Managing the rigorous preparation demands of professional football is one of the most challenging aspects of the sport for NFL players. For New Orleans Saints veteran defensive end Cameron Jordan, preparing for the next game while giving his body enough rest to recover is a balancing act, one he’s perfected over the past five seasons in particular. I have been doing it. “I started when I was 9 years old,” he says of his extensive recovery routine. “I said I’d do it when I was older, and then the older one was a hit!”
The 35-year-old’s 14 seasons in New Orleans helped him decide exactly how to approach training, recovery, nutrition and rest throughout the week. The focus on preparation paid off. Jordan was an eight-time Pro Bowler, three-time All-Pro, and the Saints’ all-time career sack record. He is also the team’s active leader in games played, behind only former teammate Drew Brees.
Men’s Health interviewed Jordan on Sunday night after the Saints’ loss to the Denver Broncos on Thursday night. There are 10 days left between this loss and their next matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers (which resulted in a loss), but he is a stalwart on the Saints’ defense and is the father of four children under the age of 10 (son Tank is 9, Daughters Glory, 8, Mia, 6, and Chanel, 3) shared everything they incorporate into their routine for a typical week ahead of Sunday’s matchup.
Monday
I wake up at 6am only if my son doesn’t wake me up before. Tank is the only person in my life who naturally woke up before me. No alarm is set.
6:15am: First, go to the facility. There is a huge hyperbaric chamber. I plan to stay for at least an hour, preferably two hours. Start your day with a pump full of oxygen.
8am: Breakfast, probably egg whites, veggies, and protein. Oatmeal and maple syrup might be delicious. Toss the pecans in there. For now, pork is very good for your metabolism.
I get blood tests every 6-9 months and have a reliable system. My chiropractor and phlebotomist mother (Leon and Sarah Millman) created a system to accommodate his dietary needs. I like to compare and contrast the foods you should eat between the three different tests. So you know what makes you feel good and you have good energy. That way, you don’t have to worry about the details, the macros, and weighing every meal. Instead, I know this is good for my system and body, and I know what I need to feel my best.
It’s 9am, so I take the elevator because I have time. You may also be able to receive a school visit. I go to local schools and talk to kids for an hour or two about academics, health, bullying issues, etc. We make sure we have physical representation in our community who shows love and cares about our children beyond their parents. Return to facility by 10:30am and 10:45am.
11am: Team meeting. After a loss, it’s not as much of a fuss as you might think. It’s a cleanup, addressing what needs to be addressed and talking about the focus for the week. Some errors on the film are highlighted. No one likes it, but still, if you make a mess, you should be able to clean it up and improve it as soon as possible.
11:30 a.m.: Special teams meeting. Monday is a movie breakdown. Never ask how long a meeting is. Meetings can be short or long. Then there’s the defense conference, and then the D-line conference. When I look up, it’s between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m.
The defense and position meetings that we’re looking at, that’s the difference between you being in or not being in, or doing a good job. This is where you were and this is how to improve your technique. Position meetings will be held at Full Go. The remaining meetings this week will focus on the next opponent.
Lunch is scattered somewhere in there. I’m playing with the lightest feeling I’ve ever had. Typically, my weight is between 284 and 288 pounds and may go up to 290 pounds at the end of the season. He sits between 272 and 276 pounds this season. He’s fast on the edge, but when he’s between double teams, he lacks 15 pounds.
As soon as I get out of the meeting, I start preparing meals in my mini fridge. This year, I am doing well. I’m proud of myself this year. My food is dropped off and I am always provided with what I need rather than just grabbing something from the cafeteria.
3:30pm: Rehab with trainer. I didn’t do anything on Sunday, so Monday will probably be cupping. Acupuncture is not giving me the relief I need. Dry needling works better for me. So on Monday, I might shave my entire body, use small metal tools or cups, or both.
5 p.m.: Run home and ask to be told where to go. Because we have four kids and they’re all busy with something. Our two daughters play soccer, our son plays flag football and basketball, our oldest daughter plays soccer and volleyball, and our baby girl is taking swimming lessons.
For dinner, I still eat basic meals. No dessert. The woman who made my meal used three or four ingredients to make cookies that weren’t actually cookies: coconut flour, egg whites, pecan flour, and maple syrup. You can eat it any time of the day.
I’ve never been a sports drink person. If I feel dehydrated during or after a workout, I drink Recover 180, which is coconut water based. Otherwise it’s water. I also love grapefruit juice and grape juice. My body processes grapefruit juice very well. No, it’s coffee. Never. No caffeine. I have a lot of natural energy.
When I get home, I don’t know what I’m not doing in terms of recovery. I have a Game Ready unit at home. I have a small TheraBody air compression system.
8:15/8:30PM: Just before bed, I turn on my ARP (Accelerated Recovery Performance) machine. We run current through our systems, aligning our bodies correctly and creating stronger tendons. I turn on the film until my wife puts the kids away.
Tuesday
6am: Wake up. I don’t meditate in the morning. I tried, but it seems childish that I can’t sit still.
I don’t have to be the first person in the high pressure system on Tuesday. Tuesdays are my “off” day, so I usually don’t enter the facility until around 7:30 or 8 a.m. You can wake up in the morning and make breakfast for your family. My wife is a health freak. I do it for sports. She lifts more than me. She takes six days off a week. When I get back to normal (i.e. retire from soccer), I won’t be able to lift as much as I do now. In Arizona, where we live in the off-season, we have a gym at home. But in New Orleans, it’s different.
