Former NFL defensive powerhouse James Harrison accomplished a lot during his 15-year career, and it’s a safe bet that he’ll end up in the Hall of Fame with those accomplishments, which include being a key part of two Super Bowl winning teams, appearing in five Pro Bowls, being named First Team All-Pro twice, and winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2008. He is actually the first-ever player to win that last award after going undrafted earlier in his career.
That’s right, after a college career at Kent State, the outside linebacker made it to the pros without being drafted. You may be wondering how a team could pass on such a once-in-a-lifetime talent, but going undrafted actually helped Harrison become even more determined and work harder to make it.
If you want to see what kind of drive it takes to make it to Harrison’s level, all you have to do is take a look at his Instagram. He shares that drive and passion with every post he makes of himself training. Even now at age 41, Harrison still trains like he’s going to suit up despite being retired from the game for two years. Not only is he strong on the old-school basic moves, he also finds unique ways to add his own twists to different exercises so they can challenge him in different ways.
As you can see through these Instagram posts, the man is still a monster in the weight room. He moves heavy weight in the gym like he used to move offensive linemen on the field, and his 1.3 million followers love watching him in action. Check out what we’re talking about below.
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Core Work
Looking for something more challenging than the standard crunches? Check out the unique ways Harrison trains his abs.
This version of the push press doesn’t allow for much stability, but that’s exactly why he’s doing it. It takes a lot of strength to be able to control weights hanging off bands on an unstable bar.
How many guys in their 40s do you know that can bench 500 pounds? Hell, how many people do you know at any age that can do that? Turn the sound on for this one, so you can hear the intensity.
Doing dumbbell presses in alternating fashion makes you work harder to keep balance and stabilize the weight. Harrison was working with 150s for reps, so while you should definitely try this for yourself, you probably shouldn’t go that heavy.
Check out the twists on these basic moves. Here, he turns the hammer curl into a version of a drag curl. He also performs the single-arm cable curl with the arm back. Obviously, they work.
