Less Weights, More Cardio for Devin Hester

No person of sound mind and body would ever accuse a world-class athlete like Bears receiver Devin Hester of being out of shape, but even world-class athletes get tired in the fourth quarter of a football game.

A former second-round pick, Hester made a name for himself in the NFL as arguably the best return man in league history the first two years of his career, but ever since he started to become a much bigger part of what Chicago does offensively, his effectiveness on special teams has taken a nose dive.

It's possible that Hester didn't have the cardiovascular endurance to play 50 snaps per game on offense and also return punts, so the two-time Pro Bowler changed his routine during the offseason.

"The thing I really did this summer is I cut back on weight training and focused more on conditioning to really get myself an overtime workout," Hester said Sunday in the Chicago Sun-Times. "I've got to be able to play six quarters a game. I want to be able to go the whole game without being fatigued. I felt that I need to put extra time into conditioning because not only am I a receiver but I'm a returner, and I have to be in better shape than the normal guy."

In order to improve as a pass catcher, Hester has enlisted the help of recently-retired four-time Pro Bowler Isaac Bruce, who is likely to end up in the Hall of Fame one day for the things he was able to accomplish in Mike Martz's offense when the two of them were in St. Louis.

"With the speed I have," said Hester, "he said it's going to be hard to stop me. [Bruce] tells me just from training with me that I'm so explosive, and if I can put my fundamentals together I will succeed. So that's basically what I'm doing now, brushing up my technique and trying to polish up everything, and hopefully I can really translate it over to the game."

While Hester had 12 return touchdowns from 2006-07, plus one more in Super Bowl XLI, he has been shut out of the end zone on punts and kickoffs since the 2007 season finale against the Saints.

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(chi.scout.com)