OVER 21 YEARS, soccer star David Beckham won 19 major trophies, although he never brought home a World Cup. He is both the goat and GOAT of English football, igniting both fan fury and fan adoration throughout his career. Beckham retired in 2013, but his body and mind still bear the scars of carrying a nation’s hopes, as well as the grind of playing more than 600 games for clubs and country.
On the cusp of 50 and enjoying renewed global interest thanks to his hit Netflix documentary, Beckham still looks like he could kick it: quads sculpted, physique shredded, hair perfectly scruffy. He’s now busy off the field, co-owning Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami team, launching the supplement brand IM8 (available at IM8Health.com), and raising his four kids, ages 13 to 26, with Victoria, a.k.a. Posh Spice. He rolled up early to our photo shoot in London in a racing-green Rolls-Royce, and after several hours in front of the camera, he grabbed a bag of salt-and-vinegar Kettle chips and talked to MH about how he’s bending it – time, that is. Beckham may train hard and primp meticulously, but looking good, he says, will never come at the expense of a decent bag of chips.
Men’s Health: The saying goes that your body keeps the score. How are you holding up these days?
David Beckham: My body’s actually feeling better than it has done for a long time. People ask where I feel it the most – is it my knees or my ankles? My Achilles was a bad injury toward the end of my playing career, but it never troubles me now, despite rupturing it. It’s actually the lower left side of my back and my left hip that give me the most grief. I’ve had it all X-rayed, MRI’d – it’s just wear and tear.
I’m better at looking after myself now. It’s working on things with my friend and trainer Bobby Rich. I’ve never been the best at taking supplements. You know, Victoria would always put them out for me, and I’d always forget or I’d think, There’s 16 tablets there – I just can’t be arsed. It’s the reason that I created IM8. There were so many supplements, so many tablets, and so many powders. One person saying one thing is the best and others would disagree. IM8 works for me. Gut health, energy, focus – all of it is improved.
MH: What does your workout look like?
DB: The strength work that I do for my core and upper body helps with the backaches that I’ve got. When I was playing, the only strength work I did was on my legs. It was never really upper body. I never had pecs until I met Bob [Rich]. You could say I’ve gone up a couple of cup sizes as a result. I’ve never had a chest. I never really had a desire to, either. I was determined to be as lean as I could be. But since I’ve retired, I’ve put a bit of meat on my pecs. I hated pull-ups with a passion. I could literally only do two or three – three at most. Bob decided to focus on press-ups and pull-ups.
I hated both, and now we do them most days. I’ve been trying to get Victoria to work out with Bob for years, and she finally agreed to adjust her workout. Now we do five days a week, sometimes six, together.
MH: Do you do the same exercises?
DB: She still does the StairMaster or the VersaClimber. She’ll do half an hour on there, then she does an hour with Bob and me. I love training with Victoria. I give her a lot of shit. We both give each other plenty of shit. She’s not very good at listening to Bob. Well, she’s good at listening, then she does her own thing. She’s not great at taking a rest. He’ll get her to have 90 seconds’ rest, and she’ll be ready to go after 25 seconds. But when it’s good in the gym and we’re both in a good mood, it doesn’t get any better than that, I suppose.
MH: Is approaching 50 fazing you at all?
DB: It doesn’t bother me one bit. People are asking me about it gently, like it should be a big issue. It’s not something that I’m worried about – as long as I’m fit and healthy and my family is healthy, that’s all I care about. For my 50th, I’m going to keep it really simple. I want good food, good wine – that’s it. All my closest friends.
MH: How has your approach to eating changed?
DB: I’m very lucky. My best mate Dave says I have a metabolism like a Ferrari. He hates me for it. We’ll go out and I’ll eat and eat and eat and I won’t get any bigger. He looks at a packet of Hula Hoops and he thinks he’s put on weight. I eat virtually everything. My diet hasn’t changed over the last 20, 30, 40 years, in all honesty. Even throughout my career, I was able to eat what I wanted.
Obviously, it was stricter throughout the time where I played professionally, but really, I’ve been able to eat whatever I want whenever I want. But I’m still quite strict on how I eat. There’s not many things I don’t like, so you can always have your cheat day. There’s nothing wrong with that. You’re allowed to do that. If you want a burger, if you want some chocolate, if you want some crisps – it’s all in moderation.
MH: What are your favourite foods?
DB: I’m an East End [of London] boy, so I grew up eating [beef] pie, mash [potatoes] and liquor [parsley sauce], and jellied eels, so that really is my favourite food of all time. I love a roast dinner. I love gammon egg chips and pineapple, but I love all foods. My love of cooking came from my mum. I always used to cook with my mum at home.
And then, obviously, when I moved up to Manchester when I was 15 years old, I lived in lodgings, and I just cooked and I loved it, and it’s something that I always felt took me back to my childhood.
MH: What’s a classic David Beckham dish?
DB: Well, obviously, my wife eats differently to me and the kids, so my wife’s would always be like a salt-baked fish or a grilled sea bass or something with some avocado and some greens. Mine and the kids – they love Italian food, so I feel that I perfected the ragù and the fresh pasta, so it would be like a Bolognese. Cooking is a real passion for me now. We were in Miami for a few weeks, and I really fancied a Spanish omelette. I set myself the challenge of mastering a Spanish omelette – and I did. I’m not a baker, baking bread eludes me, but I make a decent lemon drizzle cake. But I would love to be a great baker at some stage.
