One of the most well-known basketball players in the world is LeBron James. He’s played for the Miami Heat, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA.
He’s ridiculous on the court, so what’s his secret to staying so ripped? He takes supplements on top of regular workout routines, so here are the things to take if you want to model your routine after LeBron James.
Also referred to as King James, LeBron James is considered to be the GOAT of basketball. He’s won three NBA titles with his three different teams, and he was a basketball prodigy from the start. He was drafted by the Cavaliers right out of high school in 2003, and he signed an endorsement deal with Nike that same year. He’s been named the NBA’s MVP four different times.
While he is an NBA player, he is also quite the superstar. He’s been in movies, a remake of Space Jam recently, and tv shows. Because he plays basketball every day, LeBron keeps up a very strict diet, workout routine, and supplement stack. He does not eat sugars, processed foods, or foods that are high in fat.
He was born in Akron, Ohio on December 30, 1984. He was considered to be a basketball prodigy since he was in elementary school, and he was named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball three times. When he was a junior in high school, he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and named “The Chosen One”.
This made LeBron a national sensation, and he was the first overall selection by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA draft. He also signed an endorsement contract with Nike before he played a single game of professional basketball.
After his contract with the Cavaliers expired in 2010, he signed with the Miami Heat. He continued putting up amazing numbers and breaking records during his time with the Heat. He won two MVP awards while he was with the Heat, and he led the Heat to an NBA championship win in the 2013 season. He returned to Cleveland the following year.
He’s now with the Los Angeles Lakers, and he has been since 2018. He won the NBA championship with the Lakers in 2020. He’s won both bronze and gold medals in the Olympics, and he has a memoir about his time playing basketball in high school called Shooting Stars.
Protein is very important to help people who work out a lot to improve their health. Supplementing protein is very common because it ensures that you won’t lose the necessary proteins when working out. Protein powders are made from milk, eggs, soy, rice, or peas.
Many people don’t know what supplement companies are trustworthy, but one company that is very trustworthy is Steel Supplements. All of their products are NSF Certified for Sport, which means that their products don’t have misleading labels and unsafe levels of toxins like mercury or arsenic. Remember that protein supplements aren’t always necessary, and you shouldn’t take more than is recommended.
Protein is recommended by 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Athletes in training tend to consume more than double the recommended allowance, but it isn’t always necessary for people who aren’t in training.
If you’re thinking of upping your protein intake, take a look at your diet first to see if you could increase your protein intake by eating more foods that have protein.
Foods that are high in protein include:
“The Scoop On Protein Powder” from Harvard Medical School is a good source to look into when learning more about protein shakes. LeBron does not take a lot of supplements, but he takes a few.
One of the closest ones to what he takes (not the exact one) in our store is Steel Supplements’ Veg-Pro Plant-Based Protein Powder.
This is a post-workout protein shake powder that comes in hot cocoa, peanut butter, chocolate, peanut butter and jelly, snickerdoodle, vanilla cream pie, strawberry cheesecake, butter pecan, blueberry muffin, banana pancakes, and cookies and cream flavors.
LeBron prefers chocolate flavors for his post-workout shakes, so he goes with the cookies and cream, chocolate, or hot cocoa.
Whichever flavor you choose, there are some specific things about this plant protein powder that everyone should know.
A study about this supplement found that this whey protein will have the same effect on muscle thickness, body composition, and overall performance as a pea protein. Your health profile will most likely improve from taking this plant protein as well. It’s full of probiotics and will help you achieve your fitness goals.
The other supplement we offer that LeBron James would probably enjoy is Steel Supplements’ Charged-AF Strong Energy & Focus Pre-Workout Protein Powder.
It comes in three flavors: candy bliss, strawberry watermelon, and blueberry kiwi. This supplement is designed to pump you up and give you lots of energy before your workout. And you are going to need lots of energy if you want to do a LeBron James workout.
This supplement has been proven to:
This supplement won’t make you crash after a long, energetic workout. You should take Charged-AF about 30 minutes before your workout, and you should start with a ¼ scoop before increasing to one full scoop gradually. It shouldn’t take this supplement with any other pre-workout supplement because it’s very high potency.
Coffee should be drunk six or eight hours before or after you’ve drunk Charged-AF, and this supplement won’t show up on a drug test. There is about 260 mg of caffeine in one full scoop of Charged-AF.
It also includes vitamin B6 and B12, which help the body produce serotonin and help in the production of DNA, respectively. Another pre-workout supplement is Pre, and you can learn everything about it here.
Being an Olympic basketball player, LeBron James has a very rigorous workout routine. He’s disciplined, and you will have to be too if you want to see results.
LeBron’s trainer Mike Macias has helped him devise a specific routine to follow every week:
Every Monday, LeBron does an upper body workout, including chest, shoulders, and triceps. He starts with incline dumbbell bench presses. Next, LeBron does one-arm dumbbell military presses. After those, he does wide-grip lat pulldowns. Finally, he does one-arm dumbbell rows. For all of these, LeBron does three sets of ten reps, and if it requires only one arm, then he does three sets of ten reps for each arm.
