Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Terron Armstead had a spring in his step as he introduced his retirement from soccer over the weekend. That’s as a result of the five-time Professional Bowl choice has been intently specializing in his well being, dropping as a lot as 57 kilos since his freshman yr of school.
In an unique interview with M&F, the 6’ 5” sort out explains why he determined to make some positive lifestyle changes throughout this low season and, excitingly, what’s subsequent for this unstoppable power at simply 33 years of age.
The indicators that Terron Armstead would go on to turn out to be an distinctive athlete had been unattainable to overlook. Born in Cahokia, Illinois, he towered above most of his friends and displayed distinctive energy. Throughout his time on the College of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, he was a mainstay on the soccer discipline whereas additionally competing in observe as a shot putter, discus, and hammer thrower.
In actual fact, Armstead had such a superb arm that he hit a shot-put private document of 18.73 meters in the course of the 2012 NCAA West Regional competitors. He additionally had a career-high discus throw of 50.37 meters. “It was time-consuming, for positive, whereas attempting to maintain up with my lecturers” displays the participant of juggling each sports activities and an training. “However fortunately, my head soccer coach and my head observe coach labored extraordinarily effectively collectively, they usually made it doable for me to be totally invested in each. I used to be solely in a position to do three years [of track], although. I ended up leaving college after my senior soccer season, in order that I may prepare and prepare for the draft. However I strongly really feel like I had an opportunity to win the Nationwide Championship at shot put if I had been in a position to stick with observe for that final season.”
Terron Armstead Is a File-Breaking Offensive Lineman
Quite than throwing shot places or the discus, the choice to throw himself into the NFL Mix in 2013 would pay dividends. The large man shocked scouts when he made a 40-yard dash in just 4.71 seconds, incomes the quickest time of any offensive lineman — a proud document that also stands as of this writing. Armstead factors out that there are many gamers with longer arms or larger fingers, however the important thing to his progress was all the time owed to honing his finest attributes. “I don’t have the most important measurables, however explosion… I bought that,” he confirms. “Being fast throughout the sphere, having that energy and that pop is what I’ve.”
With such energy and breakneck pace, it’s little marvel that Armstead was chosen within the third spherical of the NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. There, he made a big impact on the workforce and continued to be a daily fixture regardless of the challenges of concussions and knee points. Accidents would comply with Armstead regularly throughout his soccer profession, however they’d all the time battle to maintain up. In 2017, he tore his labrum in coaching however returned faster than medical doctors predicted. Pushing by his knee issues, Armstead secured three Professional Bowls whereas with the Saints, however he additionally realized that his immense energy had a flip facet.
Terron Armstead By no means Stopped Evolving as a Soccer Participant
“What goes up, should come down,” jokes the baller, and he’s proper. Soccer followers like to see 300-pound-plus gamers operating, leaping, and tackling, however they don’t all the time concentrate on the toll that this takes on a participant’s physique. “I’ve been by it, that’s a reality,” says Armstead. “A whole lot of accidents, numerous robust instances, numerous adversity. I’ve been knocked down fairly a bit and persevered. ‘Perseverance’ is a phrase that I attempt to embody… by no means give up. Preserve getting up. Preserve going. I’ve had conditions the place accidents have are available on the worst doable time, simply horrible. Whether or not it’s massive video games or playoffs arising, issues like that.”
In his personal phrases, Armstead impressed his teammates and followers by all the time “taking every damage on the chin.” The passionate participant all the time discovered a solution to come again as a significant menace to any lineup. Armstead’s epic energy was accountable for scoring important factors and making for thrilling motion. He would throw himself into the combination with the identical kind of depth he’d throw the shot places. Thankfully, throughout his latter days with the Saints, he additionally started to know, below the recommendation of workforce coach and therapist, Beau Lowery, that his epic power required some harnessing.
“I’d simply go, and carrying a lot weight, and put out a lot explosion,” he displays. “I picked up numerous tender tissue accidents. My muscle tissue wouldn’t be capable to maintain the power, so I tore numerous issues.” Regardless of his uncompromising bodily model, Armstead factors out that he by no means broke a bone in his profession, however to manage his torque, he shares that Lowery helped him to know the “different facet of it” by specializing in deceleration work and realizing when to “throttle down.”
Nonetheless, accidents are an inevitable actuality on the gridiron. In 2022, Armstead suffered {a partially} torn pectoral muscle whereas enjoying his first season for the Miami Dolphins. Regardless of the numerous damage, he returned that season and earned a Professional Bowl choice. He then adopted that effort along with his fifth Pro Bowl in 2023.
Terron Armstead Used the 2025 Off-Season to Deal with His Bodyfat Degree
As the favored participant started the 2025 low season, Armstead determined to drastically change his physique composition. He tells M&F that he’d hit his heaviest whereas nonetheless a freshman in faculty. “The most important quantity I’ve ever seen on a scale was 327 kilos,” he shares. “I used to be nonetheless round 320 kilos after I was with the Saints.”
Within the final couple of years with the Dolphins, nevertheless, Armstead had been tentatively tackling his bodyfat, dropping all the way down to someplace between 300 to 310 kilos in latest video games.
“As I used to be getting older, I wished to maintain taking weight off and take some stress off my joints. I really feel prefer it helped me within the latter a part of my profession,” says Armstead, noting that after the numbers on the scales started to fall, he wished to maintain going by making extra of a concerted effort.
