Whether or not you’re a soccer fan, Lionel Messi is pretty much a name most people recognize. From an amazing career at FC Barcelona to leading his country to World Cup victory, I was always intrigued by how he approached his physical conditioning.
So, I got a friend of mine who’s a soccer coach to help me out with some research. After two days of going through interviews, documentaries, and social media posts, we came up with Lionel Messi's workout routine.
Here’s what you need to get yourself into.
Lionel Messi Stats
- Born: June 24, 1987
- Height: 5’7”
- Weight: 150 lbs
- Waist: 34”
- Chest: 43”
Lionel Messi’s Workout Routine
Lionel Messi has been going through tough soccer training since a very young age. And all those endless hours of fitness, skills, and weight training have ultimately led to Messi’s speed and strength.
Let’s take a look at the physical fitness side of his daily training.
Monday: Linear Speed Training
Lionel Messi's linear speed workout is all about building up the core and leg muscles. It’s this part of his workout routine that is most responsible for the incredible speed he has on the pitch.
Here are the drills you need to go through, with speed being a big factor in some of them:
- Knee-high lunges (2 sets of 8 reps on each side)
- Pillar bridge (2 sets of 45 seconds)
- Inverted hamstring stretches (2 sets of 4 reps)
- Pillar skips (2 sets of 15 yards on each side)
- Fast feet (2 sets of 30 seconds)
- Hurdle jumps (2 sets of 5 reps)
- Split squats (2 sets of 8 reps on each side)
- Sprint jogs (2 sets of 90 seconds)
- Acceleration drill (6 sets of 5 reps at different speeds)
Tuesday: Multi-Direction Speed Training
- Pillar bridge (2 sets of 45 seconds)
- Inverted hamstring stretches (2 sets of 4 reps)
- Split squats (2 sets of 8 reps on each side)
- Fast feet (2 sets of 30 seconds)
- Pillar skips (2 sets of 15 yards on each side)
- Lateral hurdle jumps (2 sets of 5 reps)
- Lateral speed shuffle (2 sets of 45 seconds)
- Lateral speed high hurdle hop (2 sets of 45 seconds)
- Lateral speed low hurdle hop (2 sets of 45 seconds)
- Speed mirror drills (2 sets of 45 seconds)
Wednesday: Linear Speed Training
Lionel Messi's training for Wednesday looks very much the same as Monday's. What I would say is that you should try to mix up the order of the workouts in order to achieve some more training variety.
This has been shown to have positive effects on how your muscles react and build [1].
Thursday: Multi-Direction Speed Training
This session is a repeat of Tuesday’s training. You can dial up the intensity, and I highly recommend changing the order of the exercises as well.
Friday: High-Intensity Cardio
During our research, we couldn’t find exact evidence of Lionel Messi's cardio approach. But my soccer coach friend gave me this one that he uses with his team:
- 5 minutes of skipping ropes
- 15 minutes of treadmill sprinting
- 10 minutes of moderate rowing
- 15 minutes of high-intensity elliptical
- 30 minutes of treadmill jogging
Saturday/Sunday: Rest
Messi still trains on weekends, and this is also where a lot of the matches take place. So, this is by no means a time to sit around and feel sorry for yourself.
“I start early and I stay late, day after day, year after year, it took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success.”
- Lionel Messi
What’s His Diet Plan?
Lionel Messi's diet plan has drastically changed toward healthy eating in recent years. He has said that in his younger days, he often ate junk food and treats. But now he focuses on a balanced diet designed to help him achieve and maintain maximum fitness levels.
He now works with Italian nutritionist Giuliano Poser. As a result, Lionel Messi avoids sugar and simple and processed carbs, which include flour [2].
Here’s what a typical day might look like:
- Breakfast: Fresh fruit and berries with Greek yogurt and seeds
- Snack: Raw, fresh vegetables
- Lunch: Grilled chicken salad with olive oil
- Snack: Protein smoothie
- Dinner: Fish or turkey with brown rice, stir-fried vegetables, and olive oil
Does He Take Supplements?
It’s not entirely clear if Lionel Messi takes supplements, as he hasn’t talked much about it. But after discussing his fitness regime with my dietitian, she said there were two things he might be taking.
First of all, he’ll need to eat a lot more protein as he cuts his carbs to a minimum. That means having a great-quality protein powder to make his diet plan easier.
The other thing she mentioned as a likely option is a pre-workout supplement. He trains multiple times a day, and keeping his strength, energy, and stamina up will be a high priority. These aren’t superhero pills, but small increases in performance add up over several weeks and months.
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FAQs
How Many Hours Does Messi Workout a Day?
Lionel Messi works out for up to five hours a day. This is a mix of strength training and conditioning, as well as soccer skills, with the team. He does this at least five days a week, with most weekends dedicated to playing matches.
What Diet Does Messi Eat?
Lionel Messi mainly focuses on eating a diet of fresh food and raw ingredients. He tries to stick to a low-carb diet and avoids sugar and highly processed carbs. This gives him a much cleaner energy supply and avoids blood sugar spikes
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