If Christian McCaffrey is Superman, His Kryptonite is In the Snack Aisle
Football players are generally built like trucks. Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey, with his otherworldly arms, is built more like Superman.
He’s an affable muscle-bound guy who does his best to get the job done right. But his similarities to the Man of Tomorrow don’t end there: he also has his own kryptonite. We’ll get to that right after a quick look at McCaffrey’s eye-popping athletics and the fitness routine it takes to get there.
Christian McCaffrey’s rise to potential MVP
Of course, muscles aren’t everything. McCaffrey backs up his striking silhouette with action. His burgeoning career has already delivered to the point that he’s a regular on potential NFL MVP lists.
He already achieved one unofficial fan-favorite sports honor: the rare 99 player rating in Madden 2020. Only six simulated NFL players in the game reach that venerated topped-out rating.
As for the somewhat more official NFL recognition that is league MVP, McCaffrey makes a strong case. While his odds recently increased from 12-1 to 20-1, that still places him as the highest non-quarterback in the running.
McCaffrey recently set an all-time NFL record: he is the first NFL player ever with over 1,000 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in the first 10 games of the season. The Panthers aren’t in a great spot with the decline of Cam Newton, yet they remain the best threat to their division rival New Orleans Saints with a 5-5 record. That’s largely thanks to McCaffrey’s bold and consistent performances.
How McCaffrey maintains his superhero body
McCaffrey went viral recently by simply exposing his arms on the Panthers’ official Twitter feed.
It’s a look that serves him well on the field, and it looks pretty good, too. But it takes an immense amount of meticulous effort to maintain, as McCaffrey illustrated in a Men’s Health interview.
Building up that kind of muscle requires recovery. So his sleep routine is strict, if not in the way many might assume. He has to get to sleep early, around 10:00 p.m., and he wakes up around 8:00 a.m.
His muscular build demands protein. For McCaffrey, that is more difficult than it is for most bodybuilders because of several crucial food intolerance issues. He avoids chicken, tuna, soy, and egg whites, all of which are staples in the muscle-building world. Instead, he sticks to egg yolks and sweet potatoes for breakfast. For lunch and dinner, he opts for alternative proteins like bison, as well as classics like beef that he can safely enjoy.
Throughout the, he drinks massive amounts of water and regularly consumes protein supplements. The only time he doesn’t eat food prepared by his personal chef is on cheat days, when he tends to indulge in sushi. If he’s feeling extra wild, he opts for a few Oreos.
But sometimes, his kryptonite calls out to him.
The snack aisle kryptonite that haunts McCaffrey
Christian McCaffrey maintains a body that few outside of Hollywood stars are willing to work for. He sacrifices most of the simple culinary pleasures the average person takes for granted.
But when he comes across Cool Ranch Doritos in the wild, he simply can’t control himself.
McCaffrey told GQ reporter Emily Abbate his dark secret. “Cool Ranch Doritos are definitely my guilty pleasure. […] If I have one Dorito, I’ll eat the entire king-size bag. Zero self-control.” Ah, so the football player with an action figure body is human after all.
McCaffrey doesn’t engage in his stringent bodybuilding ritual for looks. He does it, as he once told ESPN, is because it makes him faster and stronger for football.
“The faster I can get, the better as well. You can always get bigger, faster, stronger,” McCaffrey said then. It’s a routine that made him the top non-quarterback MVP candidate. Hopefully, those Cool Ranch Doritos stay out of his (very big) arm’s reach.
