Interesting read from PFW (Archuleta is a freak)
Corey Simonator
‘Evo’lutionary training: Archuleta explodes past his competition
By Nolan Nawrocki, Contributing writer
June 19, 2001
Adam Archuleta
at the Senior Bowl
Working out in front of NFL scouts in Indianapolis this past February, St.
Louis Rams first-round draft pick Adam Archuleta posted some of the most
impressive results for a safety in the 17-year history of the NFL Draft
Combine. The 6-foot, 211-pound Archuleta ran a 4.42 40, had a 39-inch vertical
jump and bench-pressed 225 pounds 31 times.
The reason Archuleta was drafted with the 20th pick in the 2001 NFL draft was
no accident. Archuleta’s numbers are the result of years of sweat and
training in preparation for this opportunity. As a 172-pound high school
junior, Archuleta became intrigued by an article written by Jay Schroeder,
founder of Evo-Sport, and felt compelled to contact him.
Schroeder developed Evo-Sport based on a principle that is widely regarded in
strength and conditioning literature but rarely practiced — plyometrics.
Nearly every part of the program involves absorbing and rapidly propelling
force.
Rather than perform a standard bench press, Schroeder teaches athletes to
explode through the movement, release the bar from their hands at the top of
the lift, drop their hands to their chests, catch and explode back into the bar
as fast as possible. Schroeder keeps his hands ready at all times, watching
athletes to make sure they catch the bar.
What impresses Schroeder about Archuleta’s ability to bench-press 530 pounds
is not the sheer mass being moved, but that it is moved in 1.09 seconds. Force
on the football field is the product of mass and acceleration. Traditional
weightlifting programs concentrate on moving mass regardless of how much an
athlete struggles to perform the lift. Schroeder emphasizes performing lifts
quickly, which increases the amount of force produced and has turned Archuleta
into a havoc-wreaking machine on the football field.
When Archuleta began the Evo-Sport program, he benched 265 pounds in 2.76
seconds in the concentric or ascending phase of the lift. He squatted 273 in
3.47 seconds, ran the 40 in 4.79-4.81 and had a 26-inch vertical jump. Today,
his personal best in the bench press is 530 pounds in 1.09 seconds and in the
squat, 663 pounds in 1.24 seconds. At an individual workout for NFL scouts, he
ran the 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds and jumped 39 inches vertically.
As a walk-on football player at Arizona State, Archuleta quickly earned a
scholarship and became Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year last season as a
senior. In his five years at ASU, Archuleta trained with Schroeder in addition
to completing the workout program the rest of his team performed.
"The will to prepare for success is more important than the will for success,"
Schroeder said. "If you want to be the best football player or the best safety
or the best center or the best bench presser, then be willing to work that
hard, not just put in the same work that everyone else is putting in."
Archuleta said he paced himself through ASU’s workouts so he could
concentrate on Schroeder’s program.
"You could jump and you could exercise all day long, but that doesn’t mean
you are going to get any better," Archuleta said. "Everyone squats and
everybody runs and everybody jumps and everybody benches, but it’s the way
that you do it. There’s no secret exercise. It’s the way it’s applied.
And that’s where Jay’s expertise comes in."
While Archuleta was accustomed to receiving compliments for his football
prowess in high school, Schroeder challenged Archuleta. Schroeder evaluated how
Archuleta compared with other athletes and gave him a program to complete
before he would agree to work with him. After Archuleta showed signs of
progress over several months, Schroeder welcomed him into his gym. Not long
afterward, he kicked Archuleta out for not working hard enough and told him not
to come back. The next day, Archuleta showed up and waited in the doorway of
Schroeder’s office while he completed office work. After ignoring him for
more than an hour, Schroeder told him, "All right, let’s work out."
"He challenged me to come in here every day, and he really put me through some
beat-down workouts," Archuleta said. "He really tested my intestinal fortitude
and really taught me what it was like to work hard. He put me through a lot of
tests and was constantly trying to teach me and mold me and get me to
understand what it took to be a good athlete and what kind of sacrifices it was
going to take."
A key component of Schroeder’s program is repetition. Typical football
programs train each body part twice a week and allow ample opportunity for
rest. In Schroeder’s program, athletes might train the chest 12 times a week.
His clients usually exercise twice a day, six days a week. Football players use
their muscles constantly during a week in practice and games. Why should their
weight-room preparation be any different?
