Okay, so I’ve been hearing a lot about how intense guys like Joey Bosa train. You see the highlights, the power on the field, and you kinda wonder what goes into that. Curiosity got the better of me, and I thought, “Why not try and piece together something similar? See what it’s actually like.” So, that’s what I did.
Getting Started
First off, I spent some time just looking up general football strength and conditioning stuff, especially for defensive ends. Lots of heavy lifting, explosive movements, agility work. It looked brutal on paper, honestly. I knew I couldn’t just jump into his exact routine – that’d be asking for trouble. So, the plan was to take the core ideas – power, speed, endurance – and scale it way, way back to something I could actually handle.
Went down to my usual gym. Had my water bottle, towel, the basics. Felt a bit different mentally, though. Usually, I just go through my motions, but this time I was prepping for a real grinder. Put on some music to get hyped.
The Grind: What I Did
Alright, here’s roughly what I put myself through. Didn’t do this all in one day initially, kind of spread the different elements out over a few sessions to test the waters.
- Heavy Lifting: Focused on compound stuff. Started with squats. Even with weights I normally handle, I tried to focus on exploding up, more power. Felt that burn quickly. Then did some bench presses, again focusing on pushing hard and fast. Added some deadlifts on another day – man, those always get you. Felt my back working hard, kept the form strict though.
- Explosive Drills: This was tougher to mimic in a regular gym. I did some box jumps, trying to land soft but jump high. Also tried some medicine ball throws against a wall – really throwing my whole body into it. That got the heart rate up fast.
- Agility & Speed: Set up a few cones like I’d seen in videos. Did some basic shuttle runs, side shuffles, backpedaling. Felt pretty clumsy at first, not gonna lie. My feet felt heavy compared to how those guys move. Tried some short sprints too, focusing on the first few steps.
- Conditioning: Finished sessions with some high-intensity stuff. Sometimes it was battle ropes, other times just pushing a weighted sled down a track. The goal was just to empty the tank, push till I was gasping.
How It Felt
Tough. Seriously tough. The combination of heavy strength work immediately followed by explosive or agility drills was killer. Way different from just lifting weights or just doing cardio. My muscles were screaming pretty quick, especially during the agility stuff after lifting. I was sweating buckets way earlier than usual.
Recovery was rough too. The day after the first couple of sessions trying this stuff out? Everything ached. Not just the usual muscle soreness, but a deeper kind of fatigue. It really hit home how much work these athletes put in not just during the workout, but recovering from it too.
What I Think Now
Trying even a scaled-down version of a pro athlete’s workout like Bosa’s was eye-opening. It’s not just about being strong, or fast, or having endurance. It’s about combining all of it, session after session. The intensity is just on another level.
Did I suddenly get sacks like Joey Bosa? Ha, definitely not. But it was a humbling experience. Gave me a newfound respect for the dedication and sheer physical punishment these guys endure to perform at that level. It also made my regular workouts feel a bit easier afterwards, which is a plus, I guess! Definitely pushed my limits, and that’s always a good thing, even if I was moving like a snail compared to the real deal.
