The Real-Life Diet of Bijan Robinson, Who Takes Magnesium to Sleep Better

In the third quarter of a recent Sunday Night Football game, Falcons running back Bijan Robinson took a handoff from quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and added another magnificent entry to his already considerable highlight reel. While running a stretch play to his left, Robinson cut inside toward Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who sized up an easy tackle for a modest gain. That is, until a split-second later, when the running back planted his right foot back into the turf, juked hard outside, and left Humphrey on skates, flailing for his jersey. Across the field, all wide receiver Drake London could do was shake his head and cackle at his teammate’s unfair agility.

The play was a small window into the freak athleticism the 24-year old Robinson is capable of unleashing every time he touches the ball. And so far this season, he has lived up to the expectations of his exponentially-growing gifts, allowing fantasy owners to revel in his inevitable production and laugh at their weekly opponents like London. As the engine of an otherwise inconsistent Atlanta offense, Robinson is averaging over 100 rush yards per game and on pace to amass career highs in total yards and touchdowns—enough to enter him into the early MVP discussion.

Indeed, there is plenty to smile about for Robinson, especially now that he’s using Invisalign to straighten his teeth. It’s just one of several decisions he’s recently made about his health as he contends with the punishing reality of being an elite NFL running back. It was only six years ago that he avoided disaster after a terrifying mid-air collision while at Texas that jeopardized his neck and spine. That’s partially why since entering the NFL, Robinson has worked with the Falcons training staff to build a meticulous gameplan for his strength and conditioning to set himself up for success. “They’re very intentional throughout the week on how I need to be used leading up to the game,” Robinson says. “They’re very specific on what's needed and how I can grow my body and how I get stronger, faster—everything.”

Below, Robinson details more of that work, including the recovery tips he learned from running back Christian McCaffrey, the supplements he takes before bed, and his go-to Taco Bell order when he’s fixing for a quick meal.

GQ: We’re currently six weeks into the NFL season. How’s your body’s holding up at this point? What has your primary focus been as you’ve started this season?

Bijan Robinson: Yeah, I feel great right now. Everything that I’ve been doing for my recovery up to this point and from previous seasons has been pretty cool. I’ve been taking care of my body every single week. It’s cool to have the guys at the facility recommend people to me. I’ve been using this guy, Dr. T. He’s a chiropractor, and he does cupping and all types of stuff. But to see how much it's enhanced compared to last year and the year before—and all the resources that I have now to sustain the optimal level of performance on the field—has been cool. I think now it’s about me getting the rookies into tip-top shape, because I know they've been having a long year, and they're trying to find their body routines. I’m just trying to help them out.

I know cupping has been an athlete trend for a while now. What turned you on to that specific kind of therapy?

Yeah, it’s all the soreness, that lactic acid that gets built up in my system. I’m making sure that there's something that can release it and that I can just eliminate that soreness. Or if there's something going on in my shoulders that's super tight—that's something that just releases everything. And it's something that doesn't hurt, but you can feel the impact of your soreness. You can feel what's going on in whatever body part you have. So, cupping, needling, acupuncture—that will spark the jump in my muscle and release that soreness as fast as possible.

Are all these methods new for you?

No, I've been doing it since my rookie year. I kind of stayed away from it in college. I just did more massage-based things at a facility in college. Even Hyperice, the Theragun, all that kind of stuff. But I think since entering the NFL, I've been really much bigger into the needling and cupping.

On the day after a game, where are you most typically sore when you get out of bed?

I would say my hips. My hips are always my source [of soreness], because I cut a lot. I do a lot of cutting, a lot of change direction, and that requires a lot of things in my hips. I think people think changing direction is more about your knees or your hamstrings and your lower back, but your hips are what controls everything up and everything on the lower half of your body. I have tighter hip sides. That's just how it works for me in my game. And then sometimes my shoulders are a little sore. But yeah, when I get out of bed, I’ve got to stretch my hips. It has always been the thing for me.

So do you save a lot of that acupuncture and cupping therapy for the off day, or does that get spread out over the week?

Yeah, so that'll be the off day. I'll do the cold tub and hot tub, and then I'll go in with the trainers, and they'll use the needles and cupping wherever I feel the most sore that week. It might change from week to week. And then, on a Tuesday, that's when Dr. T. will come and he'll do more of the chiropractic work. And then if something is bothering me or I want to loosen something out a little bit more, then he'll use one of his tools to remove it. That’s been something I've been doing this whole season, and it's been great for me.

