Kelvin Bryant Posted March 19, 2006 Share Posted March 19, 2006 The Athlete’s Edge Evolutionary 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." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin Bryant Posted March 19, 2006 Author Share Posted March 19, 2006 I found this interesting 2001 article on Adam Archuleta on an Eagles forum (http://groups.google.com/group/alt.sports.football.pro.phila-eagles/browse_thread/thread/94b3b153c96a8b84/0f49fe63f7dc3283?lnk=st&q=%22adam+archuleta%22&rnum=6&hl=en#0f49fe63f7dc3283). It was evidently published at profootballweekly.com, but has vanished from their archives. It shows Archuleta's willingness to bet his career on an experimental training method that paid off, and his ability to stick with a program that others could not. I picked up a copy of Archulata's training video, "Freak of Training" and it shows some of these techniques in action. He spends a lot of time dropping weights and explosively returning them to where they were before. Clearly not a training method for the poorly coordinated... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin Bryant Posted March 20, 2006 Author Share Posted March 20, 2006 I take it back, ProFootballWeekly.com does have this article archived: http://archive.profootballweekly.com/content/archives2001/features_2001/nawrocki_061901.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USDsk8ter123 Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 yea ive heard some of the training he does is unbelievable. ive seen some videos of it, its just amazing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvan1 Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 do they "keep him in a cage and feed him raw meat"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtyler42 Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 do they "keep him in a cage and feed him raw meat"? I hope so and I hope coach Williams tells him that the opposing teams are his prey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry wilburn Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I'm not convinced this guy is worth the coin we gave him... I've seen him whiff on a number of really easy tackles, and his pass defense numbers are pretty horrific. I'm guessing that Williams knows something I don't, can't wait to see what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Pablo Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I wonder if this guy's workout regiment will rub off on some other players. It could have that effect that Jerry Rice had on the entire 49ers organization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty Gut Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Archuleta is not the only athlete seeing results. Schroeder trains ArizonaCardinals WR Rob Moore and QB Chris Greisen, San Francisco 49ers TE Brian Jennings and Kansas City Chiefs TE Troy Drayton who? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
method man Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 rob moore was a pro bowl receiver with the cards back in 99 (i think) and had injury problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laxpunk2006 Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I'm not convinced this guy is worth the coin we gave him...I've seen him whiff on a number of really easy tackles, and his pass defense numbers are pretty horrific. I'm guessing that Williams knows something I don't, can't wait to see what it is. I felt the same way when we signed him but this article does tell us that he's dedicated and is willing to give it his all. At least knowing we'll get effort is making me pretty happy about his signing. Ryan Clark seemed to have less talent when we brought him in than Archuleta but Williams maximized his potential and Ryan did what he could. I'm pretty excited about seeing what Adam can do now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamshatterer Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 who? Mike Jones!!! (I am so sorry. Couldn't resist) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philal0102 Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 is there a link to see a video of him working out??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme skins Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Since we are posting articles about Adam Archuleta, I thought I would link to this article that ran in espn magazine 2 years ago. http://www.protectmanagement.com/pdf/multi_flex.pdf Here are the highlights of the article: "Last September, against the 49ers, Archuleta spent most of the game covering Terrell Owens. He knocked down two passes and limited Owens to 42 yards on five catches in a 27-24 Rams win. In a December win against the run-happy Bengals, Archuleta worked as a fourth linebacker in the box." "Last November against the Ravens, after sitting out three weeks with a sprained ankle, Archuleta notched five tackles, one sack, two passes defensed and a forced fumble that he returned 45 yards for a TD. The way he morphed effortlessly between roles – from safety to corner, from a blitzing threat to a centerfielder – it looked like the Rams (who won 32-22) actually had 12 players on D. "At times," says Mike Martz, "he's one of the more dominant players in the league." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedskinPryde Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 i thought i was tough **** cause i could bench 275 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickalino Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 They're not talkin about the same Jay Shroeder who used to be QB for the Skins, are they. I doubt it, it doesn't sound like something he would do. He's too much of a wuss to master such strength conditioning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme skins Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 One more thing. I can't find the article but Lovie Smith has been quoted as saying that Adam Archuleta was his best linebacker, safety and cornerback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC_Native,NC_Fan Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Here is the NFL client list for Evo-Sport: Adam Archuleta Todd Heap JJ Stokes Steven Trejo Nick Greisen Chris Greisen Wes Mallard Brian Jennings Dwight Freeney Terrell Suggs Rich Coady Levar Woods Josh Scobey Ladell Betts Matt Bowen Deshon Polk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin Bryant Posted March 20, 2006 Author Share Posted March 20, 2006 They're not talkin about the same Jay Shroeder who used to be QB for the Skins, are they. Nope, different guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W. Unseld Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Here is the NFL client list for Evo-Sport:Adam Archuleta Todd Heap JJ Stokes Steven Trejo Nick Greisen Chris Greisen Wes Mallard Brian Jennings Dwight Freeney Terrell Suggs Rich Coady Levar Woods Josh Scobey Ladell Betts Matt Bowen Deshon Polk Not sure what to make of that. Heap, Bowen and Betts (the only guys I know that much about) seem to have injury issues. On the other hand you can't argue with the jump in vertical, bench and 40 time Archuletta had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLongshot Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Course, Plylometrics isn't new. I remember doing some of that back in high school. Course, what I was doing didn't involve the weights these guys were doing, which is pretty insane. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grhqofb5 Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I remember back in about 1999, ESPN the magazine wrote a big article about Jason Sehorn and his comeback from an ACL tear. He was doing a similar workout to this, focusing on explosive lifts, speed, balance, etc. He may have been the prototype/guinea pig for this type of workout. Marv Marinovich was his trainer and Sehorn had bulked up to something like 230 lbs and claimed to be running a 4.4 40-yard dash. It didn't seem to help him all that much in the long run, but these training methods are probably the wave of the future. Strength coaches are focusing more on lifts that simulate actual game movements, as opposed to traditional power lifting moves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLusby Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 It could have that effect that Jerry Rice had on the entire 49ers organization. Great point! Let's hope that it does. Chris Samuels....are you listening..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icbmayday Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 shoot we need 2 get some of our o line on this evo sports training lol we could hire this guy as a trainer and have the strongest team in the nfl lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaudry Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 http://www.extremeskins.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148378 Old article that was actually posted a week ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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