Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Connor Barwin’s life story is like a checklist of things you don’t normally associate with NFL defensive ends. He was born deaf; a series of surgeries to remove a benign tumor at age 12 restored hearing in his right ear and part of his left. He met his current girlfriend in the eighth grade. He’s a huge indie-rock fan, and a fixture in Philadelphia’s live-music scene. He rides his bike to work. A vocal supporter of gay rights, he served as guest bartender in a Philly bar as part of a fundraiser to benefit victims of the Pulse shooting in Orlando. And he’s a civic activist whose Make the World Better Foundation has organized a Philly-centric music festival for the past three summers. To date, the concerts have raised nearly $700,000 for local parks and rec centers. “I live in the city,” he says, “and I see some outside of the city center that have fallen on hard times. In my position, I’m capable of doing this, so I should do it.”

He’s also pretty good at football: Last year, the 29-year-old Pro-Bowler finished with 54 tackles and seven sacks for the Eagles. He notched a sack in this year's season opening win against the Browns, even after moving to left defensive end. Here’s a typical week of eating and sweating in his life:

Monday and Tuesday: Total body heavy workout. “That’s where I’ll really put the load on,” he says. “Bench press heavy, squat heavy, power-clean relatively heavy. You need to feel that weight on your back, get used to pushing it.”

Wednesday and Thursday: “It’s more of an explosive lift. The weights cut back a little bit.”

Saturday: “I prime the system about 24 hours before the game. A lot of the new science says you can’t sit around the day before playing. On Saturdays, we’ll run around a little bit—hit close to top-end speed—to wake the body up.”

Game Day Breakfast

Barwin’s Sunday eats are an expanded version of his normal breakfast. “You’ve gotta have a balance,” he says. “It’s a lot to eat, but you don’t want to feel bloated.”

• Oatmeal with cinnamon and blueberries • English muffin with cream cheese and honey • 2-3 hard-boiled eggs • 30-oz. protein shake with fruit and veggies (especially spinach and avocado) • Pasta and/or chicken breast (sometimes)

Pregame Tunes

“I make playlists for the cities we’re playing in—you have these long bus and plane rides, and with Spotify and Apple Music it’s so easy. I listen to more indie-rock type stuff, which is not really workout music. When it comes to my pregame, I’m like most people my age. It’s a lot of the hip-hop I grew up with: DMX, 50 Cent, Eminem, some Kanye. I probably listened to Get Rich or Die Tryin before every game. It got old. Great album, though.”

Postgame Pizza

“You obviously try to get protein and amino acids back. My normal routine is coming home and getting pizza—but that’s more for relaxing. Mushroom pizza always from Santucci’s in Philadelphia. Always.”