Saquon Barkley is an electrifying game-changing talent with breakaway speed. That gravity-defying reverse hurdle wasn’t just a freak play; it was a reminder of why Barkley is considered the greatest Running Back of this generation. His dedication extends beyond the field, encompassing a disciplined approach to diet and exercise that keeps him in peak condition. This article delves into the details of Saquon Barkley's diet and workout routine, exploring the principles and practices that contribute to his success.
The Foundation: A Healthy Lifestyle
Saquon Barkley prioritizes a healthy lifestyle to fuel his body accordingly. He is a dedicated and disciplined player who focuses on his daily habits to maintain his greatness. This month, Saquon Barkley continued to emphasize health and wellness both as a football player, as well as personally.
The Importance of Breakfast
"Staying fit and strong is a year-round commitment for me, and it all starts with a good breakfast,” said Barkley. He never overcomplicates his breakfast, instead going for a simple meal which is effective to kick start his day. Later he fuelled his body for the mental tone of the day.
Saquon Barkley emphasizes the importance of breakfast in his daily routine. In teaming up with Barkley, the company highlighted its dedication to fitness and one’s overall well-being. According to Barkley, "the most important meal of the day is breakfast." He prefers a healthy breakfast. This smoothie contains a blend of fruits, vegetable protein powder, and a healthy amount of fats.
Barkley has partnered with Silk for their Feel Planty Good Challenge, highlighting the importance of incorporating plant-based nutrition into morning routines. He promotes a simple smoothie with a tasty recipe, emphasizing that "a lot of people overthink it when it comes to breakfast."
Read also: The Hoxsey Diet
Hydration is Key
He follows the quote that water is the most important nutrient and stays hydrated throughout the day.
Diet: Macronutrients and Healthy Choices
Saquon Barkley focuses on his macronutrient amount which includes protein carbohydrates and healthy fat in his diet. He believes that all carbohydrates are not the same. He prefers complex carbohydrates like brown rice, sweet potatoes, whole grains, quinoa, and oatmeal to sustain energy throughout the day.
Protein Sources
For protein, he prefers chicken fish beans.
Carbohydrates for Sustained Energy
He prefers complex carbohydrates like brown rice, sweet potatoes, whole grains, quinoa, and oatmeal to sustain energy throughout the day.
Healthy Fats for Hormone Regulation
He likes to add healthy fats like nuts, avocado, seeds, and olive oil to balance his hormone regulation and brain function for the cells' healthy working.
Read also: Walnut Keto Guide
Plant-Based Smoothies
He loves his special plant-based smoothies and has them at least once a day.
Training: Strength, Skill, and Agility
Saquon Barkley is one of the best players in the NFL. That status doesn't come by talent alone-Barkley works hard to make sure his body is in prime condition before the season. To sharpen his skill he focuses on perfecting his running technique, footwork, field drill, and agility.
To maintain his insane explosiveness, Barkley incorporates "animal work" into his routine, a type of quadrupedal movement training (QMT) that mimics the way animals move. Developed by movement coach Mike Fitch, Animal Flow blends strength, mobility, coordination, and endurance into a single functional training system. The Animal Flow technique challenges the body to move in all planes-forward, backward, laterally, and rotationally, unlike a simple bicep curl, which only targets a single muscle.
Strength Training
He focuses on building his strength by adopting exercises like squats, deadlifts, and lunges for his lower body.
Skill Development
To sharpen his skill he focuses on perfecting his running technique, footwork, field drill, and agility.
Read also: Weight Loss with Low-FODMAP
Offseason Workout
In a YouTube video, he takes fans and viewers through his offseason workout. The video shows some of the ways that Barkley works on his speed and strength to put together his signature all-around game, as he's known as a lightening-quick but also tremendously powerful back. Barkley's legs get much of the attention, but this video, posted by the New York Giants, shows him going through a full gauntlet of work, blasting his core, arms, and honing his overall athleticism as well.
Men's Health Fitness Director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S gives five tips and takeaways from Barkley's video that show how one of the NFL's best-known physiques stays sharp
- Don’t Sweat the Barbells (0:27)
Instead, he does other press variations, pressing with dumbbells and doing several variations of pushups. Take a cue from Barkley and limit how often you attack barbell benching in your workouts. Barkley’s plenty strong, but he’s skipping that glamour lift in favor of dumbbell incline work and several variations of bodyweight pushups.
- Band-Resisted Chinups (0:20)
If you’ve gotten to the point where chinups and pullups seem easy, this is an excellent way to level them up. You could also add a weight belt or vest to up the challenge, but bands lend something unique to the chinup: They’re at their most resistive when you’re at your highest. That helps you learn to really squeeze your back muscles. Also note that Barkley is doing chinups instead of pullups; especially if you have shoulder issues, chinups, which shift your shoulders closer to external rotation, may be easier.
- Band-Resisted Bottoms Up Kettlebell Pulses (0:23)
At this point, Barkley is doing bottoms-up kettlebell shoulder press pulses with banded resistance. This isn’t a move you’ll see, well, almost anywhere, but it’s all about shoulder and wrist stability. The upside-down kettlebell position forces Barkley to focus on keeping his forearm vertical and applying as much force as possible going directly upwards. Meanwhile, that light band forces his back and rotator cuff muscles to turn on to maintain that position. Use a light resistance band and a light kettlebell if you try this and think of doing it for time (30 seconds to a side) instead of reps. It’s a good drill to help bulletproof your shoulders.
- Swiss Ball Rollout to Pike-Up (0:46)
Here, Barkley does Swiss ball rollouts to pike-ups. This is a great and move for both core and shoulder stability. When you pike upwards, you’ll attack your abs, build shoulder strength and mobility. Rolling out will hit your abs and lower back muscles, and when you press all the way back, it’ll again help train your shoulder stability. This is a good ab move to finish out a workout, or a good way to warm up shoulders and core. And it’s more challenging than you think.
- NFL-Level Weighted Inverted Rows (0:04)
This is an easy way to progress the standard inverted row if it’s gotten too easy, although note that Barkley’s training partner stays close to him the entire time to control the weight. Also note that Barkley isn’t driving his chest to a bar or driving up super-high. It’s a reminder that you don’t need to drive chest to bar on inverted rows. If you can, great, but it’s not a requirement.
Mental Fortitude: Loving the Game
For me, the biggest thing that comes to my mind is to fall in love with the game of football. Every year it’s a new challenge. Every year there’s different opportunities and you see the business side of it, but it’s just getting back to that mind space where you’re a seven-year-old, eight-year-old kid and you’re out there just having fun. I think I kind of fell into the, still loving the game, but more of as a competitor, just knowing that you’re out there on the field and there’s another man over there who’s trying to beat you and trying to have a better game than you and try to make sure you don’t have a successful day. It’s a great reason to drive you too. But I feel like it’s also important as I feel like I play or my better years or my better games is what I’m out there, I’m just free. So just being free, that’s probably my biggest thing.
Durability
"The best ability is durability," Barkley says at the end of the video.
Personal Life and Values
Saquon Barkley lives in Philadelphia with his parents. The house is owned by his parents and he has a comfortable and spacious living space.
Family
Saquon has been in a committed relationship with his girlfriend Anna Congdon since 2016. They met in his college Penn State. They have a daughter Jada Clare and a son Saquon Jr. He prioritizes his family time to remember his strong pillar of support with nurturing relationships.
Philanthropy
He also supports the foundation for youth sports and fights homelessness to show his passion for giving back to the community and helping others.
Financial Success
Saquon Barkley has a net worth of $32 million. NFL salary and endorsement deals play an important role in boosting his net worth.