MH: What are your goals with the Inter Miami soccer team?
DB: This was a real opportunity, not just to create a franchise but to create one of the best sports franchises in America. It all comes from me trying to help the future of kids in America, giving them the opportunity to play the sport we love. That’s ultimately what it all boils down to and what I’ve always wanted to bring to America.
From day one, I wanted to establish an academy system. We have a lot of young kids that are playing in our academy and graduated to the first team. Just look at Benjamin Cremaschi coming through. Three years ago, he was playing in the Under 17s. All of a sudden, not only is he playing on the USA national team; he’s playing alongside Leo Messi, the greatest player to ever play the game. It’s unbelievable. It’s also really exciting to see the new stadium happening, too. I won’t feel completely happy until we win an MLS Cup.
MH: How do you deal with stress?
DB: I ride my motorbike. I drive myself everywhere. I used to drive myself up the M6 [a major highway in the UK] and back. It always sorted my head out.
The bike is the same. Also, my chickens in the countryside, being in my garden, hanging out with friends, having a pint or a glass of wine. That’s what I love. We had the chickens, vegetable patch – all down at the country house. It’s something I’m so proud of.
When we go through the harvest of the honey and I sit there in my kitchen looking at it all, I get quite emotional. I turn around to my kids, looking for their respect, and they’re like, “Yeah, whatever, Dad.” It’s so satisfying for me, though. So I’ll keep going.
Also, I love snow, so not being able to go skiing my whole life up until I finished playing [because of insurance constraints] was painful. I always used to see friends going, and I’d feel I was missing out. A couple of my boys were snowboarders, and I knew that I wanted to be a snowboarder. I wanted the cool clothes. I wanted to look good. It took me three or four days to learn, three or four painful days – it was horrendous. But the moment you get it, there’s no better feeling. It’s my favourite holiday. I can have a bit of anonymity. I like feeling healthy, like being out in the open air. You’re up early and you’re in bed early.
The best part is having those chats on the lifts or in the gondolas. You get into them. The kids can’t go on their phones, they’re just sat there, and we’re all chatting – it’s amazing. I’m pretty sure I’ll still be trying to go down the slope at 70 – hopefully.
What is David Beckham’s new health supplement?
Our editors check IM8 Daily Ultimate Essentials, Beckham’s 92-ingredient super powder
COLOUR: Between crimson and Red Devil red, thanks to the beet, cherry, and pomegranate.
TASTE: Refreshing and tart. Not medicinal (or grassy) at all.
LIKES: The science team, including Cedars-Sinai microbiome expert Suzanne Devkota, PhD; Mayo Clinic integrative oncologist Dawn Mussallem, DO; and former NASA scientist James Green, PhD.
The pre-, pro-, and postbiotics, plus digestive enzymes. The 100g of the coenzyme Q10, which supports heart health.
The 30 mcg of vitamin D3, 65 mg of magnesium, 900 mg of vitamin C – classic multivitamin stuff. It’s NSF certified for Sport.
DISLIKES: $99 per month – very posh!
EXPERT TAKE: “It’s certainly convenient to have all of these products in one place, but you could buy a multivitamin, a probiotic, CoQ10, and magnesium and save money,” says Brian St. Pierre, RD, an MH US nutrition advisor.
David Beckham's workout routine
AT 50, BECKHAM says his goals are to remain lean, strong, and pain-free, according to his longtime trainer Bobby Rich. “It’s about fine-tuning his biomechanics on the major moves and staying consistent.”
1 CALISTHENICS
To keep strong, carve his core, and stave off back pain, Beckham does pull-ups, hanging knee raises, and push-ups most days. Rich says Beckham sometimes calls him “Boring Bob” because he emphasises the same exercises, but he considers these foundational functional moves. And Rich does mix it up by varying the tempo, reps, and sets.
2 STRENGTH
Two decades of playing soccer means Becks has done a lot of leg work and now focuses on full-body training sessions, including the Big 3: deadlifts, squats, and bench presses. But Boring Bob adds spice by mixing in variations, so one session it’s deadlifts with a barbell, the next with kettlebells, the next with dumbbells, so the actual sessions are always fresh.
3 CARDIO
Beckham likes “any fitness challenge,” and while he’s a fan of SoulCycle, Barry’s Bootcamp, and boxing, his current favourite cardio is playing padel, the tennis-squash hybrid. When in Miami, he plays three times per week. It revs his cardio, tests his agility, and serves as QT with his family and friends.
4 RECOVERY
After training, Beckham often makes “a protein shake with a little bit of creatine, coconut water, two bananas, almonds, lots of ice – that’s it.” He’s a fan of acupuncture and cupping, which he says helped him overcome injuries during his career and help whenever he has any aches or pains. Beckham also says he “prefers ice baths over cryotherapy” and likes to do contrast sessions from sauna to ice bath. This can boost circulation and reduce inflammation.
WORDS GORDON SMART.
PHOTOGRAPHER SCOTT TRINDLE.
FASHION DIRECTOR: TED STAFFORD.
HAIR: KEN PAVES/ROUGE ARTISTS.
MAKEUP: MIRANDA JOYCE/STREETERS.
SET DESIGNER: JOSH STOVELL/LALALAND ARTISTS.
LIGHTING: FABIAN NORDSTROM.
This story originally appeared in Men’s Health US
