admin In September, when Marcedes Lewis suits up for the Chicago Bears’ season opener (facing his former team, the Green Bay Packers), he’ll begin his 18th NFL season. In one sense, that makes the 39-year-old the last man standing—this year, Lewis will be the only active player from the 2006 NFL Draft. And he doesn’t appear to be slowing down. The tight end started every game for the Packers last season; he’s played in double-digit games every season but one since 2006.
So how has he found such longevity and stability while playing such a physical position? Marcedes Lewis says it’s a combination of the physical and mental–and a routine that the 6’6”, 267-lb. California native doesn’t deviate from. “I think my will and my growth mindset has me in the position I’m in now,” Lewis says.
We talked to Lewis in May, prior to his signing a one-year contract with the Bears, and again last week as he settled into his Chicago-area apartment, about how he trains in the off-season and how his mindset and durability has evolved over 18 (and counting) NFL seasons.
To start, what does an off-season workout day look like for you?
I’ll give you a typical day because it’s pretty much that on repeat. I wake up around 6 or 6:30AM. On Monday/Wednesday/Friday, I’m at the gym first. We’ll normally do upper body and then lower body. Friday is total body. Saturday is an active recovery, which is getting rid of the lactic acid. We go to the track to do that: striders, jogging, I’ll get just over 2,500 yards on a Saturday.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we’re on the track at 6:45AM before lifting. I’ll get about 2,000 yards in. Tuesday is more sprint-emphasis; Thursday is more distance, endurance–400 meter sprints, mile fartlek, more of that nature.
Wednesday is normally an active recovery day—that’s my MMA day. My muay thai, jujitsu, to keep the blood flow and not bang on my joints.
Do you design your own workouts?
My trainer is Jamal Liggin—I’ve been working with him since the 2011 off-season. We know each other, he knows my body. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be able to do some of the stuff I do.
You’re 39 years old. You’ve managed to avoid any major surgeries over more than three decades of playing football. I imagine recovery is a big focus, as well.
As I talk to you (in May), I’m in the sauna. Literally. I put you on Bluetooth. I came to The Remedy Place. I’m an investor. Think of a recovery facility mixed with the Soho House—it’s a members-only, social health and wellness club.
Typically, when I come into recovery, I’ll do an infrared sauna for 45 minutes and then the cold tub for 15 minutes. That’s non-negotiable. After that, depending on how my body feels, I will add on what I need: synthetic drainage boots, medical-grade—I’ll be in there for an hour where I’ll read or nap or work. If I do that on Wednesday, then Thursday may be the hyperbaric chamber for an hour. Acupuncture, active release with muscles, massage. Every now and then I’ll slip in cryotherapy.