If you do not visit your school on Monday, we will visit you on Tuesday.
8 a.m.: I wish I could drop the kids off at school, roll into the facility, and then be under high pressure for an hour. The D-Line meets on Tuesday mornings. Newcomers bring their own breakfast. There are countless great spots around New Orleans, and there are so many great spots to visit. Sometimes we meet for an hour, an hour and a half, and then we move up as D-line.
Then I run outside. It’s not a treadmill. It’s not possible with my concentration. Run anywhere from three quarters of a mile to two miles. It’s somewhere in that range. This is followed by a sprint. Because you can’t build up your endurance or not use your fast-twitch muscles. Do 4-8 hill sprints or straight yards, so maybe 8 100s. Or run 1.5 miles and now have four 40s.
11 a.m.: Lunch with my wife if possible, or maybe an interview or two. My wife is a night owl, so I don’t think of it as a “date,” but I still date her.
1pm: I’m recording an episode of the Off the Edge podcast. Set aside two hours for this. I finish around 4 or 5 p.m., depending on when the talent can arrive. Then I wish I could pick up my kids from sports, go home, shower, and eat dinner. I try not to eat after 8pm on weekdays.
Tuesday is the day to take an Epsom salt bath, whether it’s lavender salt or eucalyptus salt. Sometimes I add arnica. You might fall asleep in the bath. No cold plunge. I’m from Arizona and the cold doesn’t suit my soul. I might do it once a year on the D-line before the playoffs — and they know I only get in there once.
Wednesday
Wake up at 6am, high pressure at 7:15am. The meeting starts at 8:30am, so I eat breakfast in the 10-15 minutes beforehand.
Same meeting outline as Monday. This is a meeting for the entire team, special teams, team defense, and defensive line. I look up and it’s 11am. Eat snacks like grapes, pecans, and popcorn with avocado or coconut oil. Or, if you’re really hungry, eat overnight oats. I constantly measure my hunger system.
12pm: Practice. After practice, I have turmeric shots with my buddy Damar Davis and one of the DB coaches. Just one or two shots of either turmeric and lemon or a shot of something with ginger. That’s what I call the death shot.
3:00 p.m.: After practice, it’s straight to rehabilitation and another maintenance round. Maybe your hamstrings weren’t at 100 percent, or maybe you needed precautions, cups, scrapes, active stretching, whatever you needed. Maybe it’s dry needling. Then more meetings, special teams meetings, and defense meetings.
4:50pm/5:15pm: I walk out the door, prepare the meal, run home, put the food in the microwave, and eat it while walking to my grandparents’ suite in the detached house. That’s where my deep tissue massage begins. It starts at 5:30 and lasts from 7:30 to 8:00, depending on the extent of the damage to the body.
8:30pm: I’m in bed. I was fitted with an ARP and a TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) unit. I think you should invest in your body. I wish I had started this habit sooner. I started at age 9 and it took me a long time to get more than weekly massages. It took me 10 years to enter a hot spring. I said, “I’ll do that when I grow up.” And the senior was a hit!
When I entered the league in 2011, being in the rehab room was a mistake. There was prejudice. Now it’s the other way around. If you’re not doing everything you can as a preventive measure, you’re not doing your best to become an optimal athlete. This is a time of more openness and advocacy.
I have a deep tissue man, a soft tissue man, and a woman who specializes in sports stretching and massage. I’m not interested in yoga or Pilates. I tried Pilates with my wife and yoga with my team. My attention span is like, Why are we here?
Thursday
Thursday’s routine is much the same as Wednesday’s, but every other Thursday night, instead of getting a massage at the end of the night, the defense meets at a steakhouse or taqueria. In between, we have D-line dinners, where 25 guys get together to eat, drink and watch football on Thursday nights, to just the D-line hanging out together. Who pays is determined by seniority and job group. Everyone participates. D line payments are made using credit card roulette. I’m a big supporter of credit card roulette. It has an amazing probability.
Friday
It could be a travel day. I have compression tights so I can wear them on the plane. Wear this if you’ll be in the air for more than 2 hours.
Other Fridays are usually half days if it is not a travel day. Instead of leaving the facility at 5 p.m., you will be leaving the facility at 2 p.m. There may also be an elevator available on Fridays.
If it were up to me, I’d be running more than I’m lifting. I lift 3 times a week. I need to run every day. I ride the elliptical, but I’m not satisfied. Friday will be the last day. If there are no special teams meetings, the morning will be on the oval.
2:00 p.m.: There will be a production meeting or media conference call. Then I get a flash massage and step into the hot tub. It’s about what you need to focus on heading into the weekend. Do you need an inversion table that flips over and hangs from your ankles?
I also often go to the chiropractor on Fridays and soak my feet in an ionic foot bath afterwards. It is said to draw toxins from the blood through the legs only.
Fridays are my kids’ nightly happy hour, where they order whatever they want for dinner, stay up late, and usually watch a movie. They usually say, “Dad, you go to bed first!”
Saturday
I’ll take my meals with me on the way. On a typical Saturday, I’m at the hotel for a team meeting at 8:00 p.m., 8:15 p.m. I get to the hotel by 6pm and do what I need to do to get ready for game day. Now it’s game day.
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