Six-time NFL All-Pro Terrell Owens may come with controversy but there's no arguing that his chiseled body are the result of hard work.
"If I want to be the best receiver in the NFL, part of that is catching, and X and O’s, but an even greater part is away from the game of football," the 35-year-old Mr. Owens says. "It's the way I eat, the way I train, the lifestyle I choose."
T.O.'s Workout
Mr. Owens started his pro career in 1996.
At 6-foot-3 and 223 pounds, Mr. Owens is a physical speciman.
He has changed his lifestyle habits over the years. Mr. Owens says during his first three years in the NFL, he would go out drinking with teammates during the week. "I knew that if I wanted to be the best and perfect my craft, that meant cutting out the drinking, bad foods, and soda."
Mr. Owens says all through high school, college and his earlier years in the NFL, he "pumped a lot of iron." He then realized that lifting 300 pounds wasn't necessarily going to make him a better football player. "I needed to start doing position-specific workouts," the wide receiver says.
Mr. Owens started doing more dumbbell exercises to isolate targeted muscles and also started incorporating resistance bands to help reduce the risk of injury that comes with lifting heavy weights. "The bands gave me the same workout without the pressure on my joints," he says.
The bands must be anchored to something in order to stretch. Sometimes Mr. Owens stands on them; sometimes he wraps them around the leg of a couch or he might hook them to a door frame. To work his deltoids (shoulder muscles), Mr. Owens might stand on the bands, grip the handles with his hands, and then raise his elbows up and out to shoulder height. He then might curl the handles up toward his chest to perform a bicep curl. To make push-ups more challenging, he adds resistance by wrapping the band around his back .
During the season, Mr. Owens practices with the team two hours a day, three to four days a week. In the off-season, most workouts take 45 to 60 minutes and comprise about 10 different exercises, such as leg extensions, leg curls, dumbbell bench presses, bicep curls with resistance bands and abdominal work. Mr. Owens takes about 45 to 60 seconds of rest between sets before moving on to the next exercise. "I'm a no-nonsense guy when it comes to the gym," he says.
The Diet:
During football season, Mr. Owens is conscientious about his diet.
During football season, breakfast is usually a bowl of oatmeal and eight to 10 scrambled egg whites. He might have a banana or low-fat yogurt for a midmorning snack. For lunch, he'll have two baked chicken breasts, or 10 ounces of grilled turkey breast, and a baked sweet potato. Fruit, a small green salad or about 20 almonds is his afternoon snack. Dinner is usually 12 ounces of grilled fish or eight ounces of grilled lean steak, with steamed brown rice or whole-wheat pasta. His evening snack is steamed or raw vegetables.
Even when he's on the road, Mr. Owens looks for healthier choices. "I'll ask restaurants to hold the cheese or bacon on salads to keep it healthy," he says. When he's traveling for an extended period, he'll hire a chef to prepare healthy meals.
"Resting the body is just as important as working it," Mr. Owens says. He takes a two-week break from working out the first two weeks of the off-season to recover. During the season, he tries to get eight hours of sleep a night. He is also careful about resting injuries. For example, Mr. Owens recently had to miss the Bills' first two pre-season games due to a sprained toe and he has participated only in individual positions drills, rather than full practices.
Quick Fix:
"If I can't get to a gym and I'm in a hotel room and I have a set of bands, I can still do more than 140 exercises," Owens says.
9.03.2009
8.28.2009
PRESSURE
"I’m not afraid to make a mistake. Too many times in life people are afraid to make a mistake and are not very aggressive. I never panic. I never feel pressure during a game. Ever. It doesn’t make any difference what the magnitude of the game is. When the people around you see that you’re not panicking and that you can handle the pressure, it calms them down. If you know what you’re doing, you don’t feel pressure. Pressure is something that’s self-inflicted. The key to not letting it get the better of you is preparation. If you’re prepared and know what you’re doing, you should be able to handle the pressure because you should feel confident that you have the answers to the test."
--Charlie Weis
--Charlie Weis
8.21.2009
TODAY
TODAY is the most important day of my life.
Yesterday with its successes and victories, struggles and failures is gone forever...the past is past...Done...Finished
I cannot relive it. I cannot go back and change it. But I will learn from it and improve my TODAY.
TODAY. This moment...NOW!