A typical chest workout for Archuleta involves 100-300 repetitions with weight
varying between 225 and 275 pounds. Schroeder gives Archuleta a set number to
perform, and he must perform the concentric phase of each lift in less than a
quarter of a second. If he doesn’t explode fast enough, the repetition does
not count toward the prescribed goal for that day. For every 15 reps he
completes, he has to do one to three supermaximal reps from 500 to 600 pounds
on his own.
Many strength experts would argue that Schroeder’s intense program neglects
recovery time, decreases strength and increases injuries, all of which are
symptomatic of overtraining. However, Schroeder says his program is
specifically designed to overtrain an athlete.
"We try to overtrain to a 3 to 7 percent deficit on purpose," Schroeder said.
"The longer we can maintain that level, the greater the supercompensatory
effect is later on. If we go deeper in the overtraining than that, it sets us
way back, but if we go at 3 to 7 percent, we maintain great results."
The game of football is played in 45-second spurts. On an average play, an
athlete expends his energy fully for five to 10 seconds, followed by a 35- to
40-second rest. A series usually lasts anywhere from three to 15 consecutive
plays. A long series of plays leaves most players gasping for air and eager to
hit the sideline for water and rest. Compared to the stress placed on an
athlete in Schroeder’s workouts, he believes a 15-play series is relatively
easy.
Several NFL players have begun Schroeder’s program, only to leave the gym
after 10 minutes and never return. Schroeder assumes they left because it was
too difficult.
"It’s not for the faint of heart," Schroeder said. "It’s very difficult
training, both the mental and emotional training. We’ll bench sometimes 12 to
15 times a week. People aren’t mentally and emotionally in tune to doing
that. So just the sheer repetition of heavy, fast moving of loads is enough to
make you tough. Someone like Adam, he can go out and run near his max speed
many, many, many times even under duress."
While Archuleta’s strength coaches at ASU did not like him consulting
professionals outside of their supervision, Archuleta is a firm believer in
Schroeder’s program.
"(ASU coaches) didn’t like what we were doing and tried to make excuses that
it wasn’t good for me and blah, blah, blah and whatever," Archuleta said.
"The results don’t lie. And the kind of football player that was made
doesn’t lie either. So people have egos, and people get jealous, but I mean,
the bottom line is what’s happening. Am I getting results? Am I getting
better? Am I a better football player? Am I getting less injured? Am I
stronger? Am I faster? That’s the bottom line, and that’s all I’m
interested in."
Archuleta is not the only athlete seeing results. Schroeder trains Arizona
Cardinals WR Rob Moore and QB Chris Greisen, San Francisco 49ers TE Brian
Jennings and Kansas City Chiefs TE Troy Drayton, in addition to many champion
powerlifters, college softball players and other clients aged 4 to 82.
Upon seeing Archuleta’s successful results from Evo-Sport, his agent, Gary
Wichard, began referring other clients to Schroeder. It took one visit to the
gym to convince Rob Moore of the value in Schroeder’s program. As an 11-year
veteran wide receiver, Moore has gained nearly 100 pounds on his bench press in
five months and is now benching 425.
According to Wichard, Schroeder’s training is certainly evolutionary, as the
title Evo-Sport infers.
"I’ve never seen anything as football-oriented as this kind of training,"
Wichard said. "Everything is done with speed. I’m talking about lifting 500
pounds with speed. Don’t give me pretty-boy bench presses that are slow. He
doesn’t even count those. You have to explode. If you watch Adam’s game on
the field, his game is about explosion and force, and that is what Jay is
teaching."
While Schroeder’s program is innovative, the fundamental principle of his
teaching will always remain the same. It is best demonstrated by the words of
his protégé, Archuleta:
"I just try to go to bed every night with the attitude that nobody put in more
time or worked as hard as me that day."
Adam Smash
on his stomach, and has a bar over his Achiles heels clamping his feet to
the ground. Then, keeping his torso/hips/thighs completely straight, he
flexes his hamstrings and pivots at his knees to perform a reverse sit-up.
He ends up in a kneeling position.
I've spent a lot of time in the gym, and I've never seen anyone do this.
Archuleta will be someone to watch this year.
My prediction? One of the top performers from this draft. Too bad the
Eagles couldn't get him.
-adam
James Bell
"Adam Smash" <nos...@mail2.sas.upenn.edu> wrote in message
news:9h7n2e$57p$1...@netnews.upenn.edu...
