Michael Jordan used to eat a whole steak before suiting up for the Chicago Bulls and his trainer, Tim Grover, explains to us why he did so.
Stories surrounding Michael Jordan’s unorthodox approach to games are the stuff of legend. Everything from his animalistic yet calculative mentality to the way he trained himself night in and night out to take the beating the ‘Bad Boy’ Pistons gave him, Jordan was most definitely cut from a cloth that’s not been in production for a while now.
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After employing the aid of personal trainer Tim Grover in 1989, Michael Jordan clearly took his game to another level. Grover jotted out meal plans, training regimes, and everything else in between. Making sure that Tim Grover remained exclusive to him was perhaps one of the best off court decisions Jordan had made in his career.
As mentioned before, Grover would consult with a bevy of nutritionalists on how to plan out no.23’s meals and pregame meals are some of the most meals of the day. Of course, Jordan decided to do things his own way however.
Michael Jordan had a steak before every game.
Most pregame/ pre-workout meals usually revolve around something light and easily digestible. There is no hard and fast rule that only carbohydrates or proteins can be ingested in this period. Some prefer having chicken breast and other prefer eating a bowl of brown rice. To each their own. Michael Jordan went against conventional logic and indulged in a whole steak before games.
“Back in the 80s and 90s, the nutrition prescription for athletes was carbs, carbs, and more carbs. Everyone was eating rice and pasta for fuel but that wasn’t for MJ,” said Tim Grover. “Aside from feeling bloated, he was playing so hard that it wasn’t enough for him. “
“When the team was playing at home, he was eating at 3:30 in order to get to the stadium by 6:00. He was starving by the 7:30 game time and by the 4th quarter, had his energy depleted.”
“I’m telling you that we had to devise a new plan for Michael, based on his body chemistry and schedule, his playing minutes, and the massive amount of energy he expended on the court. The steak slowed down his digestion of everything else he was eating and kept his blood sugar consistent.”
It seems as though Michael Jordan fell in love with steak so much so that he decided to open his own steakhouse appropriately named, ‘Michael Jordan’s SteakHouse’.