It is God’s gift to me and it is all that I have.
Tomorrow with all its joys and sorrows, triumphs and troubles isn’t here yet.
Indeed, tomorrow may never come. Therefore, I will not worry about tomorrow.
TODAY is what God has entrusted to me. It is all that I have. I will do my best in it.
I will demonstrate the best of me in it—
my character, giftedness, and abilities —
to my family and friends and teammates.
I will identify those things that are most important to do TODAY,
and those things I will do until they are done.
And when this day is done I will look back with satisfaction at that which I have accomplished.
Then and only then, will I plan my tomorrow.
Looking to improve upon TODAY, with God’s help.
Then I shall go to sleep in peace...content.
Yesterday with its successes and victories, struggles and failures is gone forever...the past is past...Done...Finished
I cannot relive it. I cannot go back and change it. But I will learn from it and improve my TODAY.
TODAY. This moment...NOW!
It is God’s gift to me and it is all that I have.
Tomorrow with all its joys and sorrows, triumphs and troubles isn’t here yet.
Indeed, tomorrow may never come. Therefore, I will not worry about tomorrow.
TODAY is what God has entrusted to me. It is all that I have. I will do my best in it.
I will demonstrate the best of me in it—
my character, giftedness, and abilities —
to my family and friends and teammates.
I will identify those things that are most important to do TODAY,
and those things I will do until they are done.
And when this day is done I will look back with satisfaction at that which I have accomplished.
Then and only then, will I plan my tomorrow.
Looking to improve upon TODAY, with God’s help.
Then I shall go to sleep in peace...content.
8.09.2009
TIGER WOODS - 3 Quotes
I am a fan of excellence, and so the following quotes by golfing great Tiger Woods recently caught my attention:
"I smile at obstacles."
"My will can move mountains."
"I will do it with all my heart."
This is a great approach to solving problems and facing challenges in life.
"I smile at obstacles."
Most of the time, we cringe, avoid and complain when a tough obstacle layes in front of us. Unfortunately, none of that solves a problem. Often, problems just get worse.
Smiling at obstacles means we know that we're bigger than the problems facing us, because we know we will learn and become stronger and wiser through solving them.
Instead of complaining about challenges, we can see them as gifts. Most every problem or challenge comes with a gift in its hands. The gift is what we will learn through solving the problems and facing the challenges.
Problems and challenges can either define you or refine you.
"My will can move mountains"
What this quote means, I believe, is that when we focus our energy on the problems before us, they are in trouble. The ability to understand where you are, look at where you exactly want to go, create a plan to get there, and then work the plan for all you are worth brings incredible rewards.
"I will do it with all my heart"
I believe most people sleepwalk through life. Just stand outside a large office building on a Monday morning. You'll see people in trances, sleepwalking through their day.
Yet when we bring all our heart to any activity, we come alive and actually have the opportunity to live the way we say we want to.
All of us know folks who brings their whole heart to what they do. Don't you love being around them?
Why not be one of those people yourself?
When we bring our whole heart to a problem or challenge, it is easier to solve, and we just might have fun along the way.
There is a saying that there is a time in the life of every problem or challenge when it is big enough to notice, and small enough to solve easily.
When you bring these three skills to the table, you will notice problems early, solve them easily and grow more than you ever thought you would.
"I smile at obstacles."
"My will can move mountains."
"I will do it with all my heart."
This is a great approach to solving problems and facing challenges in life.
"I smile at obstacles."
Most of the time, we cringe, avoid and complain when a tough obstacle layes in front of us. Unfortunately, none of that solves a problem. Often, problems just get worse.
Smiling at obstacles means we know that we're bigger than the problems facing us, because we know we will learn and become stronger and wiser through solving them.
Instead of complaining about challenges, we can see them as gifts. Most every problem or challenge comes with a gift in its hands. The gift is what we will learn through solving the problems and facing the challenges.
Problems and challenges can either define you or refine you.
"My will can move mountains"
What this quote means, I believe, is that when we focus our energy on the problems before us, they are in trouble. The ability to understand where you are, look at where you exactly want to go, create a plan to get there, and then work the plan for all you are worth brings incredible rewards.
"I will do it with all my heart"
I believe most people sleepwalk through life. Just stand outside a large office building on a Monday morning. You'll see people in trances, sleepwalking through their day.