How different would you say your in-season training regimen is compared to the offseason? Is there a massive difference in what muscles you're building and how hard you're going?

Yeah, it's different, but not a big difference. The offseason is the more grueling, hard training. Everyday you’re doing things that just are abnormal—running hills, doing all types of change in direction. That's when the higher weights come in for lifting, squatting, and benching, because you're really preparing for a long season. That's why you want to train harder in the offseason. And then the season is more staying at that pace, where you're not going super heavy, you're not going super light, but you're more in the middle, maintaining strength in-season and not losing it.

As someone who obviously prides himself on strength and agility, how do you balance building muscle in your lower body versus your upper body?

You have to. I do a lot of core exercises during the week. And that's another thing. Your hips are your biggest thing, but then my core comes right after that. And your core operates everywhere in the upper body. It operates how you change your action, operates how you break tackles, and make people miss. You focus on one thing each day. Your upper body workouts—it's little movements in your shoulders, in your lower back, your core. And then on that Wednesday is when we focus all on the lower body and making sure that you're not just adding weight, adding strength, but stretching your Achilles, your feet, to operate at the highest level.

Sometimes you can do everything at once, but I don't think that's the best way to go about it. I think you should focus one day on the upper body. That's on Mondays. Give your body a rest on Tuesday. And then on Wednesdays, that's when you attack the lower body.

I’ve read that you specifically target strengthening your ankles, too. Is that a daily practice?

That's every day. I go into the training room and we'll do ankle exercises—just mobility, making sure that my ankles aren't stiff. A lot of people have stiff ankles because they don't stretch them out much. We do bands, a lot of heel lifts, and then balancing on one ankle, on both ankles, on the BOSU ball and the little balance circuit that we have. It only takes five minutes to do it. But those little things add up.

Is that something you started doing at Texas, or has this always been part of your routine?

I started this in high school. But it got more elevated in Texas because they had so much more equipment. And then in the NFL, we’ve just kept on that same process. It’s been good.

Last summer, you worked out with Christian McCaffrey and you said you learned a lot about recovery. What kinds of recovery tactics did you talk about and how have you implemented them?

Yeah, the pool is the biggest thing. He and I did water recovery with the cold tub, hot tub, the HydroWorx with the treadmill in the pool. All those things really enhanced my recovery plan. We did that every single day. After a hard workout, we would go in the pool, and we would do these pool recovery workouts that help your blood flow. Ever since, I've been doing it with him, I've been at the facility and we have the HydroWorx now. Doing that HydroWorx has been key after games because of all that soreness that's been built up. You want to release it as fast as possible the next day.

What’s your tub sequence? Hot then cold?

It just depends. After a workout, you typically want to do hot tub first to release it a little bit, and then go to the cold tub, then you go to the hot tub again, and then you'll go to the cold tub to finish it off.

What kinds of workouts are you doing in the HydroWorx?

So you're doing karaokes, high knees, a slight jog, but people really don't want to do that after a game. I've had to teach my mind, like, “This is what's gonna help when the game's over.” It'll take about 15 minutes, but you're really running in the pool. During the process, you're like, “Man, why am I doing this? I just played a game, I don't wanna do this.” But then when it's over, you feel great. It’s been a great thing for me.

I saw you also tried the Stratosphere, the high altitude hypobaric chamber, with Christian.

Yes!

Have you tried it since then?

So, I have a hyperbaric chamber at my house. But the hypobaric chamber, the Stratosphere that me and McCaffrey were doing in LA, that thing is unbelievable. I haven't done it since we trained together, but it's pretty special.

Has it inspired you to get one, or is it too freaky?

Oh no, I definitely want one. But you need somebody to control it for you. When I can figure that out, and if they can come out here and help me do it, I'm gonna do it. Those things are great.

I know it rapidly changes the altitude and air pressure. What’s it feel like when you're inside there?

So, you're going 18,000 feet in the air—and you get there in, like, five, six seconds. It's pretty unbelievable. But that form of recovery is great. And then you can [ride] the [stationary] bike in there. You can exercise in there. And then that just enhances it even more.

So when you get out, you feel that in your blood flow?

Yeah. In your blood flow, and definitely in your brain oxygen. You feel it quickly. I think, a week into it, on the field, my breathing was unbelievable. Like, I was breathing, and feeling like, “I can run for days.” That's the biggest thing with that Stratosphere. I hope they get it into all teams, everywhere, because everybody needs it.

What would you say is the most interesting part of your in-season diet right now?

