Jermain Defoe and Cryotherapy

 
Jermain Defoe

Jermain Defoe

Mission: Impossible

Jermain Defoe has been an on-field threat since he was 14 years old.  Signed by West Ham 3 years later he began his professional career in September of 2000 on loan to AFC Bournemouth.  The rising star scored 18 goals that year.  The center-forward continues to play two decades later, long after many footballers have come and gone.  In fact most soccer players rarely play more than 8 years.  The average retirement age is 35 from the professional sport.  How is Defoe still scoring goals at age 37?  Two reasons: vegan diet and cryotherapy.¹

 Vegan Diets for Athletes

Defoe is not alone in his desire to eat a vegan diet.  Vegan diets and prominent athleticism are seen in many world-class athletes:

  •  Venus Williams – 5  time Wimbeldon wins, 4 Olympic Gold Medals

  • Carl Lewis – 9 Olympic Gold Medals

  • Hannah Teter – 2 Olympic Medals, 1 X-Games Gold Medal

  • John Salley – 4 Time NBA Champion

Plant protein supplements and plant-based meat substitutes have made vegan diets much more palatable.  But vegan diets come with difficulty too.  Vitamin B12 is an animal-based diet and some vegans can develop vitamin B12 deficiencies, causing weakness, fatigue, poor balance, migraine headaches, and anemia (a dangerous reduction in healthy red blood cells).²

 Cryotherapy and Jermain Defoe

Appetite alone is not enough to survive at the professional soccer level.  In a normal game the average player runs 7 miles, often with explosive starts and sudden stops.³ Both maneuvers, combined with collisions, kicks, ankle sprains, and falls destroy a player’s body.  Most players cannot play for more than a few years before suffering a career-ending injury. 

Defoe has lasted two decades at the professional level by taking a preventive approach to injury. He uses cryotherapy as part of his regimen to reduce inflammation directly after strenuous workouts and games.  Cryotherapy works by the process of vasoconstriction: the sub-zero cold temperatures chill the skin, causing the surface area blood vessels to move the majority of their blood to the center of the body for warmth.  If the body is cold for longer than 90 seconds a survival mode is initiated and the warm core blood is enriched with oxygen and inflammation fighting enzymes.  In a typical Whole Body Cryotherapy session the body is chilled for just under 3 minutes with -230°F dry air.  After the session is over the body’s temperature slowly warms up, drawing the oxygen rich and nutrient dense blood back into normal circulation.  Inflammation is significantly reduced, allowing the athlete to train aggressively the following day.

 Cryotherapy and Young Athletes

Jermain Defoe was not born into athletic greatness.  He trained for it and a supporting pillar of holistic training is recovery.  Young athletes today are sidelined by preventable injuries; sadly, many miss out on scholarships and opportunities that could lead to successful sports-careers.  It is for this reason that athletic directors, coaches, and parents are incorporating cryotherapy for their young athletes.  Young people are less likely to take proactive measures to prevent injury, and most report that their programs often push them to their breaking point.  Parents have a much easier time convincing their child to have a 3 minute cryo session rather than a 20 minute ice bath, and coaches feel more secure in pushing athletes harder after knowing that the athlete has this advanced recovery in place. Young athletes also immediately benefit after their workouts with less recovery time and a minimization of the development of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.

Learn more about the benefits of cryotherapy, find out how you can provide cryotherapy services, and read the guide on the cryotherapy business.

Founded on facts: for peer-reviewed articles, scholarly journals, and articles cited above please see the below sources.

  1. https://theathletic.co.uk/cryotherapy-chambers-a-vegan-diet-and-an-insatiable-appetite-for-goals-why-jermain-defoe-is-still-thriving-at-37/

  2. Fortified cereals sometimes have B12 with a bioavailability for vegans, vegetarians, and others.

  3. https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a20805366/the-distance-run-per-game-in-various-sports/


 
Mike Bakke