Sam Shields Workout

GREEN BAY—The Packers’ offseason workout program has been going full steam since April 22, with the team’s new weight room and conditioning area in the southeast corner of Lambeau Field becoming a busy place.

Packers.com recently trailed veteran cornerback Sam Shields through his strength and conditioning workout to provide this rundown, and an inside look at a piece of an NFL training regimen.

7:29 a.m. – Shields arrives at the CRIC (conditioning, rehab and instruction center) and begins to loosen his leg, hip and back muscles with a floor roller.

7:34 – A more involved warm-up begins by stepping over and ducking under a series of hurdles, going both directions. That’s followed by a series of stretches: leaning and balancing with one foot on an incline, working the shoulder only from a push-up stance, wrapping a band around the ankles and hopping into a squat, and squatting while raising a dumbbell with one hand, each side. The entire circuit is repeated.

7:42 – Heading into the weight room, a set of five power shrugs is done with a 135-pound barbell, followed by a series of neck exercises wearing a baseball batting helmet with a weight plate screwed to the top. This sequence is repeated twice, boosting the subsequent power shrugs to 225 pounds.

7:51 – The next sequence of exercises involves the dumbbell bench press, then balancing the body on an elevated board in a raised push-up position for 30 seconds, and finally rolling a small medicine ball around the pectoral muscles. The series is done three times total, beginning with 12 reps with 75-pound dumbbells, then 10 reps with 80-pounders and eight reps with 85-pounders.

8:01 – Next is a rowing lift, followed by rolling a big medicine ball underneath the back of the shoulders and then stretching the lats and hips by recoiling the body into an explosive pose while hanging onto a heavy strap suspended from an elevated bar. For the rowing part of the sequence, Shields does 12 reps at 230 pound on a high-row machine, then 10 reps at 150 pounds on a low-row machine.

8:12 – In a split stance with one leg elevated, a pair of dumbbells is curled and then pressed above the head, five reps. Then five more reps after switching legs. Finally, a standing row is done, a set with each arm. Weight room work concludes at 8:15 a.m. and a short break is taken before heading to the Don Hutson Center for the running portion of the workout.

8:28 – Warm-ups are done in 20-yard increments, followed by a width-of-the-field sprint.

8:32 – A sequence of exercises starts by running in an S pattern the width of the field, coming to balance on the other side. Leg swings are done along the wall, followed by a short get-up sprint (begun by lying stomach-down on the ground) and then a forward and backward crawl while wearing a resistance harness around the waist. The entire circuit is done four times and is finished at 8:46 a.m.


(packers.com)