Athlete Spotlight – The UNC Basketball Med Ball 400 Workout

Men’s Health featured a great article describing a workout that uses only a medicine ball. The workout is designed by UNC strength and conditioning coach Jonas Sahratian and is used by the college’s basketball team as part of their conditioning program. Considering how dominant their basketball team is, and the way Tyler Hansbrough (pictured) plays the game, this workout is definitely worth checking out.

Sahratian suggests doing this routine either at the end of a regular workout or as a standalone set of exercises 3 days a week. Start with 20 reps of each of the 10 exercises and then work your way up to 40 reps. The work is to be done in a circuit doing 1 set of each movement in succession and without resting. All you need is a 6, 8 or 10 pound medicine ball.

Link to full article.

Athlete Spotlight: Brian Wilson and Barry Zito’s Offseason Workout

For this installment of Athlete Spotlight, we highlight baseball players Brian Wilson and Barry Zito of the San Francisco Giants. Recently, they shared their offseason workout regiment on the Giants Official Site.

The two pitchers have engaged in a six-day-per-week routine since November 1st. Here are the details:

• Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are devoted to specific muscle groups
• Tuesdays are for plyometrics, which refine the body’s fast-twitch muscles
• Thursdays are for yoga
• Saturdays are kickboxing days

Also, check out the article to find out more about their interesting games of catch.

The success that Wilson and Zito have this year will largely be determined by their dedication to this offseason workout.

Athlete Spotlight: Jimmy Rollins Off-Season Workout

Welcome to the first edition of Athlete Spotlight. We will find examples of serious athletes and trainers staying in shape. And we will post them here to give new ideas and inspiration from their workouts.

With Spring Training a little less than a month away, we thought we would show you a glimpse of the off-season training that an MLB athlete goes through. Courtesy of Stack TV, this video shows Philadelphia Phillies shortstop and 2007 NL MVP Jimmy Rollins doing some warm-ups and speed drills with his coach, Aaron Sistruck.

The point of the exercises on display is to improve body control, and based on the success Jimmy Rollins has had on the field, these exercises have to be pretty effective. So get out there and add these to your workout to get a speed and power boost!