You could say Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray prepares like he plays. Which is to say—”All-out.”
Step inside the gym with Murray and you’ll see a workout unlike any other—one that mimics the demands he faces every Sunday. That means short but extremely intense bursts of movement, over and over again. During a game, he gets battered, beaten and blasted by linebackers. During his workouts, he pushes, dodges and sprints at 100 percent effort. Then he does it again.
“This workout is based on what he’d typically see in a game,” says Vinny Scollo, Murray’s trainer. “We take speed, agility and lower-body leg strength with conditioning and wrap all into one.”
Each set of exercises is broken down into four quarters, mimicking the 15-minute periods that make up an NFL game. During the first and second quarter, Murray performs a series of resisted agility exercises designed to be short and quick with minimal rest. Then things get even more intense in the third and fourth quarters. During those sections of the workout, he has to perform even longer resisted runs, helping Murray fight the fatigue he’d feel later in games.
As if that weren’t enough, Murray has to wear a 12-pound weighted vest during the second half of the workout. The extra encumbrance simulates the fatigue he’d likely feel late in an NFL game.
“At the end of the day, I’m a football player, and I need to do things that are going to help me on the football field,” Murray said.
RELATED: Check Out a Day in the Life of Oakland Raiders RB Latavius Murray
1st Quarter
Sideways Single Bound to Sprint
- Begin in an athletic stance with a resistance band around your waist attached to a Vertimax machine.
- Keeping your left foot on the ground, raise your right knee in the air.
- On your trainer’s mark, push off with your left foot and jump in the air, landing on your right foot with your left knee raised in the air.
- Hop back to the starting position, then immediately sprint 10 yards.
- Repeat.
Sets/Reps: 4 x 10 yards each side with 20-second rest between reps
Resisted Sled Push
- While attached to the Vertimax at each hip, push a weighted sled 10 yards as fast as you can.
- Walk back to the starting position.
- Repeat.
Sets/Reps: 4 x 10 yards with 30-second rest between reps
Resisted Lateral Shuffle to Sprint
- While attached to the Vertimax at your hip, shuffle laterally for 5 yards, then turn and sprint for 10 yards.
- Return to the starting position.
- Repeat.
Sets/Reps: 4 x 5-yard shuffle and 10-yard sprint on each side with 30-second rest between reps
RELATED: Pro Bowl RB Latavius Murray Has Proven Doubters Wrong His Entire Career
2nd Quarter
Dynamic Speed Skater Bounds With Medicine Ball to Sprint
- Perform a series of four Speed Skaters, alternating legs, while catching a medicine ball from your trainer on one hop then tossing it back on the next.
- After the second toss back to your trainer, turn and sprint 10 yards.
Sets/Reps: 4 x 10-yard sprints with 20-second rest between reps
Resisted Dodgeball
- Holding a football in your dominant hand, sprint forward while attached to the Vertimax at the hip.
- Have a trainer roll an exercise ball at you, and make a sharp cut to avoid being hit by it.
- Return to the starting position.
- Repeat.
Sets/Reps: 5 rushes
Unresisted Dodgeball
- Same as Resisted Dodgeball but without the Vertimax.
Sets/Reps: 5 rushes
3rd Quarter
Tred Sled Sprint
- Sprint for 6 seconds on a Tred Sled.
Sets/Reps: 4 x 6 seconds with 20-second rest between reps
Weighted Vest Tire Battle to Sprint
- Push a tractor tire back and forth to your trainer while wearing a weighted vest.
- When your trainer yells “Go!,” immediately turn and sprint 10 yards.
- Repeat.
Reps: 5
Weighted Vest Tire Battle to Lateral Shuffle
- Same as Weighted Vest Tire Battle to Sprint, but shuffle laterally for 10 yards instead of sprinting.
Reps: 5
4th Quarter
Resisted Tennis Ball Toss to Sprint
- Begin in an athletic stance attached to the Vertimax at the hips.
- Have your trainer stand behind you holding a tennis ball.
- Trainer tosses a tennis ball over your head.
- When it lands, sprint to the ball and pick it up before it bounces again.
- Repeat.
Reps: 5
Resisted Sled Pull
- Attach a resistance band to a weighted sled and secure it around your waist.
- Have your trainer sit on the ground behind the sled with a resistance band tied around it, pulled taut.
- Begin running in place while your trainer holds you back for resistance.
- After 5 seconds, trainer release his band.
- Sprint 10 yards.
- Repeat.
