Derrick Henry Workout and Diet

Professional Football Player

Born: 1994

Derrick Henry Jr was born in Florida. His parents were only teenagers when they had him and he was raised primarily by his grandmother. In high school, Henry was a 3-sport athlete: football, basketball, track. As a sophomore, he was selected for a first-team All-Coast as a running back, and as a junior, he earned Florida Times-Union All-Coast honors. In 2012, ESPN gave Henry a 5-star rating as a college recruit, and he chose University of Alabama over many other offers including Notre Dame, USC, Tennessee, and Clemson. As a college junior, he broke 2 of Herschel Walker single-season college rushing records for the SEC. Henry won the Heisman Trophy, the Doak Walker Award, the Maxwell Award and the Walter Camp Award, and was crucial to Alabama winning the 2016 Championship. He entered the NFL draft that same year and was picked up by the Tennessee Titans. In 2020, ‘King Henry’ was named the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year. He has a child with Adrianna Rivers. Henry founded the youth charity Two All Foundation. He has millions of followers on social media. Henry is 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs about 245 lbs.

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Derrick Henry’s Diet

Diet Summary

Diet is an essential component of most athletes’ routines, and Henry is no exception. That said, he doesn’t do anything crazy. He isn’t into counting macros and he sometimes can’t decide what to have for dinner. Two things he’s always up for: milk and fruit. Besides that, he eats clean, going for staples like eggs, steak, chicken, seafood, and pasta. He travels everywhere with his jug of water.

Estimated Macros

Medium-High Protein

Medium Fat

Medium Carb

Diet Details

Bananas for Fruit

Henry loves his fruit. He has it for breakfast, snacks on it, and eats it before a game. Top marks go to bananas, but when it comes to fruit, he isn’t picky.

Team Milk

Henry is also a big fan of milk and always has been. He says his grandmother told him that milk would make his bones strong, and he is the literal poster child to encourage today’s kids to drink their milk.

Not Too Strict

As disciplined as Henry is, he doesn’t have any hard and fast rules when it comes to eating. He usually kicks off the day with some eggs, fruit, water, and milk but he doesn’t count macros, calories or anything else.

Intuitive Eating

Henry eats based on how he’s feeling. Lunch might be a steak or it might be a sandwich. He listens to his body each day.

Decisions, Decisions

Henry says that dinner is his toughest decision. He likes steak, but he mixes it up with chicken, shrimp and pasta.

Cheat Days Are Okay

Henry enjoys a cheat day now and again, and says that everyone deserves them.

What to Eat

Milk
Fruit
Eggs
Steak
Chicken
Shrimp
Pasta
Water

What to Avoid

Not eating enough
Junk food
Fast food
Processed foods
Artificial additives
Chemicals

Henry on his diet

I don’t really have any strict eating ways.

Henry on dinner

I never can decide what I want to eat for dinner.

Henry on snacking

I snack here and there, but not too much.

Henry on his snack of choice

I really enjoy eating fruit if I’m going to have a snack.

Henry on milk

I’ve been drinking milk all my life and I love it. I drink chocolate milk after I work out — it’s great for recovery — and I drink milk when I’m at the house.

Henry on cheat days

I think everyone deserves a cheat day.

Derrick Henry’s Workout Routine

Workout Routine

Record Breaking Rushes

Henry is 1 of only 8 players in NFL history to run 2,000 yards in a single season. Fellow Titan Chris Johnson also holds this honor. The Titans are the only team with 2 players to have hit this mark.

Blame Melvin

Henry is famous for his fast feet and awe-inspiring workouts, many of which have gone viral. Henry credits his pal the NBA’s Melvin Sanders with coming up with those crazy challenges.

Go Home, Henry

Henry trains like a beast. He works out for so long, his trainer sometimes has to tell him to knock off for the day.

Double Daily Dose

In the off-season, Henry doesn’t slack off. He hits the gym twice a day, one session at 8:30 am and a second session at 4:30 pm. He puts in 3-4 hours of training each day.

Hill Sprints

As part of his training, Henry sprints uphill, making running on a flat football field seem like a piece of cake (sort of).

