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RB Christian McCaffrey: How He Builds His Body To Withstand The Pressure Of A Large Workload

Saca312

By Saca312,
in Carolina Panthers

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Saca312 Experienced

Saca312

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Christian McCaffrey is a special athlete. His ability as a runner and slot receiver make him one of the most dynamic football threats in the league. His contributions to the Stanford offense have been tremendous, and he's had a big workload to boot.

However, many of the naysayers talk of McCaffrey not being able to handle an NFL workload. They say his body would not be able to handle the rigors of what the NFL will throw at him. 

A look into McCaffrey's workout routine shows he just may be able to handle it.

http://www.stack.com/a/how-christian-mccaffrey-built-his-body-to-withstand-one-of-the-biggest-workloads-in-college-football

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Christian McCaffrey touches the football a lot—as in 59.9 percent of Stanford's total offensive touches. Through three games of the 2016 season, McCaffrey has carried the ball 91 times, caught 17 passes and returned two punts and eight kickoffs. That's an average of 39 touches a game, which qualifies as the highest workload of any player in all of college football, and way up from last year's historic performance when he broke Barry Sanders' record for all-purpose yards in a single season.

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Stanford hasn't done much to limit their prized running back's touches, as noted above. It's hard to take a Hesiman candidate off the field, especially when he's such a huge part of what you do offensively.

While Stanford's coaching staff attempts to figure out a way to give their star a few plays off, McCaffrey has taken a deeper interest in body maintenance.

McCaffrey has immersed himself in pre-game prep and post-game recovery techniques that he didn't participate in last season. According to ESPN, McCaffrey spends "three to four" hours before and after the game working on his body, doing everything from Pilates to using a foam roller to spending time in the hot and cold tubs.

Adding recovery techniques to his already impressive abilities in the gym, where he worked to get his body fat percentage down to 4 and dominates workouts so thoroughly that his trainer has to make new ones just for him ("We've never had anyone like him," said Stanford strength and conditioning coach Shannon Turley), and you're left with stories of McCaffrey's physical ability that sound like  urban myths.

Over the off-season, Stanford's football team participates in something called the Gator Run, where players take turns pushing a utility vehicle loaded with 600 pounds of equipment and a couple of coaches in the front seat all over campus. We'll let offensive lineman Graham Shuler take it from here:

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"It's really, really tough. You rotate guys pushing it. A lineman will push anywhere from three to 10 times. A tight end will push it maybe 15 times. A running back pushes it somewhere between 10 to 20 times. It's really rare for anyone to push it over 20 times. When we did it this summer, Christian pushed it 43 times. He took 43 turns. No one told him to do that; it wasn't the expectation. But when guys were getting tired, Christian was always right there, in the front, waiting. I hope you can imagine the chaos of 60 guys chasing a small vehicle around campus. That's Christian in a nutshell."

So, yeah, if anyone can handle the physical toll that comes with touching the football 39 times a game, it's McCaffrey. 

 

McCaffrey seems to put himself through super workouts to keep himself in shape. I have no doubt McCaffrey will be able to enter the NFL with his body ready and tested to face the rigors of the NFL.

What do you think? Will McCaffrey be ready for the rigors of the NFL?

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Hoenheim Grand Master

Hoenheim

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So why did he only do 10 reps bench press at the combine ? I'm actually pretty curious what happened during that day, he looked like was struggling in the very beginning of it too holding it wrong or some cramps? I'm not nitpicking to be an asshole, I'm just asking this because you're refering too how much time he spends training and such. 

At this point its very clear he's not buff but he may be as lean as he possibly could be for a player that's mostly focused on speed and elusiveness. Lesean McCoy is almost the exact same size as McCaffrey and McCoy has managed to stay pretty healthy and productive throughout most of his career. But you watch film of him and he's obvoiusly not trying to truck people most of the time, he's a slasher who has good elusiveness and great breakaway speed and really good pass catcher for being a RB. Well even considering McCaffrey hasn't played an NFL game yet, I'd say McCaffrey seems a bit more patient/elusive while McCoy is more explosive and decisive runner. 

Christian's already said he models his game after players like Marshal Faulk, Leveon Bell, and Lesean McCoy . If you watch his college highlights its clear McCaffrey does have some power to drive through loose tackles and arm taclkes, but I think he's going to keep focusing on being the same kind of player in the NFL as well. 

Techincally he COULD gain like 10-12 more lbs and be a simular weight to a player like Ladanian Tomlinson , I'm not so sure he wants to or will especially considering stew will be here for another 2 seasons. I think he should probably spend some time with stew to bulk up a little more and learn how to add some power elements to his game as Stew has been one of the best power runners in the last decade imo when healthy. 

Its been stated a million times over by now, but I'll say it again. You have to start looking at McCaffrey as more than just a typical workhorse running back. He's going to accumulate touches by being at RB, slot receiver, wide reciever, and returning kicks. Hell don't be surprised if you end up seeing him alot more at WR than you may have intially thought,  or at least running routes out of the backfield alot during his first couple years here when stewart is on the last legs of his contract. 

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Ricky Spanish Grand Master

Ricky Spanish

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9 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

And suddenly, my daughter is interested in football.

Sadly, so is my wife :(

My wife when he saw him being interviews after he got drafted:

Her: "Who is THAT?!"

Me: "He's our new RB, we just drafted him"

Her: "He is REALLY cute. Like, he gives Luke a run for his money."

Me: "I know right? I mean... No homo."

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