The NFL Scouting Combine is a make-or-break moment for college players dreaming of a pro career. To help these hopefuls do their best, the TEST Football Academy sets out the principles of athletic success which are applicable for anyone aiming for excellence.
EXPERT: Kevin Dunn is a certified strength and conditioning specialist who is the CEO and founder of TEST Football Academy, an elite training facility that prepares college athletes for their best possible NFL Combine results, having produced 250+ professional athletes in its 20-year history.
UNDERSTANDING THE COMBINE PREPARATION
The program at the TEST Football Academy runs six days per week with 2-3 workouts per day. Our focus is to enhance performance at the seven specific Combine drills – 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, 20-yard shuttle, 3-cone drill, and 60-yard shuttle. We spend countless hours on technique, but we must also be able to generate maximal force production to ultimately maximize power output.
Power is defined as moving any resistance as fast as possible.
Power = Force x Velocity (P = F x V). Our program focuses on four pillars; Mindset, Movement, Nutrition and Recovery.
MINDSET
Getting into the NFL is a huge “why” for athletes. It helps set a winning mindset and sets the tone for the level of intensity put forth in each workout. Although, there will be days when the going gets rough, your “why” needs to be bigger than football to keep you motivated. Know your why.
MOVEMENT
This encompasses developing a strong foundation of movement and eliminating dysfunctions or asymmetries that may be harmful over time. You need to strengthen those improved movement patterns by increasing load and volume over time. Finally, increase the tempo of each rep to maximize velocity using safe methods like the air-based Keiser equipment that is hard on the muscles but easy on the joints and connective tissue. This builds an excellent foundation to hand over this enhanced performance to our position-specific coaches.
NUTRITION: MEAL PREP
Proper meal planning is an absolute must when you are looking to make real gains and enhance your body composition. It’s wise to deliver specific calorie and macronutrient goals customized for each player by taking their actual weight and body composition to formulate these targets. The meals we offer are pre-measured and delivered specifically with the weight and body comp goals of each athlete in mind.
NUTRITION: SCIENCE
Lactic acid is the enemy of peak performance. CarnoSyn beta-alanine has been a game changer in helping our athletes go farther and longer than they ever could before. We are using CarnoSyn and SR CarnoSyn at higher doses on a daily basis (between 9.6 and 11.2 g / day), even on off days to keep the levels consistent in the body. This is helping our players physically get the most out of every workout to achieve results they never thought possible. The research done by Dr. Jay Hoffman clearly shows that doses up to 12.6 g per day have been even more effective to fight against lactic acid. On days when we are asking these guys for five hours of training sporadically throughout the day, it is great to have that sustained release to remain effective all day long. That said, for the average gym rat 3.2–6.4 grams of CarnoSyn per day would get the job done. Dr. Hoffman has also completed research that shows beta-alanine taken at these levels helps with concussive symptoms related to induced trauma. More research needs to be done here but it seems to be an incredibly promising weapon in our arsenal against the prevailing number of concussions we find on the gridiron today.
RECOVERY
Taking care of your body is paramount when you tackle this kind of training regimen. We take an entire day in the middle of the week to focus on sports nutrition education, Pilates, yoga, physical therapy, chiropractic, massage, TheraGun percussive therapy, contrast therapy, NormaTec and film review. Mental reps are just as significant as physical reps when it comes to repetitive pre-programmed movements. Film review on this day using Coach’s Eye allows us to get those mental reps in while keeping their physical side in an anabolic state. Also, sleep is the most important thing to an athlete training at this level as it is the number one activity that allows your body to produce all-natural HGH helping you heal, repair and recover throughout the night.
For more information visit: www.testfootballacademy.com and team.carnosyn.com
For more information on why you should choose CarnoSyn®, visit today.carnosyn.com.
