College football players lift.
A lot.
Taking up so many hours, weight room workouts can get monotonous. Sometimes it’s hard to get good energy going when you walk into the same facility for what feels like the millionth time. Coaches know this, and some have resorted to unorthodox tactics to get their guys more excited in the weight room. Here are three unusual things strength and conditioning coaches have done to get their team jacked up to hit the iron.
Miami Turns Its Weight Room Into a Night Club
The University of Miami football team has long been known for being loud, excessive, extravagant and raucous. It’s also known for developing freakish athletes. Fittingly enough, earlier this summer the Hurricanes’ weight room was transformed from plain to poppin’ when dance-club lighting was brought in, the lights were turned off, and the music was turned up. Watch the players’ long faces turn happy and excited as soon as they walk into Club ‘Canes.
As for [youtube video=”” /]safety, we do not recommend performing the Power Clean in the dark during a laser show. But hey, this the U we’re talking about.
Ball State Weight Room Turns Into Monday Night Raw
Lifting in-season can be tough. You’re beat up from games and practices, and often the last thing you want to do is get after it in the weight room. Ball State strength coach Dave Feeley and his staff know this, so they decided to change things up when the team came in for a 90-percent Squat day late in the season. The deal was, if you hit your 90-percent Squat, you get to experience a true pro wrestling entrance, complete with a curtain, a smoke machine and a championship belt. It worked too, as every player hit his goal that day.
[youtube video=”BrjjEYifky0″]Northern Illinois Maxes Out Under the Lights
One downside of lifting weights is that it is almost exclusively an indoor activity. Weight rooms can be smelly, sweaty and stuffy. Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could lift in an outdoor weight room? Northern Illinois University thought so. For their recent summer max-out session, the Huskies moved their platforms outside and under the lights. As every football player knows, you can always get more charged-up for a night game.
Bonus Video: Rutgers Turns Ice Bath Recovery Into a Rowdy Party
So after all that lifting, you’ll need to recover. Jumping in the ice bath is a proven method to reduce soreness, but its also about as fun as a helmet full of hornets. Rutgers somehow managed to make the painful-yet-necessary exercise of sitting in the ice bath look like the party of the century. Now it might actually be harder to get the team out of the bath than it was to get them in.
[youtube video=”EGlZNGLyxQk”]
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College football players lift.
A lot.
Taking up so many hours, weight room workouts can get monotonous. Sometimes it’s hard to get good energy going when you walk into the same facility for what feels like the millionth time. Coaches know this, and some have resorted to unorthodox tactics to get their guys more excited in the weight room. Here are three unusual things strength and conditioning coaches have done to get their team jacked up to hit the iron.
Miami Turns Its Weight Room Into a Night Club
The University of Miami football team has long been known for being loud, excessive, extravagant and raucous. It’s also known for developing freakish athletes. Fittingly enough, earlier this summer the Hurricanes’ weight room was transformed from plain to poppin’ when dance-club lighting was brought in, the lights were turned off, and the music was turned up. Watch the players’ long faces turn happy and excited as soon as they walk into Club ‘Canes.
As for [youtube video=”” /]safety, we do not recommend performing the Power Clean in the dark during a laser show. But hey, this the U we’re talking about.
Ball State Weight Room Turns Into Monday Night Raw
Lifting in-season can be tough. You’re beat up from games and practices, and often the last thing you want to do is get after it in the weight room. Ball State strength coach Dave Feeley and his staff know this, so they decided to change things up when the team came in for a 90-percent Squat day late in the season. The deal was, if you hit your 90-percent Squat, you get to experience a true pro wrestling entrance, complete with a curtain, a smoke machine and a championship belt. It worked too, as every player hit his goal that day.
[youtube video=”BrjjEYifky0″]Northern Illinois Maxes Out Under the Lights
One downside of lifting weights is that it is almost exclusively an indoor activity. Weight rooms can be smelly, sweaty and stuffy. Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could lift in an outdoor weight room? Northern Illinois University thought so. For their recent summer max-out session, the Huskies moved their platforms outside and under the lights. As every football player knows, you can always get more charged-up for a night game.
Bonus Video: Rutgers Turns Ice Bath Recovery Into a Rowdy Party
So after all that lifting, you’ll need to recover. Jumping in the ice bath is a proven method to reduce soreness, but its also about as fun as a helmet full of hornets. Rutgers somehow managed to make the painful-yet-necessary exercise of sitting in the ice bath look like the party of the century. Now it might actually be harder to get the team out of the bath than it was to get them in.
[youtube video=”EGlZNGLyxQk”]