Workout Tips From Rams Players And Coaches
Our Rams are ready for September’s kickoff and be rest assured that they’ll be physically ready to go. Due to the current health situation many of us fans may have let our fitness slide and are now looking for ways to start or enhance our own fitness routines, so we can be in good shape for the new season. And who better to draw inspiration from than our Rams. With that said, we’ve compiled four workout tips from both players and coaches that are sure to level up your training. Take a look!
The Importance Of The Warm-Up – Rams Staff
It’s common knowledge that warming up is important yet many still avoid it or do as little as possible. The fact that the Sideline Challenge workout begins with a long warm-up session is unequivocal proof that the team’s coaching staff consider warming up as crucial as the strength and endurance exercises.
The workout starts with five warm-up exercises, beginning with the standing quad stretch and ending with crossover cones. This pre-exercise warm-up routine is vital for a number of reasons, with Gala Bingo’s guide to toning up emphasizing how it gets the heart pumping and prepares the body for the workout that will follow. In particular, it increases both the body and muscles’ core temperature, thereby improving energy production and decreasing the time it takes for the muscles to contract. The result is a more nimble body that’s less likely to get injured.
This is vital before any game, training, or workout, and it is why the Rams’ coaching staff have crafted a long warm-up routine for their players.
Mix Up Routines – Aaron Donald
Two-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald is famous for his intense workouts, including that once-viral knife-dodging drill that purportedly improves hand usage and reaction time.
Recently, he posted on social media a 300-rep brutal ab workout that looks just as hard as his infamous 500-pound bench presses. Given Donald’s legendary regimens, he’d be forgiven if he finds little that can challenge him. And as he tells The Athletic, he does get bored from time to time, especially now that he trains in isolation a lot of the time.
Even so, the six-time Pro Bowler still looks to keep things fresh as much as he can. “I’m still finding ways to keep myself in shape,” he says, “and do as much as I can to make sure I’m ready, whenever that time may be.” It’s a mindset to keep in mind as it can help to keep workout routines fresh and prevent training plateaus.
Take On Challenges – Taylor Rapp
Second-year man Taylor Rapp is looking to build on a spectacular rookie season, and it’s a challenge he looks capable of meeting. That’s because Rapp is in phenomenal shape, which he proved back in May when he conquered the so-called #10kCalorieChallenge.
The 22-year-old safety burned an astonishing 10,000 calories by biking 125 miles, swimming 1.25 miles, hiking four miles, running three miles, and then having a short workout after all that. With this mean feat, Rapp demonstrated an important lesson when working out or training: Take on challenges! They need not be as brutal as the #10kCalorieChallenge, but they have to be daunting enough to require that extra push.
“Embrace The Suck” – Sean McVay
It’s hard to find an NFL head coach as fit and as active as the Rams’ Sean McVay. The NFL’s youngest head coach at 34, McVay is known as much for his fitness as he is for his offensive genius. Part of what makes him so in shape is that he is willing to “Embrace the Suck” — a mantra plastered prominently in the Rams’ weight room. Of course, embracing the suck is the McVay way of making the workout more effective, like holding that plank a little bit longer or getting that extra last rep in. By pushing yourself a little harder you will get bigger gains from a workout.
While we wait for the new season we hope the above tips will inspire you on your own fitness journey so that you will be fit and ready to support the Rams.
Los Angeles Rams Defensive Lineman Aaron Donald. Photo Credit: The 621st Contingency Response Wing | Under Creative Commons License