Seven months after confetti rains down on the Super Bowl turf, all 32 teams head into training camp thinking they’re good enough to go to the playoffs and beyond (yes, even the Cleveland Browns). Players spent their winters losing sweat in the gym to ensure they’re at peak performance come opening kickoff, and now they’ll finally get to show off the fruits of their countless hours of labor.
We’re just as excited for the season as they are, so to get you set for football season, we rounded up some of the NFL’s biggest stars (like Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, pictured) for a lengthy chat about how they train for the season, why they eat what they eat, and how they get their bodies NFL-ready.
How Some of the Fittest Names in Football Get Ready for the Gridiron
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Al Bello / Getty
Let’s start with the NFL vets. What’s your workout routine like during the off-season?
Ryan Kerrigan, Washington Redskins: It’s intense. I do a lot of strength training, powerlifting, squats, and explosive training. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve also started incorporating more flexibility work. I do a lot of yoga and Pilates to help my body stay healthy throughout the season.Sterling Shepard, New York Giants (pictured): I’m constantly in the gym. I do a lot of speed work on the treadmill, strengthening my smaller muscles to help my leg strength and speed. For my vertical leap, I’ll use the VertiMax machine, and I do a lot of core work and agility drills. Single-leg stuff is key. As a receiver, you have to go up and attack the ball at the highest point, and all those moves really help with my upward explosion.Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys: I like to exhaust myself. I want to be the hardest-working person in everything that I do. That means time in the weight room and on-field workouts for speed and agility. When I’m training, it’s not a success unless I’m exhausted, unless I push myself to those limits.T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers: It’s important to not do the same workout every day, otherwise your body gets used to it, and it becomes too easy. So I think you need to switch it up weekly. For leg day, I do a lot of single-leg squats. I don’t do many double-leg squats, because I like to work on specific muscle groups. Lunges and Bulgarian split squats are great, too.
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The Washington Post / Getty
What about the rookies? How are you preparing to make the leap from college to the pros?
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants: Being a running back, you have to be explosive. So I focus a lot on keeping my power and foundation strong with explosive movements. I’ll do heavy squats, power cleans, bench work for upper body. When you’re a football player, you don’t need to run for lengthy periods, but you have to maintain good conditioning so you’re at your peak for that six-to-eight-second play. My body fits my position, and I make sure to keep strong to handle that bruising and hitting throughout the season.Sam Darnold, New York Jets: To get ready for the draft, I worked out five days a week, lifting and working on speed. We did a lot of cardio and leg strength, and we’d do some balance and foot drills. I do some type of core work every day. Even if I’m doing legs, I’ll make sure my core is engaged, because that area really drives the whole body to be athletic and functional.Derrius Guice, Washington Redskins (pictured): I focus mostly on my core. My go-to exercise is the Russian twist, and I use a 15-pound medicine ball for it. My workouts vary quite a bit. Sometimes I’ll do boxing. I do a lot of squats—I’ve done 650 pounds before—and I’ll do balance exercises and hand-eye coordination and ball-security drills.
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Al Pereira / Getty
If you could use only one type of workout to train for football, what would it be?
Saquon Barkley: Anything for legs. When you’re 230 pounds, people don’t think you can move that fast. I put a lot of hard work into my legs and my calves to help keep that speed and power.Ryan Kerrigan: The squat—because you have to have a strong lower half, and you have to be explosive. In football, you can be as strong as you want in your upper body, but if you don’t have strength in your lower half, you’re going to get pushed around, especially on the line of scrimmage where I play.Sam Darnold (pictured): Can I say lifting and running? [Laughs] Probably cardio, because at the end of the day, you have to stay in shape when you’re a quarterback. Sterling Shepard: I do a lot of single-leg work to help keep my foundation strong. I’ll also throw on my cleats and do suicide sprints to help with my conditioning and stamina.
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Diamond Images / Getty
What’s some position-specific training that you do?