My prediction: He gets a freak injury. Everyone blames the Evo-Sport
system. Schroeder's company goes out of business. A potential new wave of
super athletes goes down the tubes unrealized.
I'm becoming a pessimist.
Jim
Ceadtinneh
.034 seconds, the concentric, or ascending portion of the burst a mere
fraction of that. I'll take on Archuleta any day.
"Corey Simonator" <coreysi...@cs.com> wrote in message
news:20010625013813...@ng-fa1.news.cs.com...
> The Athlete's Edge
> 'Evo'lutionary training: Archuleta explodes past his competition
> By Nolan Nawrocki, Contributing writer
> June 19, 2001
>
> Adam Archuleta
> at the Senior Bowl
> Working out in front of NFL scouts in Indianapolis this past February, St.
> Louis Rams first-round draft pick Adam Archuleta posted some of the most
> impressive results for a safety in the 17-year history of the NFL Draft
> Combine. The 6-foot, 211-pound Archuleta ran a 4.42 40, had a 39-inch
vertical
> jump and bench-pressed 225 pounds 31 times.
>
> The reason Archuleta was drafted with the 20th pick in the 2001 NFL draft
was
> no accident. Archuleta's numbers are the result of years of sweat and
> training in preparation for this opportunity. As a 172-pound high school
> junior, Archuleta became intrigued by an article written by Jay Schroeder,
> founder of Evo-Sport, and felt compelled to contact him.
>
> Schroeder developed Evo-Sport based on a principle that is widely regarded
in
> strength and conditioning literature but rarely practiced - plyometrics.
Hurtin
.034 seconds, the concentric, or ascending portion of the burst a mere
fraction of that. I'll take on Archuleta any day >>
Can you do it in a handstand?
John Keating
Mr. Pink
Hurtin
system. Schroeder's company goes out of business. A potential new wave of
super athletes goes down the tubes unrealized.
I'm becoming a pessimist.
>>
Yes you are, Jim. I do agree, though. I saw a preview of him before the draft
and while it looked impressive, I couldn't help thinking of Jason Sehorn
breaking his leg after doing the same type of training with Marv Marinovich.
Marinovich has been doing similar training for years and we haven't seen the
results.
John Keating
Mr. Pink
JD(Eagles)
What training does he supply? Herion laced
mushroom training. You just hallucinate the
workouts.
JD
"Hurtin" <hur...@aol.comFUdallas> wrote in message
news:20010625150122...@ng-bj1.aol.com...
JD(Eagles)
"Ceadtinneh" <sul...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:A6LZ6.1060$L4.1...@dca1-nnrp2.news.digex.net...
JD(Eagles)
Another combine warrior.
"Corey Simonator" <coreysi...@cs.com> wrote in message
news:20010625013813...@ng-fa1.news.cs.com...
> The Athlete's Edge
> 'Evo'lutionary training: Archuleta explodes past his competition
> By Nolan Nawrocki, Contributing writer
> June 19, 2001
>
> Adam Archuleta
> at the Senior Bowl
> Working out in front of NFL scouts in Indianapolis this past February, St.
> Louis Rams first-round draft pick Adam Archuleta posted some of the most
> impressive results for a safety in the 17-year history of the NFL Draft
> Combine. The 6-foot, 211-pound Archuleta ran a 4.42 40, had a 39-inch
vertical
> jump and bench-pressed 225 pounds 31 times.
>
> The reason Archuleta was drafted with the 20th pick in the 2001 NFL draft
was
> no accident. Archuleta's numbers are the result of years of sweat and
> training in preparation for this opportunity. As a 172-pound high school
> junior, Archuleta became intrigued by an article written by Jay Schroeder,
> founder of Evo-Sport, and felt compelled to contact him.
>
> Schroeder developed Evo-Sport based on a principle that is widely regarded
in
> strength and conditioning literature but rarely practiced - plyometrics.
Hurtin
What training does he supply? Herion laced
mushroom training. You just hallucinate the
workouts. >>
No, but i'm guessing Marv's obsessive reigmans are the reason his kid turned
out being a nut job.
John Keating
Mr. Pink
emorr
--
ed
Adam Smash <nos...@mail2.sas.upenn.edu> wrote in message
news:9h7n2e$57p$1...@netnews.upenn.edu...
Tim
I can, but only if you and Bill hold my legs while Cead holds the tap to
my mouth.
Tim