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TITANic STRENGTH
About 4 months ago Anthony had the pleasure of hosting Jason Novak, the assistant strength and conditioning coach of the Tennessee Titans. During his visit Anthony trained Jason in the Art of Kettlebell training and showed him just what the rest of the Art of Strength family already knew…there’s nothing quite like an Art of Strength workout. Anthony took him through the basic kettlebell movements and trained him on one of our favorite accessory in the gym…ropes.
Over the proceeding weeks, Jason began implementing both kettlebell and rope work in a few of the Titans’ daily workouts, peppering some of their training sessions with Art of Strength exercises such as kettlebells and AOS Ropes Gone Wild. Jason and some of the athletes saw the rope workout as a great way to keep up their conditioning without having to add in extra running, a regiment which would have taxed their already exhausted legs. The ropes became so popular Jason had to order extra just to avoid the “traffic jam” that was amassing around their only rope. After one such rope workout, Ben Troupe, the Titans starting tight end, asked
“(is) it normal to feel your heart beating in your throat!!!!!!!!”
Jason is big believer in teaching by example as he puts himself through the paces on a regular basis. One of the things that impressed him so much about kettlebell training was his ability to progress to heavier kettlebells after such a short time.
“You were right about the quickness in moving up to the heavier KB. I have moved to doing all of my cleans with the 32kg KB and it has made a huge difference in my technique. Yesterday at the end I ended up being able to snatch the 32kg for 3 reps on each side. I never thought I would be able to do that this soon.”
Jason notices the same progression in his athletes as well,
“two guys used 70lb and the rest used 53lb for the entire workout. I thought that was pretty good since 8 weeks ago we were all using 35lb KB’s.”
Jason says Saturday is their big day for kettlebell and AOS Ropes Gone Wild training. During the week he supplements a few mainstream exercises with kettlebell and rope workouts, but Saturday is the day for hardcore Art of Strength training. The athletes have taken such a liking to this style of workout that they’re actually asking for certain routines for the following Saturday. “
The players love this stuff and keep coming up with suggestions for what to do the following Saturday.” Jason now has his athletes write and lead their own rounds for everyone in the Saturday training class. He says the only rule,
“No holds barred…I’m going to go last just in case one of them tries to send me down for the count in their round. That way I can finish the day by attacking all the guys that try to get me.”
Jason has become a firm believer in the Art of Strength workouts, he says,
“I have no doubt that your stuff is going to help our team!” Many of his athletes express the same sentiment when according to Jason,
“They all said that it was the hardest their heart has ever beaten.”
As we all know, kettlebell and Art of Strength training is not your usual workout, it’s definitely not mainstream. To have Jason Novak risk his reputation and possibly his career on an untested training style says a lot about who Jason Novak is. It’s not easy to go against the norm, to “buck the system” especially when that system is The NFL and about 50 years of training practice. Jason saw that in order to set his athletes apart from the rest of the pack he had to start with how they train. How can you be better than the other guy when you’re doing exactly what the other guy is doing? In terms of fitness, kettlebell and Art of Strength Ropes Gone Wild training opened Jason and his athletes up to a whole new way of thinking. What makes Art of Strength style of training so great and beneficial to the Titans is that the movement patterns simulate real game movement patterns. To strength train in the same way in which you play goes tremendously far to produce a more efficient athlete and more importantly, to reduce game time injuries. Even for guys with injuries, Art of Strength Ropes Gone Wild training has been extremely beneficial to them.
“We use the ropes now for all of our guys with knee and ankle injuries that need conditioning without aggravating the injury and that has worked great…”
So there it is, tested and endorsed by the Tennessee Titans training staff. What more could you ask for?