Yet when we bring all our heart to any activity, we come alive and actually have the opportunity to live the way we say we want to.
All of us know folks who brings their whole heart to what they do. Don't you love being around them?
Why not be one of those people yourself?
When we bring our whole heart to a problem or challenge, it is easier to solve, and we just might have fun along the way.
There is a saying that there is a time in the life of every problem or challenge when it is big enough to notice, and small enough to solve easily.
When you bring these three skills to the table, you will notice problems early, solve them easily and grow more than you ever thought you would.
Coach K - Teaching Offense
“My emphasis is not on running an offense...it is on teaching my team offense. We want players who can play offense, not run an offense.”
-Mike Krzyzewski
-Mike Krzyzewski
8.04.2009
PAT SUMMITT
The following comes from Coach Pat Summitt in regards to goals for her team:
Before each of the 34 seasons that Summitt has been a head coach of some of the most accomplished teams of all time, she and her captains have committed a set of goals to writing.
“We always make sure,” Summitt says, “that our plans for the season can be achieved. Setting goals is incredibly important to success. But if you set a goal that seems impossible to achieve— if you go into a year saying your goal is to win the national championship—then you risk losing morale, self-discipline and chemistry if you falter early.
“Set a goal that stretches you, requires exceptional effort, but one that you can reach,” says Summit, the bearer of more championship jewelry than any coach in women’s basketball history.
“We might set a goal that we win 20 or so games, that we win a conference championship, that we make the NCAA tournament. If we do those things, the truth is we have a chance of winning the national championship. But I would never want that to be the only goal.”
The key to her on- and off-court success, Summitt is famous for saying, is remembering that “winners aren’t born, they are self-made.”
“And the only way to ensure you become a winner is to set goals every day, and hold yourself and your teammates accountable for reaching those goals,” she says. “Setting up a system that rewards you for meeting your goals and has penalties for failing to hit your target is just as important as putting your goals down on paper.”
Before each of the 34 seasons that Summitt has been a head coach of some of the most accomplished teams of all time, she and her captains have committed a set of goals to writing.
“We always make sure,” Summitt says, “that our plans for the season can be achieved. Setting goals is incredibly important to success. But if you set a goal that seems impossible to achieve— if you go into a year saying your goal is to win the national championship—then you risk losing morale, self-discipline and chemistry if you falter early.
“Set a goal that stretches you, requires exceptional effort, but one that you can reach,” says Summit, the bearer of more championship jewelry than any coach in women’s basketball history.
“We might set a goal that we win 20 or so games, that we win a conference championship, that we make the NCAA tournament. If we do those things, the truth is we have a chance of winning the national championship. But I would never want that to be the only goal.”
The key to her on- and off-court success, Summitt is famous for saying, is remembering that “winners aren’t born, they are self-made.”
“And the only way to ensure you become a winner is to set goals every day, and hold yourself and your teammates accountable for reaching those goals,” she says. “Setting up a system that rewards you for meeting your goals and has penalties for failing to hit your target is just as important as putting your goals down on paper.”
CHARACTER vs REPUTATION
Abraham Lincoln was very concerned with character, but he also was aware of the importance of having a good reputation. He explained the difference this way: your reputation is what people think of you, and your character is what you actually are.
In a world preoccupied with image, it’s easy to worry too much about our reputation and too little about our character. Building a reputation is largely a public relations project; building character requires us to focus on our values and actions. Noble rhetoric and good intentions aren’t enough.
What we’re looking for is moral strength based on ethical principles. Character is revealed by actions, not words — especially when there’s a gap between what we want to do and what we should do, and when doing the right thing costs more than we want to pay.
Our character is revealed by how we deal with pressures and temptations. But it’s also disclosed by everyday actions, including what we say and do when we think no one is looking and we assume we won’t get caught. The way we treat people we think can’t help or hurt us, like housekeepers, waiters, and secretaries, tells more about our character than how we treat people we think are important. People who are honest, kind, and fair only when there is something to gain shouldn’t be confused with people of real character who demonstrate these qualities habitually, under all circumstances.
In a world preoccupied with image, it’s easy to worry too much about our reputation and too little about our character. Building a reputation is largely a public relations project; building character requires us to focus on our values and actions. Noble rhetoric and good intentions aren’t enough.
