How To Spend $4110 A Day On Your Body

The year is 2002. The world is captivated by the story of a magical teenager called “The Chosen One,” a boy destined for greatness but carrying the heavy weight of expectations.

Oh, and he’s 6 '8", 240 pounds and first dunked a basketball at the age of 13. 

We're talking about, not Harry Potter, but LeBron James.

In this email we want to share what we learned about how LeBron invests in his body—and whether the average person has any hope of replicating it. 

“The boy who dunked.”

In February 2002, Sports Illustrated featured a 17-year-old LeBron James on its cover with the headline "The Chosen One.” At an age when most of us were proud just to go a whole day without losing our lunchbox, LeBron was already thinking about how he might one day become the greatest player of all time. 

The only question was. . .how long would it take?

Many would say that it was 14 years later in 2016 that LeBron cemented his position on top of history by taking the Cleveland Cavaliers back from trailing 3-1 to win the championship in his hometown. 

At the time LeBron was 31 years old. Even if he’d ended his career right then and there, he would still arguably be the greatest to ever do it. 

Only, he didn’t end his career there. 

8 years later, and turning 40 next month, LeBron is still going strong. He’s spent more of his life playing in the NBA than not. He was 19 when his first child was born, and now that son plays alongside LeBron in the NBA. 

But he’s not just hanging on—he’s still one of the most dominant and athletic players in the league. His performance is quite literally changing the conversation on longevity in sports.

The question now is. . .how long will he keep going?

“You’re a wizard, Lebron.”

How does he do it? 

All of us were dealt a hand by genetics. Clearly, LeBron got dealt a pretty good hand. This part of the equation is pretty hard to do anything about. 

But thinking that we can’t learn from him just because he’s built different to us is to ignore the other half of the equation—what LeBron has done with that hand. 

Some years ago it was reported that LeBron spends $1.5 million a year on his body. If this is accurate, that’s about $4110 every day. While that might sound like a lot, if he’s earning $50-100 million each year he plays, that’s a 50-100x return. 

In the Netflix docuseries Starting 5, LeBron says “"I’ve heard this crazy notion about how much money I spend on my body per year and I kind of just chuckle. That is a number that I will not disclose, but more importantly, I think it’s [about] the time."

The actual number could be more or less, but the idea is the same—LeBron spends a lot of money on his body. 

Now, it’s easy to look at him and say “Well, he’s a world-famous athlete with access to all kinds of things most people can’t dream of. I’ll never be able to look after my body as well as he does.”

But is that actually true?

I wanted to see how much it would actually cost to replicate LeBron’s recovery protocols. 

So I did some research. 

I eventually made a list of 14 things LeBron does to optimise his health, athleticism and recovery. 

For each category I tried to figure out how much it would cost me to do the same—and what my total annual cost would be to live like LeBron.  

Let’s get started. . .

• Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is a therapeutic technique that involves exposing the body to extremely cold temperatures for short periods to reduce inflammation, relieve pain, and enhance recovery.

I called a local wellness centre near me and asked them for their prices. They told me a single session costs £30.

On the higher end, if I do cryotherapy 3x a week, that’s £90/week, and £4680/year. On the lower end, at once a week, that’s £1560.

• Cold tub, hot tub

Cold water immersion (often referred to as ice baths) helps reduce inflammation and accelerate recovery, while hot tubs are used for relaxation and to improve blood flow, which aids in muscle recovery and helps alleviate tension.

Athletes often use contrast hydrotherapy, switching between both hot and cold in the same session—while generally safe, it may pose risks for some so should be researched first.  

Fortunately, I have a bath and running water, so the costs are pretty low for this one. Let’s say between £100 and £300 a year if I’m taking three cold baths and three hot baths a week. 

• Red light 

Red light therapy is a treatment that uses low-level wavelengths of red light to stimulate cellular function, promote healing, reduce inflammation, and improve skin health.

A local business near me charges £35 a session. Let’s say I do this twice a week, for £70/week, or £3640/year. 

Once a week I’d be looking at £1820.

• Hyperbaric chambers

Hyperbaric chambers are specialized environments that deliver pure oxygen at pressures greater than atmospheric pressure, promoting enhanced oxygen absorption in the body to aid in healing, reduce inflammation, and improve recovery from injuries and certain medical conditions.

Again, the local business I called were helpful and told me that I could either pay £80 for a 90-minute session, £700 for a block of 10 sessions, or £2000 for 40. 

For 100 sessions over the year, I’d be paying around £5000. 

For 50, £2500. 

• Normatec machine

A Normatec machine is a pneumatic compression device designed to enhance recovery by using sequential air pressure to massage the limbs, improve circulation, reduce muscle soreness, and accelerate the healing process after intense physical activity.

