Legendary NFL wide receiver Jerry Rice is known for his arduous offseason training regimen as much as his stellar Hall of Fame career on the field. But, surprisingly there is very little detailed information on the internet outlining his complete strength and conditioning program. Much of what we know is general information that does not get into specific numbers of sets or repetitions (like this video of Jerry Rice’s legendary Hill runs).
In order to create a reliable and accessible resource, the following links to Jerry Rice’s offseason strength and conditioning programs have been compiled listing specific routines, exercises, sets or repetitions. If there is anything that can be added to this list please leave a link in the comments section below and we will add them to this list.
From Outside Magazine:
Rice's six-day-a-week workout is divided into two parts: two hours of cardiovascular work in the morning and three hours of strength training each afternoon. Early in the off-season, the a.m. segment consists of a five-mile trail run near San Carlos on a torturous course called, simply, The Hill. But since five vertical miles can hardly be considered a workout, he pauses on the steepest section to do a series of ten 40-meter uphill sprints. As the season approaches, however, Rice knows it's time to start conserving energy — so he forgoes The Hill and instead merely does a couple of sprints: six 100-yarders, six 80s, six 60s, six 40s, six 20s, and 16 tens, with no rest between sprints and just two and a half minutes between sets.
For the p.m. sessions he alternates between upper-body and lower-body days. But no matter which half of his body he's working on, the volume is always the same: three sets of ten reps of 21 different exercises. Yes, your calculator's right: That's 630 repetitions a day.
From The New York Times:
Tiny puddles begin to form on the track at Menlo College in Atherton, about 20 miles south of San Francisco, and the participants in Rice's workout -- one of them a reporter -- step through them while doing 20 minutes of stretching and warm-ups. Leading the workout is Rice's trainer, Raymond Farris, who has worked with Rice for nine years and helped him become the hardest working player in the league and arguably the best receiver ever in the National Football League…
After the warm-ups, the workout shifts to the football field, where Farris has set up a series of cones for the running exercises. The sprints are called "accelerators." One cone is set up 20 yards downfield and the runners build up steam until they reach the cone. The group then sprints full speed for 60 yards until the next cone, which is the signal to downshift for 20 yards. Rice eventually does 14 of these, each one in perfect form, each one at 100 percent, with no rest in between…
Usually the group will run for another hour or so, scampering up hills, sprinting through agility drills. They also do "pyramids," which are full-speed sprints for 100 yards, then 90 yards, then 80, all the way down to 20…
STRENGTH TRAINING
LEG EXERCISES
- ANGLED LEG PRESS
- BARBELL LUNGES
- CALF PRESSES
- DUMBBELL LUNGES
- DUMBBELL SQUATS
- FRONT SQUATS
- HACK SQUATS
- LEG EXTENSIONS
- LYING LEG CURLS
- SEATED CALF RAISES
- SMITH MACHINE SQUATS
- SQUATS
- STANDING DUMBBELL CALF RAISES
- STIFF-LEGGED DEADLIFTS
EXAMPLE LEG ROUTINES
ROUTINE 1
- SQUATS (your choice)
- LEG EXTENSIONS
- LYING LEG CURLS
- CALF RAISES (seated or standing)
