The NBA was one of the first U.S. sports leagues to suspend play due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, and that means that LeBron James has been waiting for a very long time to get back on the court. Don’t think that the 35-year-old champion has been slacking off during his time away. In fact, the Los Angeles Lakers star looks better than ever in the video he uploaded to his Instagram on May 3. “Staying POISED, PRIMED, and PREPPED for whenever it’s time to punch [the clock] again,” he captioned the visual of him working out (made by trainer Mike Mancias.)
LeBron’s workout is – in a single word – intense. Anyone watching will want to do a quick rep of sit-ups because LeBron punishes his abs. He starts off with some hanging reverse crunches, a quick jog on the treadmill, a few sled pushes, and more activities that would give anyone a six-pack. The video comes a week after LeBron shared a clip of him getting even more cut by doing “all band and core work! Let’s work, folks! Who’s with me??? #Striveforgreatness.” Needless to say, when the NBA gets the green light to finish off the 2019-20 season, LeBron will be the first one suited up.
“Saw some reports about execs and agents wanting to cancel season???” he tweeted on April 30, after reports claimed that some higher-ups wanted to cut the season short and focus on the impending 2020-21 season. “That’s absolutely not true,” wrote LeBron. “Nobody I know saying anything like that. As soon as it’s safe, we would like to finish our season. I’m ready, and our team is ready. Nobody should be canceling anything.”
How does a champ stay looking so fit in his mid-30s? “We do everything under the sun, from prehab treatments to strength training, in order to help curtail injuries,” LeBron’s trainer and nutritionist, Mike Mancias, told GQ in March 2019, shortly after the NBA star suffered a groin injury. As for what kind of fuel goes into an NBA icon, Mike said, “We’ve eliminated extra carbohydrates and extra sugars in order for him to drop the weight because the more weight he’s carrying around, the more stress that can be on the body.”
When asked if Mike has to crack the whip when it comes to cheat days and snacking, he told GQ that LeBron cheating on his diet isn’t a problem. “After 15 years of working together, I joke with everyone, ‘This machine runs itself.’ We’ve seen the trends, and we’ve tried some of them, and at this point, he is so regimented. We’ve educated ourselves together throughout these years, so we can tell when something is just a trend or a fad, and we stay away from that. We keep it simple.”
Mike said, at the time, that LeBron’s breakfast includes an egg-white omelet with a couple pieces of French toast, either turkey bacon or turkey sausage, and a nice avocado on the side. For snacks, he munches on dehydrated fruit and mixed nuts, with a protein shake pre- or post-practice. However, he added that he and LeBron’s chef have “tweaked his diet over the years,” so he might be chowing down on something entirely different to look so buff nowadays.