If you’ve ever seen videos of athletes wearing these weird puffy sleeves that look like they’re filled with air around their legs—that’s likely what they are.  

This piece of kit costs around £900 online. 

• Personal trainer

This one is pretty self-explanatory. 

My gym offers personal training for £37.50 per 45-minute session. If I did 4 personal training sessions a week for £150, that would cost me £7,800 a year. 

One session a week would be just £1950.

• Stretching

Stretching and mobility work can improve flexibility and enhance the range of motion in joints, thereby reducing the risk of injury and promoting overall athletic performance through improved functional movement patterns.

This one is free.

• Massages 

Massages involve the manipulation of soft tissues in the body to alleviate tension, reduce muscle soreness, improve circulation, and promote relaxation and recovery after physical activity.

When I researched a local business offering massages, a rate of about £30 per 30 minutes seemed reasonable. For three massages a week, that’s another £4680 a year. For one, £1560.

• Sleep

‘We tried it all in 20 years. But the most important thing is what he gets for free, and that’s sleep.’ - Mike Mancias, LeBron’s trainer.

“Sleep is the best recovery that you can have. It’s basically equivalent to you putting your phone on a charger when you go to bed. Am I able to do it every single night? Of course not. But if you try to get the most sleep that you can get, that is the only way that you’re gonna get back to 100%.”

LeBron and his coach say that sleep is where he makes his biggest recovery gains, and the good news is it’s also completely free.  

• Nutrition 

It’s pretty simple—eat well to perform well.

I would estimate that to go all in and have a personal chef as LeBron likely does would cost at least £50,000 a year.

But assuming I’m making my own meals, I might spend £300 a month on high-quality food and ingredients, or £3,600 a year. I could probably get by at £200 a month though, £2,400 a year. 

• Hydration

While water is pretty much free for me, if I were investing in electrolyte powders to add to my hydration routine, I might be looking at £100 - £300 a year in extra costs. 

• Resistance training

Resistance training is a form of exercise that involves using resistance, such as weights, resistance bands, or body weight, to build muscle strength, endurance, and power, while also improving bone density and metabolic function.

My gym costs £120/month or £1440 a year. (My previous gym was around £460 a year.)

• Physical therapy 

Physical therapy is a healthcare discipline focused on the assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical injuries or disabilities through tailored exercise programs, manual therapy techniques, and modalities to restore function, reduce pain, and improve mobility.

Physio around here usually costs £30-50 a session, so for two sessions a week that’s £4160 a year. Once a week, £480.

• Data monitoring

Data monitoring involves the systematic collection and analysis of various performance metrics, physiological data, and health indicators, often using wearable technology or apps, to track progress, optimize training, and enhance overall athletic performance.

LeBron was one of the first users of Whoop, a 24/7 fitness tracker. 

My Whoop costs £229 per year. 

Conclusion

When I add up all of my various estimates, I get a higher-end yearly cost of £36,629 and a lower-end cost of £14,059. While that’s definitely a lot of money, it’s only 3% or 0.09% of $1.5 million respectively.

(So who’s gonna tell LeBron he’s getting scammed somewhere. . .?)

Of course, there’s a lot missing from my guesswork. LeBron probably has whole teams on salaries where I’m paying individuals, pays more because his tech is probably more advanced, does things I didn’t find here, and also probably does all of it a lot more frequently than I estimated I would. 

But what if we took the 6 most important activities of those 14?

In my opinion (and I could definitely be wrong here), I would say sleep (LeBron agrees), nutrition, hydration, resistance training, stretching, and physical therapy would top my list. 

Based on my research, it’s reasonable to say we could tick those boxes for just £3,440 a year. 

And you know what—why not throw in cold baths for an extra £60 a year and make it a clean £3.5k?

That suddenly feels scarily reasonable, especially compared to where we started.

If there’s any important takeaway to this article, this might be it. 

While LeBron has the room to spend a lot of money on finding and optimizing incremental gains, the average person can likely capture a large amount of the same benefits for a very realistic cost. 

And even if they do decide to go ‘all in’ and invest further in their performance—it’s not out of reach either.  

So as LeBron continues to redefine longevity and excellence in professional sports, remember that you can do the same in your personal life by making informed choices, being consistent, and understanding that you don’t need to be a multi-millionaire to invest in yourself and your well-being.

If you enjoyed today’s newsletter, feel free to share it with a friend!

If someone shared this with you, go to whatcounts.io to subscribe and receive weekly emails like this.

Your friends,

Benji and Jacob

Today’s email sponsored by RunDot.

Participate in running research with RunDot and get two free months of training.

The RunDot Project is an annual research initiative that offers 2 free months of run training to qualified participants.

Learn more about RunDot here.