Ovie Mughelli, a fullback for the Baltimore Ravens, performs one of his lofty off-season workouts. He runs, crawls and claws his way up a specially built incline that is really, really steep. After this workout, running on flat ground is a piece of cake.
Sometimes we at TLAE get caught up in the highfalutin techniques of the cutting edge.
So today we bring you Philip Daniels of the Washington Redskins, an athlete unafraid to get old school and lift some extremely heavy weights. Daniels powerlifts in the off season.
For the featured session, Daniels has heavy chains attached to the bar which, as he reaches the lower portion of his squat, come to rest on the ground. The lower he goes the more chain is on the ground, in effect lightening the load on the bar. The lower one is in their sqaut position the less weight one is able to handle safely, so by using chains Daniels can maximize his workload without compromising his health.
Troy Polamalu is that Super Bowl Champion Steeler with the unorthodox hair. Even more unorthodox than his ‘do however is what he does at Marv Marinovich’s Sports Lab in Orange County, California. Polamalu -barefoot for the whole workout- performs extremely dynamic lower body movements, most of which look like highly modified pilates staples, at very high speed. The movements and the pace at which they are executed are supposed to represent a closer analog to what Troy does on the football field than traditional weight lifting. Hmmmm, this seems to be working.
Look at more of the unleashed creativity that is Sports Lab training.
How does a female professional football player train? Seemingly, a lot like a male professional football player. Donna “The Animal” Wilkinson of the D.C. Divas utilizes a number of olympic and traditional lifts to develop the power and explosiveness that football demands. Donna also hooks up to a Vertimax platform which provides lower body resistance training with minimal compromise on natural movement patterns, unlike most weight training.
Former OSU and current Colts wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez is working to improve all the time, even when he sleeps. Gonzalez rests and spends much of his time in an altitude simulation tent in which the oxygen concentration is held below seal-level standards. Long used by endurance athletes and mountain climbers, altitude simulation spurs the body to produce more red blood cells which, in turn, can deliver more oxygen to system. The result: better endurance.
Terrell Owens is known almost as widely for his work ethic as for his trash talking and elaborate touchdown celebrations. In this sneak peak into one of his in-season routines, he performs whole body movements while donning a matrix of resistance bands. Work with resistance bands can establish strength through a range of motion and the bands, unlike weights, pose little risk of injury. It’s a perfect solution for a battered athlete mid-season looking to prevent injury and maintain core strength.
USC’s real strength and conditioning coach employs the state of the art Ariel Edge Performance Analysis System to train and measure his athletes. USC’s fake strength and conditioning coach looks no further than a twinkie when he prepares the squad for games.
NFLer Julius Peppers’ workout emphasizes balance, flexibility and coordination. You don’t see him with a dumbbell heavier than five pounds.
We collect the workouts of elite athletes across a wide range of sports. We focus on techniques that anyone can incorporate into their fitness routine.
Anyone can train like an elite.
Anyone can train like an elite.
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Football
- Golf
- Gymnastics
- MMA
- Other
- Soccer
- Strongman
- Swimming
- Track and Field
- Wrestling
