It is all about speed for wide receivers in the NFL and Donald Driver has that and much more which has helped propel him to being the Green Bay Packers most prolific pass receiver in the long and storied history of the franchise and one of the best, if not under-rated wideouts in the NFL.

Here is how a premier pass receiver trains, specifically, #80. The 40 Minute Workout.

On March 15, the offseason strength and conditioning program for the Green Bay Packers will begin with long-time assistant Mark Lovat taking the reigns as the S & C Coordinator, taking over from Dave Redding who was the Coodinator last season. Redding will remain as Lovat’s assistant in a reversal of roles. Head Coach Mike McCarthy said this was part of the plan when he brought in Redding in the offseason a year ago.

Lovat is in his 12th year and third stint with the Packers.

Packers Fall To Buccaneers 38-28

As usual, the Green Bay Packers started well, made a pile of boneheaded penalties, had a sieve for an O-line that allowed defenders to sack our quarterback 6 times and then handed a win to a team that has been 0-11 since last season. What is a frustrated and exasperated fan to do?

I went out to the garage and did a bunch of barbell drop snatches and snatches and then finished with a couple sets of these:

2 sets with a 150# sandbag for about 170 feet. Listen to what was playing in the background.

Green Bay Packer Pro Bowl cornerback, Al Harris sealed the deal Sunday night by intercepting a Jay Cutler pass. A thing of beauty! Watch Al’s footwork training.

I cannot wait for the game between Green Bay and Minnesota. Monday, October 5th on ESPN. Mark your calendar. It is the 4th game of the regular season and in the NFL, a lot can happen. I hope Favre lines up against our new 3-4 defense and they make him regret ever coming out of retirement. He wanted to get back at the Packers and it appears he will get his chance. Bring it!

Now that the NFL draft is concluded, teams are looking forward to the mini-camps and soon after, regular training camp. In the meantime, players are employing state-of-the-art athletic training and conditioning that meet the demands of the positions they play, and also specific to their individual anatomies. This is where personal training end and professional sports athletic training begins.
Read the rest of this entry

I just read where NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers, James Lofton will make his first visit to Green Bay’s famed Packers Fan Fest event. It brought back a good memory from my younger running days. I sometimes would run hill repeats up a beautiful grass hill overlooking Lake Michigan.

One sunny, hot summer day, I was hoofin’ it up the hill, thinking I am all that when the long-legged Lofton bounded up that hill and passed me like I was standing still. It was an awesome performance and today still a vivid memory. The man was an elite athlete and trained liked one.

Read the rest of this entry

At the conclusion of unsuccessful NFL seasons, a lot of people get the axe-general managers, head coaches, assistant coaches, positional coaches and strength & conditioning coaches all can become expendable.

This happened today as my favorite team, the Green Bay Packers which had a deeply disappointing season and that axe fell hard for some, including Packer strength and conditioning coach, Rock Gullickson.

But what is the role of an S & C on an NFL team? Is he like a personal trainer to 53 elite full contact athletes or is there more to the job? Read the rest of this entry

The End of An Era

1. Met-Rx being bought out just before closing it’s doors by a guy with a last name beginning with “Z” who saw fit to make sure that “Z” shows up everywhere. (Hint: he ain’t Zorro). The Met-Rx Era has ended along with what made it special.

2. The influx of new trainers of dubious qualifications from another gym and their out-of-shape clients contributed greatly to the “Bally-fication” of Met-Rx. Read the rest of this entry

Here is what it should like, featuring Aimee Anaya.

Now that’s how get extension! Catalyst Athletics has this to say about extension:

“In order to remain balanced, the athlete must be leaned back slightly at the top of the extension of the snatch (this can often be avoided in the clean with compensatory movements elsewhere). Note that this does not mean the hips are pushed forward–as much as possible, the body is extended straight and in its entirely leaned back.”

So, that is my Oly lift project, full extension.

•Speaking of the snatch, Mike Covert reports a new PR @ 145 lbs with a body weight around 175 lbs. Nice job, Mike!

•Our gym is getting inundated with bodybuilder photo shoots. I guess if it helps pay the bills, fine, just stay away from the big boy toys, Mirror Muscle Man!

•Scott and his freaks have taken a hiatus from their strongman stuff to do an Olympic lifting cycle, now that I have two sets of my bumper plates residing over at the gym. Like their other lifting,  technique doesn’t seem to matter as much as how much weight gets on the bar. To their credit, a couple of the guys can clean and jerk heavy.

•Having learned chocolate milk makes for a good recovery drink, I don’t have to waste money on Muscle Milk. Chocolate milk is a good “treat” for a heavy lifting session. “Who wants Ovaltine?”

•Medicine balls do work better when you have someone throwing them back to you!

•As the weekend draws to a close, Bucky won and the Packers put on a show, especially at the end of the game and came away victorious. Both teams are undefeated! The Cowboys are in the house next Sunday. Should be a great game!