I don't have a specific diet, but I do stay away from fast foods. My girlfriend cooks everything. And she just does it for fun. I don't tell her to cook, but she just wants to do it. And then, I eat at the facility in the mornings and for lunch. I just make sure that all those foods are hand prepared, really cooked. I know fast food is great sometimes. I might cheat and just, like, go to Taco Bell or somewhere, but—

Atlanta has some good soul food, too. Do you have a cheat day baked into the week?

It's not really a cheat day. It's just more of a day where I want to grab something real quick. I do that very minimally. It's been a long time since I’ve actually had McDonald’s or something. But that's the biggest thing in the diet: home-cooked meals.

What’s your go-to Taco Bell cheat meal?

I'm gonna get five soft tacos, and then like, two cinnamon twists, and a Baja Blast Freeze.

Caleb Williams recently talked about drinking olive oil for his gut health. Do you have any peculiar beverages that you consume? Are you into caffeinated drinks or coffee?

I’m not a caffeine guy. The biggest thing that I've learned is drinking water out of glass. Like, I've really been drinking all my water out of glass. I haven't been drinking water out of plastic at all. Because, one: drinking water out of glass is the most healthy thing for your body. And then two: you make sure all the toxins in those plastic bottles that get built up in the water are out of your body.

Do the Falcons have a lot of glass water bottles in their facility?

We don't because we're sponsored by Smartwater, but I just bring one. We have filtered water in the facility. I'll have the glass bottle with me, and then I'll just pour it in the bottle. It's been great.

Do you have a specific sleep routine? I’m curious how you manage it when you have a cross-country flight.

Yeah, so especially on those prime-time games, we get back home at 3 or 4 a.m. I’m making sure I'm sleeping on the plane if I can. That’s the biggest thing. The team does a really good job of giving us a sleep routine for when we should sleep and how many hours of sleep we should have, especially on short weeks. I have this bed where it'll heat your body or cool your body, and if it detects that you're sweating in your sleep, it'll make the bed cool. Our dietitian is a sleep master, too, so he'll give us all the right timings of when to sleep and how to sleep and the vitamins to take before sleep. Magnesium has been a huge thing for me before I go to bed. I take three or four tablets of magnesium and it really just helps my body out a lot.

When you have a big game on Sunday, do you still struggle to get to sleep right away the night before?

Oh yeah, especially, on some of the prime-time games. You just think about it so much. And then you have all day to think about it. But yeah, some games you just struggle a little bit. That's why I try to get ready for bed at, like, 9:30, 10 p.m. I know if my body is thinking about it, then I’ll at least be asleep by 11 or so.

I know your oral health is important to you as well. Why did you try Invisalign and how has it made a difference for you?

Yeah, I smile a lot, so it’s just about having that confidence, and when I talk to people, when I do interviews or commercial stuff, making sure that my teeth are at a very optimal level. Not having wires and brackets has really been the biggest thing for me. I started using the clear liners, and it's been great for me. It's been a month and you can already see a shift happening. That's what makes the partnership perfect for me. It just creates discipline in myself, making sure I'm wearing those 22 hours throughout the day.

You’ve already gotten some MVP chatter this season. What do you think will be key for you to continue playing at this pace and level?

[I just want to] make sure I'm executing at a high level at all facets—understanding the plan that we have for the week and making sure that our brand of football is being played at the highest level. It's important using the gifts that God gives me at a high level, but taking it one week at a time, taking the one game at a time, and knowing that I’ve gotta be at my best self for this opponent that's coming in. Or if we're going there, understanding what's at hand. That's how you become your best self. Not looking ahead, but just being where my feet are.

When players need a mental break from football, they often see movies or play cards with teammates. How do you treat yourself and unwind after a long or stressful week?

My girlfriend and I will go watch movies in theaters at the iPic. We try to go maybe once a week, once every other week. And it's a private theater, so it's really, really cool. We just saw Tony. I think that was a really good movie. And then I'll play video games with my teammates. We'll be on 2K, we'll be on FC, the soccer game. I'm starting to read a lot. I like audiobooks. My girlfriend and I were reading this neurological faith book about life, which has been super cool. And then I just got a cat. I got a Munchkin cat.

Oh!

Her name is Moochies. So that's another thing I've been super involved with. And she's super small, super tiny. I do a lot of different things when I'm not so focused on football. I just continue to expand myself.

In Real-Life Diet, athletes, celebrities, and other high performers talk about their diet, exercise routines, and pursuit of wellness. Keep in mind that what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.