Pitman’s Workouts Are Working
filed in Players on Aug.11, 2009
Since the start of practices last Friday we have been able to get a glimpse of the 2009 Buffs, but we now get to see what they can do in full pads. Players always look bigger in pads but this group certainly seems to have put on some muscle mass over the off-season. We’ve heard the stories of the hellish program that strength and conditioning coach Jeff Pitman runs in order to get everyone ready, and it seems to be paying dividends this year; these boys look strong.
Some proof of this can be found in the post-spring Workout Warriors on ESPN. It really is amazing how Solder has improved on an already impressive frame. Of the top ten he came in a number 4, not too shabby. Here’s what they had to say about him:
“Nate Solder, Colorado, OT: A handful of five-star recruits have come to CU in the past few years. Solder wasn’t one of them. He was deemed an average tight end prospect by the online recruiting services, but man, has he blossomed in Boulder. He’s now a chiseled 6-8, 300-pound junior with a staggering 8.3 percent body fat according to the school, which had him tested in the Bod Pod, a system for measuring body composition. The guy practically makes Dwight Howard look like a Van Gundy. Solder’s workout numbers are just as impressive: He power-cleans 407, hang-cleans 445, back squats 622, vertical jumps 34 inches and runs the 40 in 4.86 seconds.”
Now remember, that was posted back at the end of spring practices so chances are good that he’s improved even more. And Solder isn’t the only one who has shown significant improvements, it’s just easy to choose someone with the pure size that Nate has. All of our boys have the same strength coach, which is great news for us. With certain positions still lacking some high-end talent, having the strength/condition boost will close the talent gap when we line up against certain teams this year.
After last season’s ridiculous amount of injuries, it is easy to see how important overall conditioning can be. I’m hoping that this higher level of strength/condition will help prevent a repeat of that, and it should if Pitman’s program continues to work.
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