High-level professional athletes make use of their bodies all year round and they bank on their durability to take the constant wear and tear for the entirety of their playing years. Without having a proper recovery process, a lone injury can abruptly end an athlete's career in a snap. Enter Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird and Phoenix Suns great Steve Nash, whose careers were cut short due to a handful of back injuries in their late 30s.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James knows the importance of recovery and greatly utilizes the advancement of technology to prolong his career in the NBA. While he has shown wear and tear in the last two seasons, he has largely successfully maintained his longevity, which still allows him to remain atop the league where players his age would often already regress in terms of performance on the court.
His campaign in the 2020 NBA Playoffs only amplified his ability to assert his dominance against younger players even in his 17th season in the league. It is also no secret that the 35-year-old invests a hefty sum to take care of his body and the entire league is unmistakably in awe of it.
His heavy exercise regimen and dietary habits have been well-documented and even influenced another prominent athlete outside of the NBA. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson recently took a page from the four-time NBA MVP's book and emulated his fitness regimen to stay in peak shape. Not hesitating to spend in order to take care of his body may be one of the best decisions that Wilson has made in his career, given the more physical nature of the game of football.
A 2016 report estimated that LeBron spends $1.5 million per year on his body. ESPN's Brian Windhorst's recently reported that The King's annual body care costs in the seven figures. LeBron has a whole team of people who work with him, from trainers to massage therapists to chefs.
According to ESPN, when LeBron James was having back problems in 2015, he reached out to David Alexander, a trainer with whom he worked when he was with the Miami Heat. Alexander referred James to Donnie Raimon, a former Navy SEAL who's an expert in biomechanics.
Raimon went on to help LeBron work on his core strength, which eventually fixed his back problems. He eventually hired Raimon full-time, and Raimon moved to Akron, Ohio, to work closely with LBJ when he returned for his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
For his convenience, LeBron was also reported to have replicated the Heat's and Cavaliers' gyms in his homes. On another note, a big part of his physical work is the various forms of treatment he gets to prepare for and recover from games. He was reportedly one of the first players to invest in a cryo-chamber, which costs from a steep range of $18,000 to $600,000 per unit and uses liquid nitrogen while subjecting the body to freezing temperatures. He uses it to deaden an irritated nerve and replicate a more effective version of the traditional ice bath.
The four-time NBA champion is also a fan of using the hyperbaric chamber to increase oxygen flow into his body, also helping increase mental awareness. Oxygen is a key source of recovery for injured tissues, and the blood carries oxygen to these tissues. Blood flow going to injured tissue is critical for recovery, which is why certain injuries that happen in poor blood flow areas can take longer to heal.
LeBron James continues to wear compression gear even on flights after games and gets hooked up to an electro-stimulation machine to make his muscles contract and flush out unhealthy toxins in his body. Many athletes utilize NormaTec leg boots, which is also a staple in LeBron's recovery regimen. It is a leg recovery system where the boots inflate and take a certain posture against your body to help you massage those areas and help keep the strength of a specific body part.
LeBron does some simpler treatments, too, like straightforward ice baths and getting an old-fashioned massage from therapists. The veteran forward also has his own chef to control his diet where he generally tries to avoid red meats and sugar while focusing on lean meats, leafy greens, and plenty of vegetables. Above all, spending a staggering amount of sleep with a mandated eight to nine hours each night ultimately became an integral piece of his recovery process.
Meanwhile, it was also recently revealed that Russell Wilson willingly spends $1 million in order to prolong his career on the gridiron where players usually have a short lifespan. On The Bill Simmons Podcast, the seven-time Pro Bowler mentioned how he spends on his body every year due to his desire to play in the NFL until he's 45.
Wilson says he's been investing in his body for about five or six years now and also has “all the toys” to keep him in peak physical condition. He previously landed a cool four-year, $140 million contract extension back in 2019, justifying his capacity to emulate the things that LeBron James is doing.
This season, however, Wilson suffered a broken finger in Week 5, forcing him to miss a game for the first time in his lengthy career. He eventually sat out a total of three contests.
Wilson reportedly has a full-time performance team consisting of a trainer, physical therapist, and two chefs. He also trains roughly 363 days a year and only takes days off during Christmas and Thanksgiving. With the Seahawks hoping to get another Super Bowl title, they might need their quarterback to pull a Tom Brady and remain at the helm till his 40's.
The specifications of Wilson's training and recovery regimen are less documented compared to that of James' but the two athletes share a common desire to play at a high level and remain in their respective leagues as long as they could possibly be.
Follow Us
Subscribe