each player has his own unique approach to training and dieting, and there is no secret formula for success. It all comes down to hard work, dedication, and the ambition to be better than others.
