Dave Redding, the Packers' new strength and conditioning coordinator, has zero tolerance for players who feel like taking a load off their feet.
"We have a no-sit-down rule," Redding said. "If you get caught sitting down, you're doing sit-ups. If you argue, it's 10 more. So, it's called 'Give me 20.'"
With the well-traveled, no-nonsense Redding in charge of the team's training operations, the players haven't had a second to even think about sitting since their nine-week offseason workout program began March 16.
Redding and his assistants demand constant movement from their charges, be it in the weight room at Lambeau Field, in the gymnasium or on the indoor practice field.
The workouts - held four days a week and alternating between strength, agility and position-specific conditioning drills - are done in less than two hours.
"We don't stop and pause. We keep moving," Redding said. "So, in between sets of everything we do, they're doing more activity, with trainers, core work or if they have any (injury) issues that they've had in the past."
To keep players from slacking off in the weight room, assistant strength and conditioning coach Mark Lovat took pencils and chart cards out of their hands and has their workouts projected on a video screen. Similar to reading off a menu board at a fast-food restaurant, the players can pick from a list of five to seven lifts or exercises to do that day.
"It gives us more volume of what we're doing," Redding said. "It gives (the players) more variety. This gives them ownership in what they can design to do their own thing. Ownership is important. If you give me ownership in something, I'm going to work harder at it."
Underlying goals of Green Bay's workout program, which is heavier on free weights than it was in the past, are resilience and longevity for the players on the field. The Packers endured a slew of nagging injuries of the muscle-pull variety last season.
"We're going to peak in nine weeks," Redding said. "We're going to be at a point where they're going to be at new strength levels, new capacities, new endurance and hope they gain the durability and flexibility and the mindset to be ready for a hard, long season."