Tuesdays are a little more laid back; LeBron does spin training and plyometric exercises. He takes spin fitness classes that range between 30 minutes to an hour, and then, he does plyometric exercises. He does supersets of these, and they include lunges, push-ups, step climbing, skipping, push-up hops, and jump squats.
He picks up the pace on Wednesdays by doing biceps, traps, and back. He does three sets of 15 chin-ups, four sets of 12 standing bicep curls with a barbell, and four sets of 12 barbell bent-over rows. LeBron also does three sets of ten wide grip pull-ups and another three sets of ten regular grip pull-ups.
Thursdays are by far the most intensive days that LeBron does. On Thursdays, LeBron does his cardio and gym sessions. He does 30 minutes of jump rope, three sets of eight or ten pull-ups, and three sets of 10 dumbbell bench presses. Next, he does three sets of ten single-arm cable rows per arm, three sets of six or eight single-arm overhead presses per arm, and three sets of ten leg curls.
These days are for the lower half of the body; Fridays mean legs, calves, and other lower body exercises.
LeBron does each of the following:
He sometimes adds a ten-minute uphill bike ride or treadmill run; however, he prefers the bike ride because it improves your stamina more.
After the tiring Fridays he has, LeBron does his Tuesday routine of spin and plyometrics again. These days are just as important as the intense days because they help maintain stamina, and it’s hard to have good workouts if you don’t have a lot of stamina.
Rest. Hydration is key for every day, but LeBron especially hydrates on his rest days. He also uses a cryotherapy chamber to help his body recover from the week. This schedule is for the off-season; LeBron works out every day of the week during the regular season and playoffs. He also plays basketball at some point every day. He averages about 12 hours of sleep every day too.
LeBron spends about 1.5 million dollars on his body.
When LeBron suffered from a back injury in 2015, he recruited Navy SEAL turned biomechanist Donnie Raimon. Raimon is now on LeBron’s team of full-time personal trainers and fitness experts. Because LeBron spends so much money a year on fitness, it must go to things that are very expensive.
LeBron invested in a cryotherapy chamber to keep in his house to make sure that he has optimal blood circulation and muscle recovery. He also uses a hyperbaric chamber to increase his oxygen levels and his mental acuity. He wears special compression sleeves, boots, and shorts.
On after-game flights, LeBron uses an electrostimulation machine to flush out toxins and contract his muscles. He’s an avid fan of manicures, massages, and ice baths. Even though LeBron has a home gym, everything about his regular workout can be done in a normal gym.
Not everyone has the ability to spend 1.5 million dollars on fitness every year, so it’s not a big deal if you can’t do everything that he does. After all, he is King James.
LeBron follows the basic diet plan of healthy carbs mean energy and protein means recovery. The list of what LeBron does not eat might be shorter, but that is because it includes broader food groups. He uses a nutritionist to help him maintain a healthy lifestyle and promote weight loss and wellness.
On game days, LeBron eats chicken breast and pasta or salads and superfood greens. As a pre-game snack, he eats some fruits and has a protein shake. Instead of eating three regular-sized meals every day, LeBron eats six smaller meals.
He spreads them out so they are eaten about two to three hours apart. He has a personal chef, so he does not have to worry about cooking anything, but his meals are mostly made of fruits and veggies.
The Best Food For Athletes To Eat Before A Competition
During the regular basketball season, LeBron does not take in as many sugars as he normally does because he thinks it slows his recovery time. However, because he does not eat as many sugary foods, he needs to keep his energy level high. So, he eats more carbs during this time.
Around 2014, people started noticing that LeBron looked a lot skinnier than he had in the past. Many people close to him had been saying that he didn’t have much of a diet before this time and ate whatever he wanted. LeBron had taken an in-depth look at his health, and he decided to make a change. LeBron explained that he cut out dairy, carbs, and sugar and only ate veggies, fruit, meat, and fish for almost 70 days straight.
Several former teammates, including Tristan Thompson, said that LeBron didn’t have much of a diet plan for many years and ate large amounts of sugar daily. Now, LeBron occasionally has a glass of wine with a meal or a cookie for dessert. His diet has changed quite dramatically, and it’s all for the best because he’s in the best shape of his life.
LeBron is sponsored by Coca-Cola, so he exclusively drinks Powerade. All of the NBA is sponsored by PepsiCo. While everyone around him is drinking Gatorade and using Gatorade towels, he’s drinking Powerade to get his electrolytes.
Powerade also provides him with sugars that will give him energy while he’s playing basketball or working out. While LeBron drinks Powerade, many experts consider Gatorade to be better because it replaces sodium loss more efficiently than Powerade does.
It doesn’t cost a lot to work out the same way as LeBron James, but it might cost a little bit more to eat like him. Considering he has a personal chef (and he makes almost 40 million every year), he doesn’t have to worry about how expensive eating healthier is. One thing you can definitely imitate is his supplement stack and his workout routine.
If you are looking to get jacked like LeBron, we suggest the following supplement stack: Charged-AF costs $50 for a container that produces about 30 servings, and Veg-Pro is $35 for a container that has about 25 servings. Gym memberships don’t cost too much either, and it’ll be worth it in the end. While LeBron is necessarily shredded, he maintains a good routine that keeps him healthy and fit.
