James Milner: 'Run until the first person is sick!'

James Milner has combined old-school grit with modern sports science to sustain a remarkable career. The ex-England international is a three-time Premier League title winner and has reached 655 Premier League appearances, pulling him clear of fellow former Aston Villa and Manchester City star Gareth Barry at the top of that chart.

Milner says he has always been inquisitive about new methods, challenging routines and asking for the information behind them. He contrasts the past—"we're going to run until the first person's sick, and when the first person's sick, we'll stop"—with today's GPS data and detailed targets: "right, today we're doing five kilometers and we're going to do 750 high speed, and you need to hit over 90% peak speed for the day because it's a high speed day and it's sprint distance." He credits advances in physio, sports science, diet and recovery for helping extend careers, while noting luck and mentality also play a role.

England

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