Drew Brees Workout

The workout routine of Drew Brees focuses on improving balance, core strength, and joint integrity.

To prepare for the season, he works out three hours a day, five days a week with strength and conditioning coach Todd Durkin. Some days he focuses on speed, others he focuses on strength, and others he focuses on power. Brees said, “One morning we might be tossing medicine balls and flipping tires outside.”

Brees also makes sure to workout nearly every day on the TRX, a Navy SEAL–designed nylon-strap suspension system. Brees feels that putting his body weight against gravity gives the muscles more functionally than any dumbbell could provide. This certainly had an impact on Brees’ throwing mechanics, as he became one of the most accurate quarterbacks in pro football.

However, Brees doesn’t just work out his muscles. Perhaps the reason why he has a Super Bowl MVP is because he is so smart on the field. He makes sure to work his brain whilst performing arduous physical tasks. Durkin incorporates drills that are both mentally and physically taxing. At the end of each workout, when Brees is exhausted, Durkin takes out a deck of playing cards, faces Brees, and starts throwing the cards in the air, one every few seconds. Brees can lunge or jump to catch them, but he’s only allowed to catch it with one hand, which takes great focus and concentration.

Brees explains, “The quarterback position is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. I try to simulate the game as much as I can in practice and visualize every play and every defense we could see. In essence I’m playing the game over and over so that no matter what situation happens, I’ve already played it and can anticipate what will happen.” A mental workout is just as important as a physical one and using playing cards like this is a great way to work on natural reflexes and instincts, something that quarterbacks need to really excel at the position.

Brees is also an extremely competitive guy. To foster that competitiveness, Durkin turns group workouts into competitions with the loser having to run extra sprints or do 50 push-ups. “My body can only go as far as my mind can take it,” Brees says. Even after he joins his fellow NFL colleagues for 90 minutes of rigorous training and 60 minutes of on-field football work, Brees makes sure he does some self-prescribed training on his own.

Brees does a lot of different types of off-season workouts, but it’s the “Hurricanes” that we feel are most interesting and unique. Durkin says, “So I want to make sure we have some good power endurance so that he can maintain power for four quarters of football. This is a gut check, where we really see how good they are.”

Brees uses a partner for this workout. Using a partner is like a stopwatch. When he’s done, you go, and vise versa. This will ensure that you are never really stopping. Not to mention, a partner is a great source of some added motivation. You can just tell through Brees’ training routine with a partner how effective having this workout buddy truly is.

With a partner, Drew performs the following circuits for five minutes each, then rests for two minutes before attacking the next hurricane.

 

Hurricane 1
Perform one of the following variations; rest while partner goes; then perform next variation.
Forward TRX Sled Drag
Overhead TRX Sled Drag
Reverse TRX Sled Drag
Reps/Distance: 1×50 yards each variation [25 yards down and back]

Hurricane 2
Perform exercises immediately after each other in circuit fashion three times.
Sledgehammer Hits– 3×10 each side
Med Ball Clean & Press– 3×10 reps of 35-60 pound med balls
Ropes– 3×60 seconds
Jump Rope– 3×60 seconds

Hurricane 3
Perform Sled Pushes three times, resting while partner goes.
Sled Pushes– 3×50 yards [25 yards down and back]

Hurricane 4
Perform the following exercises immediately after each other in circuit fashion once.
Hover Plank to Standing Plank– 1×60 seconds (30 seconds of holding and 30 seconds of as many extensions as possible)
Bicycle and Rotate-1×45 seconds
Side Plank-1×45 seconds each side

 

As you can see, Brees has an unbelievable work ethic. No wonder why he owns a ring and a Super Bowl MVP.

 

NOTE: This is only part of Drew Brees’ workout routine, in which we offer some additional commentary to his regimen. To see the whole routine and to go more in-depth with athlete workouts, be sure to check out STACK Magazine

Source- http://magazine.stack.com/TheIssue/Article/6954/Drew_Brees_OffSeason_Training_Plan.aspx

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