Preseason and during the season, when you’re working out, what do you focus on when you lift?
When you think about working out, the first thing you think about is it starts in the core, so the first thing I would do is a lot more core stability stuff, do a lot of abs stuff to strengthen what I’m doing—if its squats, power cleans, or if its snatch, whatever workout I’m doing, the first thing you start out with it should be core, so you can be stable when you’re working out.
Do you use a weight belt?
No, I could understand why people would use them, but with me if you get your core and back and everything strong enough you don’t have to worry about a belt at all.
How do you train against injury? How do you protect yourself from injury when you’re lifting?
I think when you’re working out you always need to think about technique, how things should be done, how you should do the proper workout or proper technique and also listen to yourself too. Somebody or a trainer may tell you, this right here is the exact angle you should be at. But guess what? Your body is not going at that angle, so listen to your body. Talking about preventing injury from working out, I think you can use working out to rehabilitate yourself now. With my shoulder, working out gaining your strength back. That actually speeds up your recovery, because you can go through the stem and the laser and the ultrasound, but getting and doing the functional movements can get you over the hump to recover faster.
Did you ever get that kind of push to hard when you were younger and coming up? Did a trainer tell you to do this and you were like I can’t quite do that yet, how do you handle that kind of thing?
You’re always going to get people telling you how you should do it this or this should be doing but the thing is whatever you’re doing you’re giving it your all. Something’s you’re not going to be able to lift 400, you’re not going to be running a 4-3, but you’ve got to do what you can do and let them push you to a point almost to the breaking point, but guess what? That breaking point might not be the point that they want you to be at, but that’s the point where your body needs to be at. So if he pushes you to that point that’s all you got and don’t worry about what anyone else is saying.
Do you focus on one bigger lift more than another? Do you squat more, do you bench more?
To me, I always go back to what some kid asks me: What exercise do you do the most? For me its always, if the Ferrari didn’t have any wheels on it, where would it be going and I feel like your legs, you have to have strong legs, flexible legs, and especially every sport you’re running, jumping, it’s the core of your body. It’s the biggest muscles.
Do you do cardio off and on with lifting, or is it more one or the other?
Actually I do cardio throughout my lifting, its like a transition throughout the season to where I would do a fast-paced, intense workout.
What do you usually eat after you workout?
Before I workout I have a bagel and some sausage and strawberries, and then during my workout I have some sort of shake or hydrating drink. After I workout I have a protein shake, grilled chicken and pineapple. Like an hour after that I have some rice, fish, broccoli, and vegetables and then after that ill have my snack where I have some apples some nuts and then I have a whole other meal. I would say I eat 5000 calories a day, that’s what keeps me going.
What’s your PR for you say on a bench press? Especially going into a huge heavy lift, how do you psych yourself up to get over that hump?
I don’t want to do a one time lift of 450 or 430. I want to see how many times I can do a 315 or a 225 that equates a 430. Yeah you can put a whole bunch of weight on there and do it one time, yeah I did it one time, but how many times can I push up 315, showing your durability and showing your endurance and showing your strength of doing it more than one time? I do that with every single one of my workouts and its been good I’ve been doing that my whole career.
You do Pilates for core. A lot of guys wouldn’t even touch Pilates; a lot of guys wouldn’t even consider Pilates.
At first I didn’t think about it. As a guy you always look at it as women always do Pilates. Even yoga, I do yoga too. Now I’m doing Pilates and I don’t have as much back pain and neck pain because my core is a lot stronger and it’s a lot more stable and you’re using the small muscles.
In a typical workout how do you split the workout, is it always upper body and lower body?
I workout four days a week upper body then lower body and then Wednesday plyometrics then again a totally different upper body workout obviously not Wednesday but Thursday and then a whole different lower body workout on Friday.
What practical advice would you give to guys who are trying to get back in the gym after an injury?
An athlete [should] use the gym to rehabilitate themselves to get better and to make those muscles stronger. Think about it if you just had a surgery or just had an injury, you need to strengthen it back because there has been some type of traumatic problem. Use the gym to get back where you need to be to recover a lot faster.
What is the central message you and Wes Welker are trying to deliver with the Depend Players Challenge?
The main thing is to raise awareness for prostate cancer, and let people that are encountering an over active bladder know that its okay. And Depend is a great product to use. We had the Great American Try-On where athletes and celebrities tried the product on and let people know it is comfortable even us wearing it as athletes. And this year me and Wes [Welker] were in a competition for who could get the most votes for the Jimmy V Foundation. They’ve been doing research with prostate cancer for years. The winner gets 50,000 dollars donated in their name and the runner up gets 25,000 dollars. One in six people have prostate cancer let it know its an epidemic.
