Emmanuel Sanders knows he’s not getting any younger.

That’s why the Denver Broncos’ wide receiver had to make some changes in the offseason before he began his eighth year in the National Football League.

“Every year I get older and I mature,” Sanders said Wednesday after the Broncos finished their sixth morning training camp practice. “I understand what it takes to be a pro. That’s the definition; I’m just becoming a pro. Taking care of my body, eating the right things and putting the right nutrients in my body.”

Sanders has been on top of his game since joining the Broncos via free agency in 2014. In his three seasons in Denver he’s posted three straight 1,000-yard seasons.

If Sanders wants to see continued success, he knows that he has to do different things to keep his body operating at its full potential. This offseason, those changes came in the form of a new diet and a weight room in his home.

“I changed my diet up this offseason,” Sanders said. “I worked my butt off. I invested in myself. I put a weight room at my house in Houston. I mean, it’s two o’clock in the morning, I’m working out.”

As Sanders gets older, the 30-year-old wide receiver realizes what his new head coach means when he talks about making investments in yourself.

“[Head] Coach Vance Joseph always preaches about investing,” Sanders explained. “Once you invest your time and your work into something, then it’s harder to give it up. Right now, I’m looking back at all the grinding I did during the offseason. Of course I want to come out here and I want to ball. It means more to me.”

Sanders is off to another hot start as training camp approaches the midway point. Despite the quarterback competition still being undecided, Sanders and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas are once again looking like a deadly one-two punch on the outside for the Broncos.

Sanders knows how important it is to perform at this point in his career because he knows how important these years are.

“Right now it’s year eight, I’m trying to get to year 10 and year 11,” Sanders said. “These years are crucial, so that’s what I’m trying to get to.”