Weight Training

Henry lifts weights the average Joe or Jane can only dream of hefting.

Agility Drills

In addition to being strong, Henry has to also be quick and light on his feet. He does agility drills, box jumps, and all sorts of running with a medicine ball to make carrying a football seem easy.

Recovery Matters

Henry goes full-on into recovery as well. The day after a game, he does hot and cold therapy, massage, dry needling, and ART (Active Recovery Training), all of which get the blood flowing, pumping out lactic acid, reducing soreness and keeping muscles flexible.

Exercise Style

A Derrick Henry Off-Season Routine

Uphill sprints
Sled pushes/pulls
Agility drills
Battle ropes
Medicine ball slams
Plybox jumps
Single-arm pushups
Benchpress
Deadlifts
Single-leg deadlifts
Jump rope
Post-Game Recovery:
Hot tub
Cold tub
Massage
Dry needling
Active Recovery Training

Henry on being successful

Stay hungry. Never get complacent.

Henry on his in-season workouts

During the season, I’m doing the workouts that our strength and conditioning coaches have for us here, and it’s about maintaining that strength, keeping the muscles strong and keeping my body intact.

Henry on his killer off-season workouts

That’s all Melvin [Sanders]. He’s in charge of all the workouts.

Henry on post-game recovery

The next day, I start my recovery stuff. That’s hot tub, cold tub, massage, dry needling ART (Active Release Therapy), and just the whole 9 so I can get my body back ready for practice and then the game.

Derrick Henry’s Supplements

Henry is keeping quiet about his supplement routine, so below are options that may benefit anyone following a similar diet routine.

Protein

Some staples for pro athletes include protein to build and maintain muscles.

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Creatine

Creatine for energy and performance.

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BCCAs

BCAAs are another top pick because they boost muscle mass and reduce recovery time.

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Vitamin D

Henry drinks a lot of milk which contains vitamin D, essential for strong bones and muscles, and lots of fruit which are high in antioxidants like vitamin C.

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Omega-3s

He also eats seafood which is rich in omega-3s.

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Derrick Henry’s Lifestyle

Always On

Henry says one thing he never feels is tired. He’s always ready to work harder, longer, more, whatever it takes to be the best.

Wear It Proud

Henry has a tattoo of his grandmother’s name on his chest to honor her.

Focus on Faith

Henry is a Christian who says that God and his grandmother are the reason he has been successful in his life.

Proud Fur Daddy

Besides their baby girl, Henry also has 2 fur babies, a Golden Doodle named Nala and a Rottweiler mix called Nino.

Shocking Setbacks

In the fall of 2021, Henry broke a bone in his foot and missed most of the rest of the season, but has since come back strong.

The Shocka

Henry’s parents were only teenagers when they had him and not equipped to handle a child. This earned him the nickname ‘Shocka’ because he was a shock to the family. His father was in and out of prison and his mother was only 15. Henry was primarily raised by his grandmother, Gladys.

It Runs in the Fam

Henry has a younger brother named Donovan who also plays football for Ottawa University.

Proud Daddy

Henry and longtime girlfriend Adrianna Rivas has a baby girl in May 2020.

Giving Back

Henry created the Two All Foundation to honor his grandmother. It focuses on instilling strong values in young people so they can achieve their full potential. Henry also donates to many other charities, including the Special Olympics, the United Way, and the Red Cross, as well as local Tennessee charities.

Henry on his energy

I don’t get tired.

Henry on his faith

You got God on your side, anything is possible.

Henry on himself

Ain’t no quitting in me.

Henry on his goals

I want to be the greatest to ever play my position.

Henry on winning the Super Bowl

I am definitely hungry, not only to get better myself, but to win a Super Bowl.

Henry on his approach to football

Be a great leader and teammate, and trust in the man above.

Henry on breaking records

I don’t really worry about chasing history…All I’m worried about is how I perform each week.

Henry on being a milk ambassador

I remember being a kid walking around campus and seeing Got Milk? signs with the athletes in the hallways. Now I’m one of them, and any time you can encourage the youth to do something that will benefit them, it’s cool.