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You could say Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray prepares like he plays. Which is to say—”All-out.”
Step inside the gym with Murray and you’ll see a workout unlike any other—one that mimics the demands he faces every Sunday. That means short but extremely intense bursts of movement, over and over again. During a game, he gets battered, beaten and blasted by linebackers. During his workouts, he pushes, dodges and sprints at 100 percent effort. Then he does it again.
“This workout is based on what he’d typically see in a game,” says Vinny Scollo, Murray’s trainer. “We take speed, agility and lower-body leg strength with conditioning and wrap all into one.”
Each set of exercises is broken down into four quarters, mimicking the 15-minute periods that make up an NFL game. During the first and second quarter, Murray performs a series of resisted agility exercises designed to be short and quick with minimal rest. Then things get even more intense in the third and fourth quarters. During those sections of the workout, he has to perform even longer resisted runs, helping Murray fight the fatigue he’d feel later in games.
As if that weren’t enough, Murray has to wear a 12-pound weighted vest during the second half of the workout. The extra encumbrance simulates the fatigue he’d likely feel late in an NFL game.
“At the end of the day, I’m a football player, and I need to do things that are going to help me on the football field,” Murray said.
RELATED: Check Out a Day in the Life of Oakland Raiders RB Latavius Murray
1st Quarter
Sideways Single Bound to Sprint
- Begin in an athletic stance with a resistance band around your waist attached to a Vertimax machine.
- Keeping your left foot on the ground, raise your right knee in the air.
- On your trainer’s mark, push off with your left foot and jump in the air, landing on your right foot with your left knee raised in the air.
- Hop back to the starting position, then immediately sprint 10 yards.
- Repeat.
Sets/Reps: 4 x 10 yards each side with 20-second rest between reps
Resisted Sled Push
- While attached to the Vertimax at each hip, push a weighted sled 10 yards as fast as you can.
- Walk back to the starting position.
- Repeat.
Sets/Reps: 4 x 10 yards with 30-second rest between reps
Resisted Lateral Shuffle to Sprint
- While attached to the Vertimax at your hip, shuffle laterally for 5 yards, then turn and sprint for 10 yards.
- Return to the starting position.
- Repeat.
Sets/Reps: 4 x 5-yard shuffle and 10-yard sprint on each side with 30-second rest between reps
RELATED: Pro Bowl RB Latavius Murray Has Proven Doubters Wrong His Entire Career
2nd Quarter
Dynamic Speed Skater Bounds With Medicine Ball to Sprint
- Perform a series of four Speed Skaters, alternating legs, while catching a medicine ball from your trainer on one hop then tossing it back on the next.
- After the second toss back to your trainer, turn and sprint 10 yards.
Sets/Reps: 4 x 10-yard sprints with 20-second rest between reps
Resisted Dodgeball
- Holding a football in your dominant hand, sprint forward while attached to the Vertimax at the hip.
- Have a trainer roll an exercise ball at you, and make a sharp cut to avoid being hit by it.
- Return to the starting position.
- Repeat.
Sets/Reps: 5 rushes
Unresisted Dodgeball
- Same as Resisted Dodgeball but without the Vertimax.
Sets/Reps: 5 rushes
3rd Quarter
Tred Sled Sprint
- Sprint for 6 seconds on a Tred Sled.
Sets/Reps: 4 x 6 seconds with 20-second rest between reps
Weighted Vest Tire Battle to Sprint
- Push a tractor tire back and forth to your trainer while wearing a weighted vest.
- When your trainer yells “Go!,” immediately turn and sprint 10 yards.
- Repeat.
Reps: 5
Weighted Vest Tire Battle to Lateral Shuffle
- Same as Weighted Vest Tire Battle to Sprint, but shuffle laterally for 10 yards instead of sprinting.
Reps: 5
4th Quarter
Resisted Tennis Ball Toss to Sprint
- Begin in an athletic stance attached to the Vertimax at the hips.
- Have your trainer stand behind you holding a tennis ball.
- Trainer tosses a tennis ball over your head.
- When it lands, sprint to the ball and pick it up before it bounces again.
- Repeat.
Reps: 5
Resisted Sled Pull
- Attach a resistance band to a weighted sled and secure it around your waist.
- Have your trainer sit on the ground behind the sled with a resistance band tied around it, pulled taut.
- Begin running in place while your trainer holds you back for resistance.
- After 5 seconds, trainer release his band.
- Sprint 10 yards.
- Repeat.