Redskins defensive end Chris Baker didn't just magically turn into one of the most dominant defenders in the NFL.
Baker's worked extremely hard, day in and day out, to be as good as he is, and that takes a special level of dedication, which Baker shows in two brand new NFL Up! videos, which were filmed in the Redskins' weight room.
Both videos feature Baker working on strengthening his lower body. The first video has Baker doing an "Elevated Band Dead Lift."
Redskins Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach Chad Englehart explains the reasoning behind the integration of bands in Baker's workout.
"The weight's about nine inches off the ground," Englehart says. "The reason we use bands is because it limits the eccentric portion of the lift, so in season, we want Chris to stay powerful, we want him to stay strong, but we don't want to get him sore from the eccentric movement of the weight."
Englehart says the weights are 135 pounds at the bottom of the lift. Once Baker lifts the weights, that's when the bands really kick in, pushing it to 315 pounds, forcing Baker to give it all he's got, but in a correct manner.
"Chris is gonna setup with his feet under the bar," Englehart said. "He's gonna grab the bar, slightly outside shoulder width, or shoulder width, whatever your preference is. Big chest, arching his back, and he's gonna push as hard as he can into the ground, and drive through – perfect! – and control back down – good!"
As far as reps go, Englehart says Baker does 3-4 sets of five reps. Baker says this exercise has really helped strengthen his back, which obviously is a key part of his body that has to stay in optimal condition.
"As a defensive linemen, we're always in a three-point stance, [and] we're in this position almost the whole game," Baker said. "When I'm down here, I'm pulling up in my stance, and I'm able to explode. It helps me out with all my explosive motions, so when I'm out there on the field, I can explode like a rubber band, so I can go out there and be explosive on every play."
The second video shows Englehart and Baker working on the "Treadmill Leg Curl."
The treadmill is self-propelled and set on an incline. It's set that way for a reason, as Englehart explains.
"The reason we do an inclined treadmill leg curl with Chris is because football is an anterior sport, and we want to work that posterior chain," Englehart said. "Chris is first going to bridge up, get his glutes involved, and push out, be able to stop it, and be able to pull back as fast as he can."
Baker does this exercise 3-4 times for 8-10 reps, according to Englehart. From Baker's facial expression in the video, it looks like a difficult exercise, but it's a necessary one for him.
"Doing hamstring curls on the incline bench, it always helps out with my explosion, [it] helps out with my strength and my endurance with my legs," Baker said. "My defensive line coach [Robb Akey] always tells me, 'Power comes from the ground,' so I gotta keep all this power locked and loaded. These quads like this, they don't come easy. These are once in a lifetime quads, man. They call me "Quadtacular" for a reason."
