More than $1 million a year. That is what Cristiano Ronaldo invests in maintaining himself as the elite athlete he still is at 41, playing for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia. The figure is impressive, but what really stands out are the 7 specific habits behind that body with barely 7% body fat.
His diet is perhaps the most accessible pillar: no sugar, no alcohol, and no fast food. Grilled fish, chicken, eggs, brown rice, and avocado spread across six meals a day. He drinks between 3 and 4 liters of water with electrolytes, and years ago he said goodbye to soft drinks — something that was etched into the collective memory when he removed some Coca-Cola bottles during a Euro 2021 press conference. As for rest, he does not sleep eight hours straight: he splits his sleep into five or six short naps throughout the day, a polyphasic method that, according to his collaborators, optimizes muscle recovery.
He rounds out the rest with expensive technology: a cryotherapy chamber, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, ice baths, and red light therapy at home. Plus two training sessions a day when the schedule allows. Not everything is replicable on that budget, of course, but a clean diet and strategic sleep do not cost a million. 💪
