Bryce Harper, the seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star and Philadelphia Phillies star, was already behind in his pre-season conditioning when GQ reached him earlier this offseason. After leading his team to the World Series, he had Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament in his elbow.A decade-long, award-winning career on baseball’s biggest stage doesn’t happen by accident, so it was no shock to discover Harper has dialed in his fitness and recovery to a science. The 30-year-old was all business from his home base in Las Vegas, shooting for a mid-summer return to the field. 

Part of Harper’s nutrition regimen is keeping a bottle or two of Gatorade on hand. He's been sponsored with the brand since 2014 and has a new signature bottle out this year—he couldn’t wait to explain the treasure map of details on its exterior. But hydration is only a part of an elite athlete's lifestyle, and he also broke down his wellness routines from sun-up to sundown—and how Pilates became his secret weapon.

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

GQ: So how’s your pre-season been?

Bryce Harper: I’m behind a month or two. I’m doing my lower-body workouts—I can’t really do much on my right side, because of my surgery. So I’m doing a lot of bilateral stuff, just working on the left side. I’m about eight weeks out right now [since surgery], so it’s been good to get active and get going a bit more, rehab and work out every single day.

Besides the hallowed Wheaties box, there’s not a more iconic sports nutrition brand than that of Gatorade. What’s your backstory with the brand?

It’s funny you mention Wheaties. Growing up, you always wanted a Topps card, right? But my big thing is I wanted to be with Gatorade. I loved Gatorade, I loved taking it to the ballpark, because I thought it made me feel better and play better.

Favorite flavor from your childhood?

The Mango Xtremo was my favorite. [Laughs.] And, of course, Cool Blue. I’d always walk into the gas station—it’d be, like, two for five bucks. But being able to work with Gatorade since 2014, it’s been so much fun. This one’s really cool, because it tells the story of my life and the people around me. I have dumbbells on [the bottle] for when I work out. My wife has a crown on there with a K for her name [Kayla]. Crew [Harper’s son] loves monster trucks, so we have a monster truck on there. My daughter has cookies, because Brookie-cookie. When I hit home runs and I cross home plate, I do the “I love you” symbol, so that’s on there. I have tattoos that say mom and pops on my wrists, so that’s on there as well. It gives you a glimpse into my life.

The Major League’s 162 regular-season games can be incredibly wearing, and many guys lose a substantial amount of weight over the duration. How have you managed your weight over the years?

For my first couple years, it was really tough to make that jump, just because you’re trying learn traveling and playing 162 games. You’re trying to learn how your body is going to react to that—how your mind’s going to react to that, as well. I’d lose 15 to 20 pounds, because I didn’t know really know what I was doing at the time to keep my weight up or working out or eating. Now, I sustain my weight pretty well throughout the season. I’ll maybe drop two or three pounds, give or take. But having an organization that really takes care of us on that side, feeding us on the road or feeding us at home, making sure that we’re lifting right, getting the pre-stuff that we need, the post-stuff that we need. It’s crazy to see some guys who come in their first or second years drop the weight. 

I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job the last couple of years maintaining and understanding what works for my body—with food, or with hydration or sleep, cold therapy, anything like that. So I try to put that at the forefront of my mind, where it used to be on the back burner. Getting older, it’s right in the front of my mind, what I need to do each day to make sure my body is at the peak performance that it needs to be when I’m playing through the year.

Some guys band together for pre-season conditioning. Others go it alone. Where do you fall?

I like the solo training. I lets me get through my workouts the way I need to at the pace I need to. I do Pilates three times a week, and I do strength training Tuesday and Thursdays. So my Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are Pilates and rehab, and then my Tuesday and Thursdays are my upper body and lower body lifts.

Pilates? That’s pretty unique for baseball players, right? 

I’ve been doing Pilates for the last six years now. We do reformer Pilates, and I absolutely love it. It’s made me that much better in all things. Ever since I’ve done that and stopped doing strength training all the time, it’s just been so much better for me and my body, the way I feel during the year. It’s makes me stronger throughout my core, my lower back, my hips, my glutes, and just made me that much better in the weight room when I am doing my strength training.

I don’t think you could have admitted to a more surprising conditioning regimen save for raving about Barre classes.

It’s funny, because a lot of those girls in there would kick the crap out of guys in any weight room. My wife does an incredible job, and she’s stronger than most guys that walk into those classes. It cracks me up.

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So when you do go into the weight room, what’s the routine?

It’s a lot of lower body. I do a lot of single-leg stuff. I think it works each muscle in each leg a lot. And it works your feet—your feet are your foundation of what works for you. When you’re in the batter’s box, you work from the ground up, right? So if I can make my feet stronger and my ankles stronger, calves, knees, all the way up, then my whole body is going to be strong because my foundation is strong.

I do a lot of core work—both sides of that, working upper body, lower body, twisting. I want every movement to look like I’m on a baseball field. I want that to fill in my obliques, to fill in my abs, my lower back, my glutes, my hips. I’m really working those, because those are what gets me through the season. I don’t go too heavy in stuff—I just want to get the reps that I need and make sure my body is feeling good. I try to listen to my body as much as possible and make sure if I’m doing it, I want to be doing it right.

That all starts in the morning with your routine when you wake up. I do cold plunge every single morning, which I love. I love cold therapy—I think it’s the best thing for you. I don’t think there’s anything else that can get your body to where it needs to be, mentally and physically. I think anything cold-immersion is huge, I think hydration is huge for you. Eating right, of course, depending on what your body feels like.

Cold plunge first thing?

You got it. I step right out of my bed, right into the backyard, right into the water. I get up at 8 o’clock and I’m in the water by 8:05.

How are you at managing sleep? Are you a nap guy?

Yeah, I think that if your body needs a nap during the day, there’s other things you’re not working the best at, right? You’re eating something wrong, or you had a tough night with your kids. There are times when I’ll take a five-to 10-minute nap because my body’s telling me I need it. If your body’s telling you something, it’s usually right. So I think there’s things you have to look at on a personal side that might make you that much better. Everybody’s body works a different way, everybody’s body reacts a different way to certain things. So to listen to your body and react to your body is probably the best thing you need—or that’s the best thing I need to do for myself.

Are you a nighttime Netflix guy? Or no screens?

I love reading, man. I enjoy it. I like getting lost in the book, being able to wind down.

What are you reading now?

I don’t really want to tell anybody what I read.

Come on. Give GQ the exclusive.

Well…I love [romance writer] Elle Kennedy. So you can look that up. I just read The Deal, and The Mistake, and then I’m on…I can’t think of the one I’m on right now. But I enjoy it. It helps me wind down. I get lost, so being able to get lost in something else makes you that much better the next day, because you’re getting away from your life and getting away from everything. Sleep is huge. It’s tough with a two-year-old and a one-year-old. [Laughs.]

But it is what it is. I just try to have the mindset of being grateful every day that you wake up. I feel like when you start your day grateful for the things in your life, if that’s a hot shower or a meal on your table or a smile from your kids—just being grateful for each day the sun comes up, you’ll be in the right mindset and the right mood that you need to be in. That’s what it’s all about.

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