{"id":99355,"date":"2025-07-28T12:32:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T12:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/99355\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T12:32:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T12:32:09","slug":"luka-doncics-off-season-diet-and-training-plan-for-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/99355\/","title":{"rendered":"Luka Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s Off-Season Diet and Training Plan for 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOW DO YOU<\/strong> make one of the best athletes in the world even better?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the vexing task that fell to physiotherapist Javier Barrio, trainer Anze Macek, and nutritionist Lucia Almendros two years ago when Slovenian phenom Luka Don\u010di\u0107<\/a> entrusted them with designing his off-season training<\/a> and eating plan. His goal this year? Come into his first full season as a Laker in the best shape of his life. In three months. <\/p>\n

No big deal. <\/p>\n

Macek took charge of the workouts\u2014except Sundays, Don\u010di\u0107 hit two per day, with plenty of lifting, mobility, and court drills. But fueling the 6\u20197\u201d point guard as he underwent this Rocky-style transformation<\/a> may have been an even tougher job: a chemistry experiment where all the elements not only had to fulfill a specific function, but also taste great and make sense to Luka as he learned the ropes of performance nutrition. \u201cHe\u2019s 26, and it\u2019s a learning process,\u201d says Barrio. <\/p>\n

It helped that their client was motivated. Luka\u2019s final game with the Lakers was April 30th; days later he was on the plane to his native Slovenia. \u201cHe arrived May fifth, and said, I want to start immediately,\u201d recalls Barrio. And he did: right around the time you\u2019d forgive a pro athlete for kicking back with pizza and a few beers, Luka went low-carb. <\/p>\n

The dedication has paid off: in July, Luka was already showcasing a newly sleek, sinewy physique, and appears poised to unleash a new level of fitness and athleticism in the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how he\u2019s fueling up for the job: <\/p>\n

It\u2019s All in the Timing<\/strong><\/p>\n

This off season, every day but Sunday, Don\u010di\u0107 fasts from 8:30 PM to 12 noon the following day. That\u2019s 16 hours with nary a calorie, with the first workout of each day performed at the end of the fasting window. \u201cIt\u2019s not so easy to learn,\u201d says Barrio of the regimen. Fasted workouts can help bring blood sugar down, and may improve your ability to burn fat\u2014and, indeed, Don\u010di\u0107 is noticeably leaner this off-season. But weight loss isn\u2019t his primary goal: \u201cIt\u2019s to reduce inflammation,\u201d says Barrio: intense workouts can increase inflammatory markers, particularly if you\u2019re doing them frequently. Fasting helps tame post-workout inflammation so Don\u010di\u0107 can attack his two-a-days feeling fresh and rested.<\/p>\n

Protein Is Primary<\/strong><\/p>\n

The unrelenting workout program means Luka\u2019s muscles are in a constant state of breakdown. The only way to ensure that he is able to rebuild that tissue is to top his protein tank off almost continuously\u2014to the tune of 250 grams per day: more than one gram per pound of his bodyweight each day. Luka consumes it all\u2013the equivalent of five extra-large chicken breasts\u2013in the eight-hour window between noon and 8 PM, in accordance with his daily 16:8 fasting schedule. That\u2019s a tall order, and requires Luka to get some of his daily quota from shakes (with no-sugar, low-carb whey protein<\/a> isolate), along with the animal proteins (eggs and chicken are staples) he eats during regular meals. \u201cThe only quantity that we measure is the protein,\u201d says Almendros. \u201c[250 grams] is the minimum. If he wants more, he can eat more.\u201d <\/p>\n

Fat Is His Friend<\/strong><\/p>\n

Known primarily as a booster of cardiac health, omega-3 fats\u2014available in olive oil, avocados, nuts, and fatty seafood (like salmon)\u2014are also among the most potent anti-inflammatory nutrients in the pantry. Nuts, especially, are a nutrient-dense powerhouse, and Luka keeps them handy for fast energy, fiber, protein, and even mood enhancement: a 2022 study<\/a> found a link between nut consumption and improved mood. <\/p>\n

He Pushes the Plants<\/strong><\/p>\n

We know that working out requires tons of calories and protein. Less discussed is how exercise burns through vitamins and minerals as well. Magnesium, calcium, potassium, zinc, phosphorus, and vitamins A, B, D and E all play vital roles in muscle contraction and gut health. To keep those levels high, Luka pounds plenty of plants. Fruit\u2014often as a dessert\u2014is a staple, particularly red fruits (those anti-inflammatory properties again). Vegetables were central too, the better to provide a steady influx of water and energy-giving electrolytes<\/a>\u2014essential to a hardworking (and hard-sweating) athlete.<\/p>\n

He Matches His Macros<\/strong><\/p>\n

Year-round, carbs are the one variable macronutrient in Luka\u2019s diet. He avoids gluten\u2014found in wheat products\u2014and ate other starchy carbs like rice and potatoes sparingly, but strategically, says Almendros: “Depending on the game, depending on the moment of the season, depending on his physical condition, we use carbs\u2014but in a specific moment to have energy in the game or in the training.” Sometimes called macro matching, this strategy\u2014increasing carbs on high-energy training days<\/a> and dropping them on less demanding ones\u2014fuels workouts while maintaining body composition and reducing unnecessary digestive distress. <\/p>\n

He Keeps Things Disciplined\u2013But Not Rigid<\/strong><\/p>\n

Barrios and Almendros take the brakes off a bit for Don\u010di\u0107\u2019s competitive season, allowing for more flexibility in food choices and timing when travel and the stress of high-pressure games make it harder to stick to a stringent nutritional plan. \u201cYou can\u2019t eat nothing after 8 PM,\u201d during the basketball season, says Barrios, \u201cBecause half the days you are traveling in this time. You are not able to do a fasting 16:8 during the season\u2014this is impossible.\u201d The nutritional plan doesn\u2019t go out the window once games begin, Barrios stresses\u2014it just becomes somewhat less strict to accommodate Luka\u2019s intense competitive and travel schedule. <\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Andrew Heffernan, CSCS is a health, fitness, and Feldenkrais coach, and an award-winning health and fitness writer. His writing has been featured in\u00a0Men’s Health, Experience Life, Onnit.com<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0Openfit,\u00a0among other outlets.\u00a0An\u00a0omnivorous athlete, Andrew is black belt in karate, a devoted weight lifter, and a frequent high finisher in triathlon and Spartan races. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their two children.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOW DO YOU make one of the best athletes in the world even better? That\u2019s the vexing task…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":99356,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[1444,64989,9520,1339,1265,1264,1198,210,11834,64990,8604,64991,3365,64994,11659,1260,1182,40222,64988,64993,18281,64992,1929,127,10576,34094,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-99355","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-1444","9":"tag-anze-macek","10":"tag-athletic-performance","11":"tag-basketball","12":"tag-diet","13":"tag-fasting","14":"tag-fitness","15":"tag-health","16":"tag-inflammation","17":"tag-javier-barrio","18":"tag-lakers","19":"tag-lucia-almendros","20":"tag-luka-doncic","21":"tag-macro-matching","22":"tag-muscle","23":"tag-nba","24":"tag-nutrition","25":"tag-nuts","26":"tag-off-season","27":"tag-omega-3","28":"tag-performance","29":"tag-plant-foods","30":"tag-protein","31":"tag-slovenia","32":"tag-training","33":"tag-transformation","34":"tag-united-states","35":"tag-unitedstates","36":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114930879521311016","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}