To that finish, he now stands earlier than us right now at round 270 kilos. “That is the primary time I’ve seen two-hundred-and-anything on a scale, since most likely junior highschool,” he laughs. The advantages have been critical, nevertheless. “My knee has been a extremely massive situation for me the final couple years, so I simply wished to take some weight off that, and my again, simply coping with taking bull rushes for thus lengthy, a lot impression and pounding with these collisions. So, it’s been about taking the stress off my again and actually, it’s been an enormous distinction, a drastic distinction… I really feel higher.”
Armstead tells M&F that he kicked off his critical weight-loss journey by beginning a three-day water-only quick with the intention of resetting his digestive system and reviving his mobile steadiness. It’s an approach that has been backed by scientific studies, too “I didn’t make the complete third day,” he admits. “I folded and ate a salad for my dinner as a result of I used to be working actually exhausting on the similar time.”
After his fasting interval, Armstead says he went “chilly turkey” This previous New Yr’s on processed meals and chips. The celebrated athlete additionally talked to consultants like Dolphins’ nutritionist John Paranti and the workforce’s energy coach and Director of Participant Efficiency, Dave Puloka to study extra about growing a greater relationship with meals.
Armstead explains that they each informed him to verify his consuming regime remained sustainable. “Simply don’t go fasting and ravenous your self, and drop some weight too quick, otherwise you’ll lose muscle,” he says, sharing the wise recommendation that he obtained. “I didn’t need that. I wished to get match and to be extra wholesome, take some weight off, and a few stress off the joints. That was my purpose.” Now, 57 kilos lighter than throughout these freshman days, Armstead feels brisker than ever, concentrating on excessive protein, low carbohydrate meals, with a lot of greens.
Armstead has labored along with his chef, Ronnie King, to turn out to be extra observant about every thing that he eats—from these horrendous hidden energy in salad dressings, to the vastly completely different dietary values in varied varieties of breads, and he’s additionally swapping out his beloved chips for some nutrient-packed fruit as a substitute, which means that his salt consumption has been considerably lowered.
“If I’ve bought to decide on between this and that, now I’m going to show the package deal round and see the substances,” he says of his new-found mindfulness round mealtimes. “I really like meals. I need to have enjoyable with it, and I need to attempt various things. So, I’ve expanded my palate — consuming much more sushi now, and nigiri, and sashimi than I ever have earlier than. “I’m not essentially counting energy or making it a troublesome job… I’m having enjoyable with. I nonetheless eat quite a bit, I’m simply consuming much more super-lean objects!” One other calorie crusher has been boxing coaching. It’s superior to see that Armstead is embarking on retirement with such a wholesome outlook. And he seems to be tackling his longevity with the identical gusto that earned him all of these athletic accolades.
Terron Armstead’s Athletic Highlights
- Illinois State Champion, Shot Put (2009)
- 4.71-second document breaking 40-yard sprint for an offensive lineman (2013)
- Highest draft selection for a participant from Arkansas-Pine Bluff (seventy fifth total decide)
- 5 Professional Bowl choices (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023)
- 6-time workforce captain (2018-2023)
Pound for pound, Terron Armstead will probably be regarded again on as one the best athletes within the historical past of the NFL. However with this new-found spring in his step, anybody who thinks he’s saying goodbye to soccer can assume once more. As an observer and as a mentor, Armstead nonetheless desires to present again to the game that has supplied a lot for him and his household.
Terron Armstead Is Excited for the Future After Asserting His Retirement
Along with his well-established Team Armstead Foundation, the inspiring athlete is eager to proceed giving a leg-up to members of our youth who’ve fallen into the chance hole. He additionally tells M&F that he’s enthusiastic about a lot of different prospects that may open up now that he has some extra time on his plate. “I really feel like I’ve already had my fingers in so many various avenues of life,” he explains. “I’m busy in enterprise, and as an investor, as a philanthropist, and with my basis, the neighborhood middle. I’m busy as a father. I really like my three youngsters: Triniti, Tatiana, and Tristan. They’re athletes. My twin ladies play basketball and my son performs basketball and soccer. So, we’re tremendous busy with that alone and touring and all these good issues.”
Nonetheless, don’t be shocked in the event you at some point see Armstead within the broadcast sales space. “However for me, I feel career-wise, I’m entering into this this media and broadcasting area that I take pleasure in. I really like speaking the sport and never simply soccer, both. It might be basketball. It might be enterprise and finance, tech, no matter, you understand what I imply?”
Along with his thirst for health data, maybe Armstead may proceed to share what he’s realized within the health area too. “Muscle & Health, we may do this, completely,” he enthuses. “I consider that I’m in a position to clarify issues the place it’s simply digestible. So, after I’m explaining soccer, I need to get an opportunity to interrupt down the main points of the sport. Particularly O-Line play and D-Line play that folks don’t actually know or perceive. I would like to have the ability to be a voice. Most significantly, I’ll be capable to spend extra time with the youngsters. I’ll be capable to go to all of the video games and go to practices and see their growth, their development. And as they proceed to go up with their degree of competitors, I’ll be there. I’m tremendous excited for that half.”
For all his blood, sweat, and tears, Armstead appears again on his soccer profession with nice fondness. “I wouldn’t change a second,” he shares. “Wouldn’t change a play, wouldn’t change a second. I might not. It’s made me who I’m, and it’s all been part of my journey and my story. I wouldn’t change one second. I’m blessed!”
