Report: Derrick Henry spends $240K on 'body maintenance' to stay in top shape

Derrick Henry switched from the Titans to the Ravens this off season, going from a mediocre team to one of the top ones in the league. And he’s also a running back trying to out sprint ahead of aging. After all, he’ll be 31 in January.

But the running back, the former Alabama star known to most as “King Henry,” has a plan for staying dominant for many more years. The newest Ravens running back works out every day and uses unique and pricy training methods. He follows the methods religiously.

The Athletic, in a story posted this week, said Henry spends an extra $240,000 a year on what it describes as “body maintenance.” This includes a personal chef, who prepares all the running back’s meals, that is when Henry decides to eat.

Henry doesn’t like to consume his first meal during the season until at least 4 p.m. He’ll follow that up with another meal at 8. And when he eats, he eats lots of specific kinds of foods.

“I probably eat three chicken breasts, some rice and broccoli,” Derrick Henry told The Athletic. “Then I have some gluten-free pancakes, scrambled eggs, diced potatoes, home fries and some steak.”

There are other dietary restrictions. He won’t eat fried foods or dairy, gluten or anything laden with artificial sugars.

Now, once Ravens training camp begins Sunday, Henry will eat something before he practices. He’ll consume some kale, maybe a banana or an avocado. And he takes heaping doses of vitamins and supplements. The Athletic said that Henry takes an IV infusion of CoQ10 and vitamin E, with some other nutrients blended in, three days a week. An athlete would take CoQ10 to reduce inflammation linked to exercise. The supplement also can help speed up recovery and reduce damage on muscles. Vitamin E also helps with recovery.

Derrick Henry starts two-a-days — when the season ends

Then there is all the extra working out that Henry does to prepare for the NFL season or keep in in shape during it or when it’s finished. The Athletic said Henry does his own personal two-a-day practices — after the season ends.

Henry is pretty religious about the workouts. The Ravens running back says “If I am going to spend time somewhere,” he says, “it probably will be a gym because that’s what I love doing.”

The Athletic described some specific kinds of drills. He’ll run 10 sprints up a 100-yard hill. He’ll do arm curls using 80-pound weights. And he’ll work on his quadriceps and glutes with 120-pound weights as he does Bulgarian split squats.

And at age 30, recovery also is of premium importance. He uses hyperbaric oxygen treatment, which helps the blood reach his muscles and other body tissue. Studies show it can help speed up recovery from injury by up to 50 percent. There’s an infrared sauna which treats soreness and stiffness. He uses cold therapy to treat inflammation. And of course, there’s old school massage.

Before signing a two-year, $16 million deal with the Ravens, Henry only had played for the Titans. But he dropped hints last fall that he’d like a change of venue, maybe going from Nashville to Baltimore. The Ravens seem like a perfect place for Henry’s talents. With Lamar Jackson under center, the Ravens running game could be the most effective in the NFL.

He’s rushed for at least 1,000 yards in five of his past six seasons. putting together years of 2,027 (2020), 1,540 (2019) and 1,538 (2022). His production took a dip — by Henry’s standards — last season when he rushed for only 1,167 yards. His 280 carries were the fewest since 2018. We’re not counting the 219 he had in 2021 when he missed half the season with a Jones fracture.