Q: Take me through a typical training day for you - what do you do first thing in the morning?
A: A typical training day for me would be a 5:30AM wakeup call from my dog. I’ll let him out, feed him and then try to go back to bed. He’ll wake me up again right around 6:30, or 7. At that time, I’ll grab myself a Cliff Protein Bar, a couple of drinks, and will fill up a water bottle. I’ll eat that on the way to training. Once I get into the facility I just relax. Maybe I’ll grab a banana, but personally before heavy athletics I don’t tend to like to eat. I never feel like I have to get up and make these huge breakfasts, I just have little bites until lunch. Lunch is my big meal - I eat a lot of chicken.
I’m a big fan of cooking myself. I like to grill, bake, sauté - anything, I like to mix it up. Some days I’ll have chicken pilaf, steak, I don’t like to have a set meal, I like to eat differently. If I’m not 'feeling' cooking, I’ll pick up something locally, something healthy. We live next to Native Foods, a vegan place that is really good. I’ll eat that until dinner, which is just something me and my wife will throw together: chicken, salmon, steaks, burgers, for the main dish. As a side, we’ll always cook rice, veggies. One of our favorite meals is a grilled chicken, avocado, mango, strawberry salad. It has a lot of great flavor, I’m a huge fan. It’s one of my favorite meals - it’s very light, and very healthy.
Q: How do you approach each training session? Does it depend on the day of week or is there some similarity to each session?
A: Each session you must approach with a different mindset. Each session is a different day of the week, getting closer to the main goal which is the game. You must dictate what days you can go harder for a training session, what days can you do extra, what days you can go into the gym and workout before, and what days you should tone it down, pull yourself back and rest to get yourself amped-up for games. For example, this (Atlanta United FC) will be the fourth game in a week and a half that I could potentially play. It’s a lot of minutes, that I haven’t seen in a long time. I have to keep myself at that place where I’m still getting in a good session, but I’m not overworking myself, so by the time a game rolls around my legs don’t feel heavy.
Q: What about recovery after a typical training session? Massage? Weights?
A: Because of my injury history, I must carve out time to get weightlifting in. When you go through any major surgery, atrophy is a big portion of it. When you are recovering, muscle growth is a big factor in keeping yourself healthy. When you do as much cardio as we do, it’s hard to build muscle because you’re running it off. Most of us are in great shape with 6% body fat, but at the same time it’s very difficult to build muscle. If I didn’t maintain a stable workout structure, my legs would be more susceptible to injury. I must make sure I carve out the time to get into the gym, lift weights, and keep the strength going in my legs.
Other than that, I’ll jump in for a massage or a cold bath if I’m really feeling it, but a lot of times I’m feeling young, I’ve got a lot of energy so I don’t feel the need to do a lot of recovery after training. I do religiously take fish oil, glycine, MSM, all those things to keep my joints, ligaments and body in good health.
Q: What about technology and all the resources you guys have available to you - what’s one thing you get to use or take part in because of your professional status?
A: I’m a fan of cupping and dry needling. I like massages. I really love chiropractic work. I’ve been getting chiropractic work since I was a boy. That’s something that my body is used to, so I like that. Besides that, I take advantage of every basic treatment service that we are given because it’s a long season, and it’s a lot of wear and tear on your body. You must keep the maintenance going. It’s hard, it’s stressful, it takes a lot out on your body, but it’s our job to make sure we stay healthy and stay in the best shape we can.
Q: And food is obviously a big part of any athlete’s diet - what eating habits do you stick to?
A: I try to eat as healthy as I can, but I’m not crazy about it. I’m not religious to the core about following an exact structure. I’ll break off and have a pizza every now and then. Chick-fil-a - that’s my after a game vice. The days before a game, however, I like to maintain a healthy, stable diet. Before games I’ll stick with a lot of carbs so I can have the energy to run.
Q: What about travel, it’s not easy to stay healthy and on your routine when you’re on the road. Any tips?
A: I believe it’s easier for us on the road because it’s all planned for us. When we’re on the road our meals are set out for us. Miguel (Motolongo) makes sure we get all the right food that we need in.
For anyone on the road, you must have a desire to eat healthy. The hardest part isn’t the actual activity, it’s not the working out part, it’s the eating part. Eating healthy is hard because eating doesn’t always taste good, it’s the best for you, but doesn’t always taste good. If you want to last for a long time in athletics, you must commit to the idea of going out of your way to prepare healthy meals. You must find a way to motivate yourself to find the healthy solution. I have vices too, but it’s about motivating yourself to eat the right thing. In the long run, it helps you get to your next level, to stay in a healthy mindset – your body will thank you for eating healthy.
Q: How about after a match? Any routines? Are you already thinking about the next match or training as soon as you finish?
A: My dad has always given me a 24-hour rule when it comes to games, and I think it’s a good one to abide by. You have 24 hours to mull over how it went, what decisions you made, but once that 24-hour period is over it’s gone and you must move on. I normally have a hard time sleeping at night because of the adrenaline, so I normally just roll through the game again and try to relax.
Q: What about the off-season - do you have to watch what you do and eat, or is it mostly a recovery process followed by a ramp-up to preseason?
A: I’ll take the first half of the off-season to do some light weightlifting, do what I want, eat what I want, have a relaxing time, because you must unwind. In any job, I recommend taking time to unwind, otherwise you’re going to snap. I like to take some time to just do nothing, have fun with my friends. Once it gets closer to preseason, I’ll start to ramp-up the running, amp-up my workouts, try to get on a field and kick around the ball a little bit. We have a long year, we have a long season and the reason we start preseason so early is so we can get into shape. I like to have a good decent base to go into preseason, but I don’t overkill myself in the off-season.
Q: What advice would you give to someone trying to live a slightly healthier lifestyle?
A: Go outside. Exercise. No matter what you’re doing, even if you’re just running around with your friends throwing a football, go outside. If you want to maintain a healthy lifestyle just go outside and get yourself moving. Not only is it healthy for your body, it’s healthy for your heart and your brain. You make great connections going outside and just being there with people enjoying the outdoors and playing sports. It’s a great way to connect and make friendships. You can make friends for life through athletics. Do something that’s fun, don’t just exercise to exercise. You can make anything exercise, and if you enjoy it that makes it 10 times better.
If you’re not a healthy eater, start small. Start one day a week where every single meal is healthy. Slowly build yourself up where you’re having six healthy meals a week and then a cheat day. Save those vices as something you can look forward to.
