Two-a-day workouts and healthier diet have a lighter Jansen “ready to roll”
by Rowan Kavner
The home white coloring, blue lettering and red №74 all looked the same as Kenley Jansen grabbed his Dodger jersey during a meet and greet session with fans at Saturday’s Dodger FanFest. The person wearing the baggy jersey, which now sagged below his waist, did not.
Jansen said he lost 25 pounds through a two-a-day workout regimen and improved diet during an offseason that began with an ablation procedure on his heart in late November.
“I’m telling you, man, I feel great,” Jansen said. “You just feel how your body’s reacting, how quick you recover when you’re exercising.”
He felt like a weight was lifted after the surgery, which came after the Dodger closer suffered a repeat episode of atrial fibrillation in August. Jansen returned from a brief stint on the disabled list to finish the year, but he knew then an offseason procedure was inevitable.
Soon after the surgery on Nov. 26, Jansen started working out again. Now, two months removed from the procedure, Jansen is back to throwing. He tossed his first bullpen session Thursday and said he felt great afterward.
He no longer needs to take medication, which often left him feeling lethargic toward the end of the 2018 season. When the Dodgers do travel to Colorado — where the irregular heartbeat occurred last season — he said he shouldn’t have any issues as long as he stays hydrated.
“Kenley had a big, unfortunate wake-up call with the heart,” said manager Dave Roberts. “He took care of that with the surgery. He’s in fantastic shape. The thing you always worry about when you lose weight, are you going to lose strength and velocity? But he says he feels just as strong as he ever has. He’s got more energy than he did before, so we’ll see when he gets on the mound.”
As Spring Training approaches, Jansen described himself as “ready to roll.”
This spring will likely see Jansen more active than last year, when he was eased through February and March in an effort to keep him more well-rested for the season.
“Ain’t no sitting down, taking vacation,” Jansen said. “I’m going to do my job and get myself ready, throw as many innings as I need to get ready for a new season.”
Despite being limited late in the year by his heart issue and early in the year by a hamstring issue in spring that started his season slower than he would’ve liked, Jansen’s overall 2018 statistics looked respectable (3.01 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 10.3 K/9) by year’s end in another All-Star season.
Still, he knows he has more to offer.
“I’m not happy at all about the year that I had,” Jansen said. “That’s another motivation for me, too, to push myself. Every year, you want to get better.”
Physically, he feels prepared to do that.
Using what he dubbed the “Kenley Jansen diet,” the Dodger closer worked out every day in the offseason — once in the morning and again before bed— and eliminated carbohydrates and sugars from his diet. Dropping the sugars and ice cream were the hardest part, he said. But it paid off.
He estimates he’s now the lightest he’s been since 2012, when he was 258 pounds.
“It was a struggle, but I did it,” Jansen said. “A lot of mood swings, but I did it. It kind of messed up right at Christmas — had rice for the first time. Now, I’m watching what I’m eating. You see how your body feels. … I want to take care of my heart. I don’t want to do another surgery.”