Ryan Kerrigan: Some of my favorite workouts are explosive. I like doing box jumps. Explosive movements are really important for a pass rusher. I also do a lot of ladder drills to help with coordination, because in pass rushing, you have to marry your hands and your feet. The ladder teaches you to do that.T.J. Watt (pictured): I like to do a lot of the combine-specific drills, especially moves with jumping, because it’s important to be as agile and athletic as I can be for my position [linebacker].Sam Darnold: I do a lot of single-leg stuff for balance and strength. It’s really important as a quarterback to make sure we have stability and that all our joints—our ankles, knees, and hips—are strong.Dak Prescott: As a quarterback, you need to move. I do a lot of jumps, a lot of quick movements, explosive moves. It’s great to do the squats and other lifts, but I always feel, anytime I’m jumping, I’m really getting my legs going. I have a long stride, so it’s about stretching right and staying loose. When those big guys start chasing me from behind, it reminds me, it’s time to go fast.
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Tom Pennington / Getty
Let’s talk nutrition. What’s your diet routine like?
Saquon Barkley (pictured): At my age, I can kind of eat anything. But to stay at my best, I’ve added a lot more grains to my diet. And heading into camp, it’s been strictly protein. Lots of meat.Ryan Kerrigan: Each day I try to eat at the same time and eat the same amount of protein, carbs, and fats at each meal. It’s something I’ve really taken pride in over the years, because I feel like it really makes a difference in not only training but also allowing me to sustain performance throughout the season.Sam Darnold: Eating right is such a key thing. You can train as hard as you want, but what you put in your body can be the difference maker. I stay away from anything greasy. On game days, I make sure I have a good amount of carbs in me before games. That’s what fuels me to play at my peak performance.Dak Prescott: When we have a late game, I’ll eat a bigger break- fast, a light lunch, and a really light pregame meal. If it’s an early game, I eat half a breakfast, a light lunch, and just go get it. But it’s always light. I’ve got to feel light on my feet when I’m on the field.
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Patrick Smith / Getty
How do you train for injury prevention?
Ryan Kerrigan (pictured): A lot of mobility exercises. I’m a big believer in foam rolling and stretching. I feel like that really helps you stay limber and can help you avoid those soft tissue injuries that can be a nag and a pain throughout the season. I try to do yoga three or four times a week because the importance of flexibility can’t be overstated. It helps with injuries, but it also helps you on the field, to make yourself small around an offensive lineman.
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Ronald Martinez / Getty
How do you kick back on an off day?
Dak Prescott (pictured): Fishing is one of my favorite things to do. It just allows me to get away. I love to be on the water, I love the calmness I get from it. And then when you start to fish, it’s truly a game. Depending on what you fish, you have to know exactly how to do it and how to hit the fish. It’s a sport. It allows me to compete like football a bit.
Let’s start with the NFL vets. What’s your workout routine like during the off-season?
Ryan Kerrigan, Washington Redskins: It’s intense. I do a lot of strength training, powerlifting, squats, and explosive training. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve also started incorporating more flexibility work. I do a lot of yoga and Pilates to help my body stay healthy throughout the season.
Sterling Shepard, New York Giants (pictured): I’m constantly in the gym. I do a lot of speed work on the treadmill, strengthening my smaller muscles to help my leg strength and speed. For my vertical leap, I’ll use the VertiMax machine, and I do a lot of core work and agility drills. Single-leg stuff is key. As a receiver, you have to go up and attack the ball at the highest point, and all those moves really help with my upward explosion.
Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys: I like to exhaust myself. I want to be the hardest-working person in everything that I do. That means time in the weight room and on-field workouts for speed and agility. When I’m training, it’s not a success unless I’m exhausted, unless I push myself to those limits.
T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers: It’s important to not do the same workout every day, otherwise your body gets used to it, and it becomes too easy. So I think you need to switch it up weekly. For leg day, I do a lot of single-leg squats. I don’t do many double-leg squats, because I like to work on specific muscle groups. Lunges and Bulgarian split squats are great, too.
What about the rookies? How are you preparing to make the leap from college to the pros?
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants: Being a running back, you have to be explosive. So I focus a lot on keeping my power and foundation strong with explosive movements. I’ll do heavy squats, power cleans, bench work for upper body. When you’re a football player, you don’t need to run for lengthy periods, but you have to maintain good conditioning so you’re at your peak for that six-to-eight-second play. My body fits my position, and I make sure to keep strong to handle that bruising and hitting throughout the season.
