By Samantha Jones
STACK Magazine
Steelers' wide receiver Antonio Brown needed only two seasons to earn a place in NFL history by becoming the first player to record over 1,000 receiving and return yards in the same season in 2011.
This off-season he worked harder than ever to make sure he tops that performance in 2012.
A three-year veteran of Pilates, Brown combines his dedication to intense training with workouts designed to prolong his career. Using exercises prescribed by his PHI Pilates trainer Christine Ruby, the wide receiver pushes his body to its limit by blending TRX and Pilates movements.
"It's way harder than it looks…It's no joke," said Brown.
Ruby constantly changes the program, because, according to Brown, "For training, you have to trick your body and challenge it in all kinds of different ways."
Regardless of the exercises he chooses, Brown's goals throughout each workout remain constant: develop explosive power in the hips, glutes and calves to increase running speed; create muscle balance through strength training and alignment; and improve control and empower the oblique core muscles.
"[With TRX and Pilates], he works everything at once, which is what he really needs to do on the field," says Ruby. "This way, we create a natural muscle balance where he'll have appropriate length and strength in each muscle on opposing forces. This is going to make a huge difference in his longevity. The sky's the limit with these workouts."
And that's something all Steelers Nation can appreciate. During this off-season, Brown took STACK Magazine through a sample of his day-to-day training.
Watch videos of Antonio Brown’s TRX and Pilates workouts.