What we’re looking for is moral strength based on ethical principles. Character is revealed by actions, not words — especially when there’s a gap between what we want to do and what we should do, and when doing the right thing costs more than we want to pay.
Our character is revealed by how we deal with pressures and temptations. But it’s also disclosed by everyday actions, including what we say and do when we think no one is looking and we assume we won’t get caught. The way we treat people we think can’t help or hurt us, like housekeepers, waiters, and secretaries, tells more about our character than how we treat people we think are important. People who are honest, kind, and fair only when there is something to gain shouldn’t be confused with people of real character who demonstrate these qualities habitually, under all circumstances.
STEPHEN CURRY
In June of 2007 I was hired by Nike to work their summer Skills Academies. The first academy I worked was the Kobe Bryant skills academy. Nike invited the top 20 high school shooting guards in the nation as well as the top seven or eight college shooting guards to serve as counselors. This was the cream of the crop.
There was one college player in particular who turned a lot of heads, especially on the coaching staff. This kid was special. His footwork was perfect. His shoting form was flawless. He moved without the basketball brilliantly, which in today's game is a lost art. His work ethic was tremendous. His focus was unshakable. He was there to improve, not there for free gear or to chill with his homies.
Everything about this kid was classy and professional. He never took plays off and every rep of every drill was done at game speed with utmost intensity. I remember rebounding for him a few times during warm-ups and he would easily knock down 15-20 threes in a row before missing one, and then a new streak would start. He paid attention and followed the warm-ups and agilities with precision. This kid was all business, but you could tell in his eye and his smile that he loved the game.
Who am I talking about?
Davidson's Stephen Curry. On the first day of camp we all wondered who he was. On the last day we all agreed he was going to be a big-time player.
Stephen's magical run through the first three rounds of the 2008 NCAA Tournament--he scored 34.3 points per game as Davidson beat three higher seeds--didn't surprise any of us who worked that camp. Even if he was lightly recruited out of high school, we saw first-hand behind closed doors what this kid could do. We were just waiting for him to do it.
The point is, Stephen Curry stepped up at the end of the season and played better basketball than any other player in the country. He hit big shots and led his team to big victories, none of which was a fluke. Nor was he simply "lucky."
Stephen Curry earned the success he had by dedicating himself the previous offseason to individual self-improvement and player development.
He shot thousands of jumpers every day in the offseason, at game speed with perfect footwork. When the lights came on in March, making shots was a habit. Not an accident.
There was one college player in particular who turned a lot of heads, especially on the coaching staff. This kid was special. His footwork was perfect. His shoting form was flawless. He moved without the basketball brilliantly, which in today's game is a lost art. His work ethic was tremendous. His focus was unshakable. He was there to improve, not there for free gear or to chill with his homies.
Everything about this kid was classy and professional. He never took plays off and every rep of every drill was done at game speed with utmost intensity. I remember rebounding for him a few times during warm-ups and he would easily knock down 15-20 threes in a row before missing one, and then a new streak would start. He paid attention and followed the warm-ups and agilities with precision. This kid was all business, but you could tell in his eye and his smile that he loved the game.
Who am I talking about?
Davidson's Stephen Curry. On the first day of camp we all wondered who he was. On the last day we all agreed he was going to be a big-time player.
Stephen's magical run through the first three rounds of the 2008 NCAA Tournament--he scored 34.3 points per game as Davidson beat three higher seeds--didn't surprise any of us who worked that camp. Even if he was lightly recruited out of high school, we saw first-hand behind closed doors what this kid could do. We were just waiting for him to do it.
The point is, Stephen Curry stepped up at the end of the season and played better basketball than any other player in the country. He hit big shots and led his team to big victories, none of which was a fluke. Nor was he simply "lucky."
Stephen Curry earned the success he had by dedicating himself the previous offseason to individual self-improvement and player development.
He shot thousands of jumpers every day in the offseason, at game speed with perfect footwork. When the lights came on in March, making shots was a habit. Not an accident.
8.01.2009
DO YOUR JOB - Nick Saban
"... When I worked with Bill Belichick, we only had one sign in the whole building, and that was: Do your job," Saban said. "And it was defined for everybody - from the janitor, to the secretary, to the strength coach, to the equipment man to the coaches, to the players. Everybody had an expectation of what their responsibility was to execute their job."
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