Sam Darnold, New York Jets: To get ready for the draft, I worked out five days a week, lifting and working on speed. We did a lot of cardio and leg strength, and we’d do some balance and foot drills. I do some type of core work every day. Even if I’m doing legs, I’ll make sure my core is engaged, because that area really drives the whole body to be athletic and functional.
Derrius Guice, Washington Redskins (pictured): I focus mostly on my core. My go-to exercise is the Russian twist, and I use a 15-pound medicine ball for it. My workouts vary quite a bit. Sometimes I’ll do boxing. I do a lot of squats—I’ve done 650 pounds before—and I’ll do balance exercises and hand-eye coordination and ball-security drills.
If you could use only one type of workout to train for football, what would it be?
Saquon Barkley: Anything for legs. When you’re 230 pounds, people don’t think you can move that fast. I put a lot of hard work into my legs and my calves to help keep that speed and power.
Ryan Kerrigan: The squat—because you have to have a strong lower half, and you have to be explosive. In football, you can be as strong as you want in your upper body, but if you don’t have strength in your lower half, you’re going to get pushed around, especially on the line of scrimmage where I play.
Sam Darnold (pictured): Can I say lifting and running? [Laughs] Probably cardio, because at the end of the day, you have to stay in shape when you’re a quarterback.
Sterling Shepard: I do a lot of single-leg work to help keep my foundation strong. I’ll also throw on my cleats and do suicide sprints to help with my conditioning and stamina.
What’s some position-specific training that you do?
Ryan Kerrigan: Some of my favorite workouts are explosive. I like doing box jumps. Explosive movements are really important for a pass rusher. I also do a lot of ladder drills to help with coordination, because in pass rushing, you have to marry your hands and your feet. The ladder teaches you to do that.
T.J. Watt (pictured): I like to do a lot of the combine-specific drills, especially moves with jumping, because it’s important to be as agile and athletic as I can be for my position [linebacker].
Sam Darnold: I do a lot of single-leg stuff for balance and strength. It’s really important as a quarterback to make sure we have stability and that all our joints—our ankles, knees, and hips—are strong.
Dak Prescott: As a quarterback, you need to move. I do a lot of jumps, a lot of quick movements, explosive moves. It’s great to do the squats and other lifts, but I always feel, anytime I’m jumping, I’m really getting my legs going. I have a long stride, so it’s about stretching right and staying loose. When those big guys start chasing me from behind, it reminds me, it’s time to go fast.
Let’s talk nutrition. What’s your diet routine like?
Saquon Barkley (pictured): At my age, I can kind of eat anything. But to stay at my best, I’ve added a lot more grains to my diet. And heading into camp, it’s been strictly protein. Lots of meat.
Ryan Kerrigan: Each day I try to eat at the same time and eat the same amount of protein, carbs, and fats at each meal. It’s something I’ve really taken pride in over the years, because I feel like it really makes a difference in not only training but also allowing me to sustain performance throughout the season.
Sam Darnold: Eating right is such a key thing. You can train as hard as you want, but what you put in your body can be the difference maker. I stay away from anything greasy. On game days, I make sure I have a good amount of carbs in me before games. That’s what fuels me to play at my peak performance.
Dak Prescott: When we have a late game, I’ll eat a bigger break- fast, a light lunch, and a really light pregame meal. If it’s an early game, I eat half a breakfast, a light lunch, and just go get it. But it’s always light. I’ve got to feel light on my feet when I’m on the field.
How do you train for injury prevention?
Ryan Kerrigan (pictured): A lot of mobility exercises. I’m a big believer in foam rolling and stretching. I feel like that really helps you stay limber and can help you avoid those soft tissue injuries that can be a nag and a pain throughout the season. I try to do yoga three or four times a week because the importance of flexibility can’t be overstated. It helps with injuries, but it also helps you on the field, to make yourself small around an offensive lineman.
How do you kick back on an off day?
Dak Prescott (pictured): Fishing is one of my favorite things to do. It just allows me to get away. I love to be on the water, I love the calmness I get from it. And then when you start to fish, it’s truly a game. Depending on what you fish, you have to know exactly how to do it and how to hit the fish. It’s a sport. It allows me to compete like football a bit.
