Lionel Messi, 35, Swears by These 5 Fitness & Diet Habits
Following Argentina's impressive 2022 World Cup victory, Lionel Messi—aka the GOAT—has his very first FIFA World Cup win under his belt. Fans went wild in the Qatar stadium, at home, and in bars across the entire world, raising a toast when Argentina scored a total of four penalty kicks against France's two to break the game's 3-3 tie that went into overtime. (Oh, and if you're looking to score a Messi jersey, Adidas has sold out of them worldwide!)
Lionel Messi led his team to victory, and we're here to share everything we know about this pro footballer's fitness, wellness, and diet habits that make him the true star he is. Keep reading, and for more, don't miss The 5 Eating Habits Cristiano Ronaldo Swears By.
Lionel Messi drinks a lot of water and consumes raw foods.
Messi has worked with an Italian nutritionist named Guiliano Poser to help keep him on the right track with his diet. According to AskMen India, Messi incorporates a lot of olive oil, fresh fruits and veggies, water, seeds, nuts, and whole grains into his meals. In fact, a good portion of his diet consists of raw foods, which apparently give the star a solid energy boost.
He avoids sugar, fried foods, and processed carbs.
"[Sugar] is the worst thing for the muscles. The farther he stays away from sugars, the better," Poser previously told Mundo Derpotivo (via The Independent), adding, "Refined flours are also a big problem as these days, it's difficult to find uncontaminated wheat."
This pro footballer avoids artificial sweeteners, processed carbs, fried foods, and alcohol. Messi also decreased the amount of meat he consumes, according to Fitness Volt. In order to ensure he's getting his necessary fill of daily protein, he enjoys up to three protein shakes.
His favorite recipe is roast chicken with root veggies.
According to the official FC Barcelona website, Messi's favorite recipe is roasted chicken with root vegetables. This dish is chock-full of nutrients, as it draws protein from the lean meat, energy and complex carbs from the potatoes, and vitamins from the veggies. Lean protein like chicken is a stellar way to get your fill of amino acids that aid in sculpting muscle tissue, according to WebMD.
He's all about speed and agility during workouts.
As far as fitness is concerned, Messi's sweat sessions mainly focus on speed and agility, according to Pinata (via Goal), which should be no surprise if you've seen him sprinting and showing off his epic skills on the soccer field. When it comes to basic movement, Messi performs exercises like lunges, split squats, hurdle hops, and hamstring stretches. To really work the muscles in his lower body, Messi will do moves like skipping ropes, pillar skips, and squats.
He trains his core.
If you've looked at Lionel Messi's Instagram page, you've undoubtedly seen his washboard abs. In addition to working out his legs and doing cardio on the treadmill, Messi shows his core some proper TLC so he can successfully conquer the field. The footballer focuses on exercises like sit-ups and Russian twists with weight plates. According to AskMen India, these go-to moves were also key players in his home workout routine during the pandemic.
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