What offseason?
Dolphins players maintain a rigorous workout regimen.
DAVIE— Andre Branch has very specific plans for the rest of the offseason.
“MMA [mixed martial arts] training three times a week, strength training five times aweek, boxing four times aweek,” the Dolphins defensive end said, hardly taking a breath. “I have a chef that [cooks for me]. I eat very, very healthy. I only drink water and coconut water.
“PT [physical therapy] twice a week. A chiropractor three times a week. Pilates three times a week, and yoga twice a week. Steam room every day.” Off day? “Sunday,” he said. NFL players have put themselves through rigorous and varied routines for many years. Ex-Dolphins linebacker Zach Thom as used to have a hyperbaric chamber, for example.
But nowadays it seems players are doing even more to keep their bodies in tip-top shape during the offseason, and acquiring more knowledge about howto best do so.
“Without question it has increased,” said ProBowl defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. “There are many people that I’ve come across in the last five or six years that I’ve been fortunate to listen to, learn from, understand my body. Something is always changing, so it’s an evolution to find different ways to adapt the body.”
Partly because of that increased attention to diet and fitness, Dolphins coach Adam Gase is optimistic his players will heed his message about the six-week period between minicamp, which ended Thursday, and the start of training camp in late July.
“It is a time to kind of re-charge your bodies and your minds, and get away from it for a little bit,” Gase told his players about the break. “But don’t go too far.”
Anecdotal evidence suggests that won’t be an issue.
Wide receiver Kenny Stills is among a number of players who does Pilates. He even got fellow wide receiver Leonte Caroo involved.
Guard Anthony Steen has a seven-day offseason routine.
“I’ll probably workout three times for weights and then cardio four times a week,” he said.
But he also understands that doesn’t get you in football shape, so to speak.
“It’s hard to stay in football shape, running 60 plays, getting ready for a game,” Steen said. “You can’t just go run four or five times a week and then expect to play a full game. It’s totally different.”
But the offseason training helps.
Suh has been committed to his training for years. He’ll soon begin a program he described as “five strenuous weeks.”
“I go back to Portland, [Ore.,] withmy trainer, usually check in with my [doctors] on certain things,” he said. “If Ihave any bumps or bruises or whatever from minicamp— or mishaps— I deal with those particular issues.”
There’s also a bit of mystery in Suh’s process.
“There are some other things that go in there,” he said of his regimen, “but I’m not going to disclose those.”
Branch thinks his MMA training pays off in tangible ways on the field.
“I’m going against a guy who’s bigger and stronger than me every play,” he said. “So hand speed and leverage, that’s where the MMA comes in. Just knowing your body and knowing what position you can put your body in, no matter how big or strong they are, you being able to just leverage them and get them off of you.”
Fellow defensive end Cameron Wake has long been known for his strict diet and training. Wake, 35, was honored with a Pro Bowl berth last year after recording 11.5 sacks. That performance came one year after sustaining a seasonending Achilles injury.
Wake regards players taking care of their bodies as part of improving as a team.
“If it’s on the field, off the field, sleeping better, eating better, whatever it is to make yourself even better than we were last year,” he said. “Each man has to do that, and if we do that individually and collectively, I think that’s how we make it happen.”