How Jamie Vardy keeps scoring at 37, including pre-match meal of three Red Bulls, double espresso and an omelette
THERE’S still life left in the old dog.
At the King Power Stadium on Monday Night Football, Jamie Vardy rescued a point for Leicester City in their 1-1 draw with Tottenham.
The Foxes forward, who turns 38 in January, then vowed to continue to make Premier League defender’s lives a nightmare.
He revealed: “I literally see age as just a number.
“As long as I keep looking after myself, and as long as my legs still feel great before training and games, then I’ll carry on for as long as physically as possible.
“I wouldn’t say I’m doing anything differently. I’m still trying to make the same runs. But the main thing is I’m looking after myself recovery wise, to the maximum. I’ve got everything I need at home.
“So Tuesday will be a recovery session at the training ground, and then go home and manage to double up on that.”
Vardy has spoken about his preparations before a match in the past.
He once admitted he consumed Skittles, Vodka and had a penchant for drinking Port from a Lucozade bottle.
Now, he’s swapped that for three cans of Red Bull, a double espresso, and a cheese and ham omelette.
When it comes to training, Vardy goes by his own schedule – often skipping training sessions to remain ready for match day.
While in his £2.5million Lincolnshire mansion, which he shares with Wag Rebekah Vardy, he uses a cryotherapy chamber and oxygen tent to aid recovery.
It’s those tricks of the trade that make Vardy still lethal at 37.
Food for thought
There might not be any science behind Vardy’s diet.
After all, it’s not as religious as Cristiano Ronaldo chowing down on fish and veg daily.
Back in 2016, he told SunSport: “With a traditional 3pm Saturday kick-off, I’ll have a can of Red Bull as soon as I wake up, which is gone in 30 seconds.
“I don’t have breakfast and won’t eat anything until I have a cheese-and-ham omelette with baked beans at 11.30am.
“I wash that down with another Red Bull, which I also neck quickly.
“While we’re waiting and killing a bit of time, I have a double espresso, normally with centre-half Marcin Wasilewski (now retired).
“We get into the dressing room an hour and a half before kick-off, and I’ll have a third can of Red Bull straight away.
“But with this one I sip it all the way until we go out for the warm-up, leaving a bit to finish off when I come back in.
“So three Red Bulls, a double espresso and a cheese-and-ham omelette is what makes me run around like a nutjob on a match day.”
That diet has stuck ever since, and clearly it’s working.
The science bit
Vardy knows his body better than anyone else.
He also understands what is needed to speed up his recovery time and stay match-fit.
In recent years, the hotshot striker installed a £15,000 cryo chamber and oxygen tent at his Lincolnshire home.
He also uses his swimming pool for hydrotherapy.
Vardy explained of his post-match routine: “I’ll get the massages, do cryotherapy in the pool, stretch and then go home.
“Then when I get home cryotherapy again, sauna and an hour in the oxygen tent, just to have a little hour to myself.”
Ex-manager Brendan Rodgers was full of praise for Vardy’s dedication to his craft in the past.
He said: “He (Vardy) clearly has the talent, he has the will, all we’ve tried to do is manage him to maximise what we can get out of him.
“With his running, his intensity, that’s when he’s at his best. There’s no sign of it stopping because he is looking after himself. He has everything here to help in his recovery and recuperation after games, and he’s also invested a lot of money into items to have at home.
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“He has machines at home where he can be constantly recovering, the cryo-chambers, so he’s invested a lot of money into that.
“He’s very focused on prolonging his career, and he knows that he needs to be as healthy as he can be, and a big part of that at his age is the recovery process.”
Rodgers added: “He’s a brilliant professional and he’s trying to ensure his career goes on as long as it can.”
Modified training
Alongside his diet and recovery tools, Vardy has his own tailor-made training regime at Leicester.
This has, without doubt, had an impact on his longevity in the game.
He doesn’t train as rigorously as he once did when he lifted the Premier League trophy in 2016.
Instead, his sessions are modified and, sometimes, infrequent.
Vardy has been known to skip training when his body isn’t up to it and save himself for games.
He also does his own conditioning work, although this doesn’t extend to lifting heavy weights.
Vardy has vowed to continue playing at the top level until he’s in his forties.
Judging by the prep he puts in, you wouldn’t put it past him.