ROUTINE 2
- HACK SQUATS
- ANGLED LEG PRESS
- STIFF-LEGGED DEAD LIFTS
- CALF RAISES (seated or standing)
ROUTINE 3
- ANGLED LEG PRESS
- CALF PRESSES
- LEG EXTENSIONS
- LYING LEG CURLS
ROUTINE 4
- SQUATS (your chioce)
- LUNGES (your choice)
- LYING LEG CURLS (your choice)
- CALF RAISES (seated or standing)
ROUTINE 5
- SMITH MACHINE SQUATS
- ANGLED LEG PRESS
- HACK SQUAT
- LEG EXTENSIONS
BACK EXERCISES
- BENT-OVER BARBELL ROWS
- CLOSE-GRIP PULL DOWNS
- DEAD LIFTS
- HYPEREXTENSIONS
- ONE-ARM DUMBBELL BENT-OVER ROWS
- REVERSE-GRIP BENT-OVER BARBELL ROWS
- SEATED CABLE ROWS
- T-BAR ROWS
- WIDE-GRIP BEHIND-THE-NECK PULL DOWNS
- WIDE-GRIP FRONT CHINS
EXAMPLE BACK ROUTINES
ROUTINE 1
- WIDE-GRIP FRONT CHINS
- CLOSE-GRIP PULL DOWNS
- ONE-ARM DUMBBELL BENT-OVER ROWS
ROUTINE 2
- CLOSE-GRIP PULL DOWNS
- SEATED CABLE ROWS
- ONE-ARM DUMBBELL BENT-OVER ROWS
- HYPEREXTENSIONS
ROUTINE 3
- WIDE-GRIP BEHIND-THE-NECK PULL DOWNS
- CLOSE-GRIP PULL DOWNS
- T-BAR ROWS
- HYPEREXTENSIONS
CHEST EXERCISES
- BARBELL BENCH PRESS
- CABLE CROSSOVERS
- DECLINE BARBELL PRESS
- DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS
- DUMBBELL FLYES
- FLAT BENCH DUMBBELL FLYES
- INCLINE BENCH PRESS
- INCLINE DUMBBELL FLYES
- INCLINE DUMBBELL PRESS
- PARALLEL-BAR DIPS
- PEC DECK FLYES
EXAMPLE CHEST ROUTINES
ROUTINE 1
- INCLINE BENCH PRESS(dumbbell or barbell)
- BENCH PRESS (dumbbell or barbell)
- DECLINE PRESS (dumbbell or barbell)
- PARALLEL-BAR DIPS
- FLAT BENCH DUMBBELL FLYES
ROUTINE 2
- FLAT BENCH PRESS
- INCLINE BENCH PRESS
- PARALLEL-BAR DIPS
- PEC DECK FLYES
ROUTINE 3
- INCLINE BARBELL PRESS
- DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS
- INCLINE DUMBBELL FLYES
BICEPS EXERCISES
- BARBELL PREACHER CURL
- CABLE CURLS
- CONCENTRATION CURLS
- INCLINE DUMBBELL CURLS
- MACHINE PREACHER CURLS
- SEATED HAMMER CURLS
- STANDING ALTERNATE DUMBBELL CURLS
- STANDING BARBELL CURLS
EXAMPLE BICEP ROUTINES
ROUTINE 1
- INCLINE DUMBBELL CURL
- CONCENTRATION CURL
- CABLE CURL
ROUTINE 2
- STANDING BARBELL CURLS
- MACHINE PREACHER CURLS
- HAMMER CURLS
ROUTINE 3
- STANDING ALTERNATE DUMBBELL CURLS
- MACHINE PREACHER CURLS
- SEATED HAMMER CURLS
TRICEPS EXERCISES
- CABLE PUSHDOWNS
- CLOSE-GRIP BENCH PRESS
- LYING TRICEPS EXTENSIONS
- MACHINE TRICEPS EXTENSIONS
- ONE-ARM DUMBBELL EXTENSIONS
- ONE-ARM DUMBBELL KICKBACKS
- ONE-DUMBBELL TRICEPS EXTENSIONS
- TRICEPS BENCH DIPS
- TRICEPS PARALLEL-BAR DIPS
EXAMPLE TRICEPS ROUTINES
ROUTINE 1
- CABLE PUSHDOWNS
- LYING TRICEPS EXTENSIONS
- ONE-ARM DUMBBELL EXTENSIONS
ROUTINE 2
- CLOSE-GRIP BENCH PRESS
- LYING TRICEPS EXTENSIONS
- ONE-ARM DUMBBELL KICKBACKS
ROUTINE 3
- ONE-ARM DUMBBELL KICKBACKS
- ONE-ARM DUMBBELL EXTENSIONS
- ONE-DUMBBELL TRICEPS EXTENSIONS
SHOULDER EXERCISES
- BARBELL SHRUGS
- BARBELL UPRIGHT ROWS
- DUMBBELL SHRUGS
- DUMBBELL UPRIGHT ROWS
- FRONT DUMBBELL RAISES
- LATERAL DUMBBELL RAISES
- REAR DUMBBELL RAISES
- SEATED BARBELL FRONT PRESS
- SMITH MACHINE BEHIND-THE-NECK PRESS
- SMITH MACHINE FRONT PRESS
EXAMPLE SHOULDER ROUTINES
ROUTINE 1
- SMITH MACHINE BEHIND-THE NECK PRESS
- LATERAL DUMBBELL RAISES
- FRONT DUMBBELL RAISES
- DUMBBELL SHRUGS
ROUTINE 2
- SMITH MACHINE FRONT PRESS
- LATERAL DUMBBELL RAISES
- BARBELL UPRIGHT ROWS
- REAR DUMBBELL RAISES
ROUTINE 3
- LATERAL DUMBBELL RAISES
- BARBELL UPRIGHT ROWS
- FRONT DUMBBELL RAISES
- SMITH MACHINE FRONT PRESS
ROUTINE 4
- LATERAL DUMBBELL RAISES
- SMITH MACHINE
- BEHIND-THE-NECK PRESS
- FRONT DUMBBELL RAISES
Jerry Rice on running routes:
