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Old Cat, New Tricks

To prepare for his 21st NFL season, Carolina Panthers quarterback = Vinny=20 Testaverde added speed and agility training to his workout regimen. = Here, his=20 personal trainer explains both how and why.

By Kory Angelin

Kory Angelin, ATC, CPT, is the President of Fast-Edge Sports = Performance,=20 a personal training company based in Hauppauge, N.Y., whose clients = include high=20 school, college, and professional athletes. He is the author of=20 Inspiration*Perspiration*Motivation, and the primary strength consultant = for=20 MyTeamZone.com, a soon-to-be-launched Web site for competitive athletes = at all=20 levels. He can be reached at: getfastt@aol.com.

In October, when the Carolina Panthers needed a quarterback who = could=20 join the team in the middle of the season and contribute immediately, = many=20 people were surprised that they signed 43-year-old Vinny Testaverde. But = having=20 spent this past summer as Vinny=E2=80=99s personal trainer, I = wasn=E2=80=99t surprised at all. I=20 knew he was in incredible shape and physically prepared for another = season in=20 the NFL.

=E2=80=9CHe=E2=80=99s a guy who takes extremely good care of = himself,=E2=80=9D Panthers General=20 Manager Marty Hurney told the Associated Press after the signing. = =E2=80=9CHe played in=20 two preseason games [for the New England Patriots] and still showed the = ability=20 to compete in this league.=E2=80=9D

Certainly, Vinny today is not the same player who won the Heisman = Trophy and=20 was selected first in the 1987 NFL Draft. But the older, wiser Vinny has = kept=20 himself on the pro football radar screen by adapting his training to = incorporate=20 new trends that optimize his physical skills.

EXPLOSIVE SPEED
From the very start of our = work=20 together, Vinny was most interested in speed and agility development. I = train=20 teams at several Long Island high schools, including one near where he = lives,=20 and he was in the gym one day while I led a speed and agility workout = for the=20 school=E2=80=99s basketball team. The players were running with = harnesses, using ankle=20 bands, and performing core stability work, and Vinny asked me afterward = about=20 what he=E2=80=99d seen. He said he was intrigued and thought he could = really benefit=20 from this type of work=E2=80=94particularly at this stage of his = career.

Training for functional speed in football is a lot different from = training a=20 sprinter, for whom straight-ahead speed is the top priority. To help = Vinny=20 develop the type of speed needed to play = quarterback=E2=80=94particularly first-step=20 quickness and agility=E2=80=94I decided to focus first on building = explosiveness.

To do this, we relied heavily on resistance training. I think one of = the most=20 important recent trends in strength training is a new awareness that = advanced=20 resistance work can produce dramatic gains in speed, power, agility, and = endurance. In the old days, athletes would pump iron and then run = =E2=80=9Csuicides=E2=80=9D=20 after practice in the hope of getting faster. We now know that = resistance=20 training is a far more effective and efficient path to real = explosiveness and=20 speed gains, and strength coaches are learning that some of the most = meaningful=20 speed development happens outside the weightroom.

I=E2=80=99ve used parachutes, vertical jumpers, and other resistance = devices, but one=20 of my favorite resistance methods is running with a breakaway harness. = Harness=20 exercises provide two crucial benefits: First, the athlete must overcome = resistance while running, which helps recruit the key muscle groups for = speed=20 development. Second, when the resistance is suddenly removed, the = athlete has to=20 adapt their stride and proceed into an all-out, unencumbered sprint.

With Vinny, I would stay behind him and provide resistance by pulling = on the=20 harness. I never signaled before letting the harness break, so the = instant loss=20 of resistance provided a =E2=80=9Cshock=E2=80=9D to his body that he had = to adapt to=E2=80=94which=20 helped him develop reactive quickness and agility as he transitioned = into a=20 sprint. After a few repetitions, he definitely felt a difference in the = way his=20 muscles were forced to work in response to the resistance stimulus.

We also focused on single-leg training as part of the explosive speed = building regimen. I=E2=80=99m a big believer in the benefits of = single-leg work, because=20 it makes individual muscles work harder and doesn=E2=80=99t allow one = side to compensate=20 for weakness in the other. This is especially important for athletes = like Vinny=20 who have previously suffered a serious injury to one leg=E2=80=94he tore = his left=20 Achilles tendon while playing for the Jets in 1999, and told me = he=E2=80=99s felt some=20 instability and lack of explosiveness on that side ever since.

In a traditional squat, each leg bears 50 percent of the load. = Instead, I had=20 Vinny perform single-leg squats, and eventually jump squats, so each leg = could=20 develop power on its own. I also isolated one side at a time when having = him=20 perform jumping exercises using an agility ladder, stability exercises = with a=20 balance disk or BOSU ball, and front and lateral jumps over agility = hurdles.

RUNNING RIGHT
In addition to explosiveness, = running=20 technique is another essential ingredient of speed and quickness. = Quarterbacks,=20 even those in their 40s, must be prepared to escape a collapsing pocket = or take=20 off downfield to pick up valuable yards.

Teaching football players form running is nothing new. But what = drives me=20 crazy is how often players seem to just go through the motions when = performing=20 running form exercises=E2=80=94they get the heart rate up, but they = don=E2=80=99t train the=20 fast-twitch muscle fibers that are essential for good running technique. = With=20 Vinny, I made form running more effective by focusing on doing a maximum = number=20 of reps over a fixed distance, using exercises such as power skips, butt = kicks,=20 cariocas, and side shuffles.

During our form running drills, I told Vinny not to think about = getting from=20 point A to point B in the shortest amount of time. Instead, the goal was = to=20 perform the movements as many times as possible with correct form before = reaching point B, which meant doing them at maximum speed. To help = maintain=20 proper technique, I would give him verbal cues reminding him to look = straight=20 ahead and to remain on the balls of his feet during the drills.

STRONG TO THE CORE
For many competitive athletes, = and=20 certainly quarterbacks, core strength provides the foundation for every = type of=20 movement during a game. For this reason, I made core work one of our top = priorities.

Some of the most effective exercises we used trained core = stabilization,=20 strength, and balance simultaneously. One good example, which I call = chopping=20 wood, involved a balance disk and a medicine ball. Vinny would stand on = the disk=20 and hold the medicine ball to one side in front of him at shoulder = height, and=20 make a chopping motion across his body until the ball reached his = waistline on=20 the other side. As his core strength improved, I manipulated both the = number of=20 reps and the speed of the movement to increase the challenge. I also had = him=20 perform core twisting on a balance disk using elastic tubes for = resistance.

Another staple of our core work was a series of exercises I call = two-minute=20 abs. Vinny would start in a seated position on the ground with his feet = in the=20 air, and rotate through three different exercises: Russian twists, toe = touches,=20 and either crunches or bicycles. The goal was to complete a full two = minutes=20 without his feet touching the ground. At first, he couldn=E2=80=99t = quite make it.=20 Within a couple of sessions, he was still feeling a core burn, but could = keep=20 his feet up the whole time. And by the end of our training, I had to = rename the=20 exercise three-minute abs to keep it challenging.

That=E2=80=99s one of my favorite aspects of core training=E2=80=94if = athletes haven=E2=80=99t=20 focused on it much in the past, they receive almost instant positive = feedback=20 once they get serious about their core. Football players often spend a = lot of=20 time working their abs exclusively and think that=E2=80=99s the same as = core work, but=20 once they feel the muscle activation from true core exercises, they = quickly=20 understand the difference.

ACCOUNTING FOR AGE
As you read this article, you = may be=20 wondering: Can you really put a 43-year-old (who in fact turned 44 in = November)=20 through so many demanding exercises? The answer is a definite = yes=E2=80=94Vinny wouldn=E2=80=99t=20 still be in pro football otherwise. But that doesn=E2=80=99t mean I = forgot about his age=20 when preparing his workouts.

One major consideration was building in time to allow his body a = chance to=20 adapt to the unfamiliar exercises I put him through. Since he = wasn=E2=80=99t experienced=20 in speed and agility training, this was especially important. Perhaps a=20 20-year-old could jump right into single-leg squats, for instance, but = with an=20 older athlete like Vinny, I let him get comfortable with traditional = two-legged=20 squatting exercises before isolating each side.

In addition, I tailored my speed and agility program around his = existing=20 workout schedule, which has always focused on traditional strength = training.=20 Vinny=E2=80=99s personal workout regimen is legendary in NFL circles, = and he keeps=20 extensive workout records, so I looked at what he was doing and made = sure not to=20 overwork individual muscle groups on any given day. For example, if he = was doing=20 a lot of ab work on his own one day, I would avoid heavy core work = during our=20 session and instead focus on leg strength or agility.

Vinny made adjustments to his own workouts as well. I provided him = with an=20 overview of each week=E2=80=99s plan in advance (for a sample of a = typical five-day=20 workout schedule, see =E2=80=9CA Week=E2=80=99s Work=E2=80=9D below) so = he could adjust his strength=20 workouts accordingly. Since he was highly motivated to improve his speed = and=20 agility, he was more than willing to alter his normal workout schedule = so that=20 he was always physically prepared for our sessions.

Finally, as in any athlete-coach relationship, communication between = Vinny=20 and myself was key. We always discussed how he was feeling before, = during, and=20 after workouts to make sure I wasn=E2=80=99t pushing him too hard. By = keeping the lines=20 of communication open, I was able to put him through some very vigorous = exercise=20 cycles without putting him at risk for an injury, which at this point in = his=20 career would have been an extremely serious setback.

A SPECIAL ATHLETE
So what ultimately made my = training=20 sessions with Vinny successful? I believe it was his willingness to = continually=20 step outside the box and challenge himself in new ways. From the very = beginning,=20 he was excited to learn about the benefits of speed and agility training = and=20 eager to hear my explanations of how each drill would help make him = faster, more=20 powerful, and more explosive.

This season, Vinny is the second-oldest player in the NFL (behind = 47-year-old=20 place kicker Morten Andersen). After having worked with him this summer, = it=E2=80=99s=20 clear to me why he has lasted so long. Even in the twilight of his = career, he is=20 always looking for ways to improve himself by not only working harder, = but also=20 smarter. By introducing him to speed and agility training, I=E2=80=99m = proud to say I=20 assisted in that effort, and I hope it has helped prolong his pro = football=20 career. Vinny is proof that it=E2=80=99s never too late to gain an = edge.

Sidebar: A WEEK=E2=80=99S WORK
Below is a = sample week from=20 Vinny Testaverde=E2=80=99s summer training.

Monday
Form running (high knees/butt kicks/power skips/side = shuffles/cariocas) performed explosively as a warmup

Vertical jumpers, 3x20

Sling shots (10 sec. sprint x3, lat shuffles x10 each side)

Single-leg jumps on an agility ladder (forward and lateral) x3

Agility ladder, x2 for each movement

Reaction ball work and two-minute abs

Tuesday
Form running

Harness running sprints x6

Balance disk: squats, chopping wood w/med ball, catapults w/med ball, = Thera-Band twists 3x15

Power push-ups, stability push-ups w/balance disk 2x10

Balance disk: throwing a football 10 yards into a net x30

Plank push-ups, plank holds, side planks (3 sets of 20x10 sec. = hold)

Wednesday:
Rest

Thursday
Form running

Vertical jumpers, 3x20

Sling shots (10 sec. sprint x3, lat shuffles x10 each side)

Breakaway harness sprints up a 60-percent grade hill x6

Single-leg jumps over a line (forward, back, lateral) 5x10 sec.

Reaction ball work

Cone agility drills (box, Illinois agility test, zig-zag) x6

Plank push-ups, plank holds, side planks (3 sets of 20x10 sec. = hold)

Friday
Form running

Vertical jumpers, 3x20

Bungee sprints (forward, backpedal, side shuffles) x5 each = direction

Balance disk: chopping wood w/med ball, catapults w/med ball, core = twists=20 w/med ball x30 each

Thera-Tube core twists x30 each direction

Plank push-ups, plank holds, side planks (3 sets of 20x10 sec. = hold)

Bungee quarterback patterns x10

We welcome your feedback on this = article.=20 Please e-mail us at: amfeedback@momentummedia.com= =20