"Crowder says he believes in mixing it up instead of relying on weight training alone. Check out his surprising outdoor upper-body routine.A small crowd gathered at an athletic field in Austin, Texas, to watch four-time Pro Bowler Brian Orakpo and fellow NFL pros work out. Brian Orakpo hopes change in workouts will help him stay healthy with Titans - Washington Times Orakpo, who left the Redskins after six seasons in … I also earned a spot on the NFC Pro Bowl team. Pause at the top and bottom of each rep.No surprisesâor bandsâon this next exercise. Make sure you have a spotter so that you can safely lift and put down the weight.Orakpo is not only a gym rat, but a football specimen. Unlike many workouts, this one doesn't start out in a gym filled with barbells and benches.
But Brian doesn't spend all his time "clangin' and bangin'" at the gym.
Stack mats shoulder-width apart about the height of a kettlebell. Bend down and grab two kettlebells (one in each hand) keeping your chest up. But if I'm not as strong as some of the younger players I face, I'd better finds ways to be more powerful, faster, more agileâand smarterâthan they are. Why? Workouts Have your partner pick up your legs from the ground, suspending you in the air so you must work harder to keep your core tight.For the first set, place your hands in a neutral position and perform 25 push-ups. Engage your core and upper back, pulling the band tight as you extend your arm out wide to the left of your body. Keeping your muscles warm is crucial to prevent muscle injury.http://www.brianorakpo.com/blog.htm?cat_id=AF6C4955-103F-4428-8FCE-5E3BBEB7672F&cachecommand=bypass&pageindex=3 http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=feldman_bruce&id=3420212 A Herculean upper body is a job requirement for Tennessee Titan linebacker Brian Orakpo.
On his site BrianOrakpo.com, he discussed some of his training methods:“You feel the weight of a 45 pound vest bearing down on you as you exert maximum effort until you are out of breath. Return to center and perform 10 more fast but controlled repetitions.Repeat the superset using your right arm, performing a total of three sets of 10 reps.Using a heavy band, hold the band down in front of you and step onto the center of it with both feet. Get in the gym and improve your strength and conditioning with these tips. Complete three sets like this, each set of 30 consisting of three smaller sets of 10 reps with a 10-second hold on the tenth rep.For the fourth and final set, complete 50 repetitions as fast as you can while maintaining good form. I finished with 11 sacks, a Redskins rookie record and the most of any rookie in the league.
He has incredible speed, power, and explosiveness and he throws around 100 pound kettlebells and 180 pound dumbbells like their rag dolls. Aside from the jungle gym itself, the only equipment in sight are heavy-duty "Today's a lighter-resistance day, but with a ton of reps, making it a big hypertrophy-and-muscular-endurance day," Crowder explained.
Perform 10 fast reps.Immediately superset the action by turning your body 180 degrees, keeping the band in your left hand so the band now crosses in front of your body. Vernon Davis is one of the biggest physical specimens in the NFL. Orakpo is that physically gifted.He arrived at Texas in college as a frail 210 pounder and is now a chiseled 263 pounder with only 8 percent body fat. He’s as hard of a worker as we’ve had in our program, practices and plays with great intensity and is a terrific young man off the field.”However, Orakpo’s not just about strength, he plays with speed and technique to complement his power. BRIAN ORAKPO WORKOUT WARRIOR! Position yourself far enough away from the post so that when you stretch your left arm toward the post, the band remains taut.With your core tight and knees slightly bent, pull your left arm from its outstretched position to the center of your chest, keeping your arm level as your quickly perform the movement. Now draw both shoulders up toward your ears for 10 reps. On the tenth rep, hold your shoulders high in the shrugged position for a count of 10 before continuing. He put in hours and hours in the gym to get to where he was. For the second set, place your hands wide and perform 20 more push-ups. "The resistance the athletes push against includes far more than the rating of the band itself. Laura Williams, MS, is a freelance writer and exercise science instructor. Before Crowder announces that it's time to start resistance training, these ballers have already done In fact, this crew has put in a good hour's worth of work before they ever start their strength training.Unlike many workouts, this one doesn't start out in a gym filled with barbells and benches. WORKOUT 1: DOUBLE KETTLEBELL SUMO DEADLIFTS 1. His workout routine is quite impressive and the sheer numbers that he puts up in the gym are quite frankly on another planet.Orakpo’s 40 yard dash time is a blistering 4.63 seconds, which is blazing fast for someone his size and to rep out 225 pounds on the bench press for 31 times is something unheard of.
Step your left foot behind you slightly, engage your core, and lean your torso forward. At 6’3 and 263 lbs., he is one of the strongest linebackers in football. But the band programs he designs for Orakpo and other players tend to follow a similar trajectory: Tax the major upper-body muscle groups with compound exercises such as push-ups and pull-ups, then burn up the smaller muscle groups with fast supersets and high repetitions.Here are some of Crowder's favorite upper-body exercisesâwith and without bands:Wrap a band over your upper back, holding the ends down with each hand to keep the band secure. As you lower yourself into push-up position, tighten your core and keep your lower back engaged and aligned with your shoulders and feet. 3. July 19, 2017 For the final set, put the band aside and do your final set of 8-10 reps using your body weight alone. "Orakpo says Crowder's somewhat unorthodox approach to strength training is what keeps him at the top of his gameâeven as he heads into his ninth professional season.The trick to Crowder's training program is his use of resistance bandsâbut not the flaccid, overly-stretched bands you find in most gyms and physical-therapy offices.