Blackhawks' Duncan Keith Opened Up About His Secrets

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith is still getting the job done at age 37. His longevity and ability to play at a high-level at his age comes with a ton of hard work and preparation. It also apparently comes with a focus on breathing. Keith opened up recently to Emily Kaplan of ESPN and talked about how something so simple and overlooked is so important.

I feel like my energy levels have never been better, really. I've always been diligent about my training. But now I feel like I put it all together. I've learned a lot over the years of what my body specifically needs. It's very underrated. There should be more talk about that. Breathing, and the power of the brain, are two things in hockey or sports, that don't get enough attention. I don't know why that is. The muscles and aesthetics get mentioned -- everyone wants to look good -- and that's important, for sure.

There's meditation breathing to bring your nervous system down to more of a parasympathetic state, where you're relaxing, and you're able to recover and rest. But for me, I work on my breathing and the mechanics of it a lot. I actually really started getting into proper breathing eight years ago, and have taken it to the next level in the last year especially. So that's something I'll continue working on.

Keith went on to deliver some mind-numbing knowledge about how he doesn't stay up late, stare at his phone for long periods of time, and lies on a mat with electric currents for eight minutes every morning. He also spends a ton of time in front of Joovv lights, which are designed to help with recovery.

Keith once joked he'll play until he's 50. With this type of routine, we may just see it.

For more on this story, click here to see the Kaplan article in full. 

Photo credit: : Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire