It's time to kick it again with the latest installation of the Fitness Corner.
I have been fortunate to be part of four Super Bowls while with the Redskins.
It is an honor and an exhilarating experience when you are part of the Super Bowl
hype. There are only two teams left playing and everybody is pumping your tires
and telling you, you are the best thing since sliced bread.
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| Chad Stanley is eager to ditch these crutches. |
Many of our players use the day after the Super Bowl to jump start the beginning of their off-season training. In our stadium there is a new sense of urgency. There will be a new buzz around our facility and the tempo of everything we do will quicken. Suddenly I will hear less of my U2, Springsteen and Tim McGraw in the weight room, and more of the hip hop enjoyed by our younger players. I am eager and willing to make that sacrifice.
It hasn't exactly been quiet in the weight room since the end of our season. There have been players here every day getting treatment in the training room and rehabbing injured areas. For some players the season ended early and they have already started physically preparing for the upcoming season.
Three of those players include Jay Foreman, Seth Payne, and Chad Stanley.
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Chad had surgery at the end of the season and is well into his knee rehabilitation
and has already started a total body strength program with some modifications
until he doesn't need crutches to get around.
Jay Foreman also has had to modify some of the things he does in the weight room while he recovers from a season ending ankle injury. Jay is one of our most disciplined workers and was back in the weight room just a few days after surgery. The word from Jay Foreman is, "I'll be back, and better than ever."
Seth Payne also had surgery to repair his hamstring. Seth, like Chad and Jay, returned to training as soon as he was able. He currently wears a brace which prevents him from bending at the waist. He must remain in a supine (lying on back), prone (lying face down), or standing position. This limits the number and type of exercises he can perform, however it doesn't limit how hard Seth continues to train.
We continue to add new things he can perform in a safe manner. Seth and I both live on the edge a little bit so we try and make sure we don't get too crazy.
While lying on his back Seth performs several sets of the bench press on a Smith
Machine (below). He then relocates to the Hammer Isolateral Seated Row. We removed
the seat which allows Seth to stand while performing the row.
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The Smith Machine bench press is currently the only pushing movement Seth can safely perform therefore he returns to the Smith Machine and performs two more sets of the bench press. Before performing the bench press Seth pre-exhausts the anterior head of the deltoid with a hard set of lying front raises (below) and immediately performs a set of ten reps of the bench press. He rests 90 seconds and immediately performs a second set of front raises followed immediately by the bench press. This sequence of exercise will amplify the benefits obtained by the deltoids.
Upon completion of the front raise/bench press sequence Seth performs lying manual
triceps extensions, followed by manual neck flexion. He then gets back on his
feet and propped up on his crutches he performs two sets of manual biceps curls
with a towel.
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Some athletes look for excuses skip work outs. I am fortunate to be part of this current Texans team. It is collectively the most disciplined team I have trained in my twenty-four years as an NFL strength coach. The three players listed above are testimony to this discipline.
In next week's Fitness Corner I'll get back to answering your questions that
have been accumulating.
