It's time to kick it again with the latest installation of the Fitness ...

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 anhonor 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 andtelling you, you are the best thing since sliced bread.When I’m not in the Super Bowl I can’t wait for itto get over with. The 2005 NFL season officiallybegins the day after the Super Bowl. This willmean every team in the NFL is undefeated with anequal opportunity to compete for the next WorldChampionship. It is a tremendous rush to know itis officially time for 32 teams to begin a questtoward the next Championship and our chancesare as good as any other team.Many of our players use the day after the SuperBowl to jump start the beginning of their offseasontraining. In our stadium there is a newsense of urgency. There will be a new buzzaround our facility and the tempo of everythingwe do will quicken. Suddenly I will hear less of myU2, Springsteen and Tim McGraw in the weightroom, and more of the hip hop enjoyed by ouryounger players. I am eager and willing to makethat sacrifice.Chad Stanley is eager to ditchthese crutches.It hasn’t exactly been quiet in the weight room since the end of our season. Therehave been players here every day getting treatment in the training room andrehabbing injured areas. For some players the season ended early and they havealready started physically preparing for the upcoming season.Three of those players include Jay Foreman, Seth Payne, and Chad Stanley.Chad had surgery at the end of the season and is well into his knee rehabilitationand has already started a total body strength program with some modifications untilhe doesn’t need crutches to get around.Jay Foreman also has had to modify some of the things he does in the weight roomwhile 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 whichprevents 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 ofexercises 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 liveon 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 SmithMachine (below). He then relocates to the Hammer Isolateral Seated Row. Weremoved the seat which allows Seth to stand while performing the row.The Smith Machine bench press is currently the only pushing movement Seth cansafely perform therefore he returns to the Smith Machine and performs two moresets of the bench press. Before performing the bench press Seth pre-exhausts theanterior head of the deltoid with a hard set of lying front raises (below) andimmediately performs a set of ten reps of the bench press. He rests 90 seconds andimmediately performs a second set of front raises followed immediately by the benchpress. This sequence of exercise will amplify the benefits obtained by the deltoids.Upon completion of the front raise/bench press sequence Seth performs lying manualtriceps extensions, followed by manual neck flexion. He then gets back on his feetand propped up on his crutches he performs two sets of manual biceps curls with atowel.

Some athletes look for excuses skip work outs. I am fortunate to be part of thiscurrent Texans team. It is collectively the most disciplined team I have trained in mytwenty-four years as an NFL strength coach. The three players listed above aretestimony to this discipline.In next week’s Fitness Corner I’ll get back to answering your questions that havebeen accumulating.