Post by govertical on Mar 7, 2005 12:49:17 GMT
Thought some of you guys might be interested. This article is about the new S & C coach at University of Illinois...
Lou Hernandez was named to the University of Florida Strength and Conditioning staff in May 2002. He comes to us from the New York Jets where he served as the assistant strength and conditioning coach. Prior to the Jets, Hernandez served as the head strength and conditioning coach at the University of Houston for four seasons. While at Houston, Lou was responsible for the strength and conditioning of all 16 varsity sports; as well as, overseeing the 16,500 sq. ft. weight training facility. Lou earned a Bachelor's of Science in Exercise Science/Kinesiology with a minor in health from the University of Houston in 1992. Hernandez' experience in the NFL began in 1995, when he was an intern at the Minnesota Vikings developmental camp.
During his time in Houston, Lou trained several elite athletes in a variety of sports. In track and field he trained Olympians Leroy Burrell, Mike Marsh, Michelle Finn, and Sandra Glover, as well as, Carl Lewis for the 1996 Olympics. Hernandez also assisted in the development of running back Antowain Smith, a first round pick in the 1996 NFL draft. Hernandez also aided in the rehabilitation and training of Hakeem Olajuwon throughout 1998 and 1999, as well as baseball standouts, Darryl Hamilton, former NY Mets, and John Patterson, the Arizona Diamondbacks 5th overall pick in 1996.(Bio courtesy of University of Florida athletics)
First question, where you from? And how did you get into strength and condintioning field?
From Alice, Texas. That is a real small town right outside of Corpus Christi. About 18,000 people there and that is probably Easter Sunday when everyone comes back to visit. I attended Louisiana Tech and started power-lifting there then transferred to the University of Houston, where I did my undergrad, and masters work. Then I was a grad assistant at Houston from 1992-1994, assistant strength coach for a couple of years then I was elevated to the head position in 1997. Then in 2001, I took a job with the New York Jets on Herman Edwards first staff, was there for a year then went to the University of Florida as an assistant director of strength and conditioning when Coach Zook got there in 2002.
How did you get into power lifting, get to Louisiana Tech?
I started getting into lifting and I heard about a gentleman from a small town near Alice, he was a teacher at junior high but a real well known strength coach in Texas. So I enrolled at a local community college where he was at (Kilgore Texas), went and started working out at 4:30 in the morning with my new coach and I learned a lot from him as far as intensity, work ethic, how to do things right. From that training, my lifts started to improve and I thought maybe I should take this someplace and compete with it so Tech has a power-lifting program and that is how I ended up there.
Who has been your biggest influences in the strength and conditioning field?
I have been real fortunate to work with a lot of great people. Dr. Billy Jack Talbot, who was the power-lifting coach at Louisiana Tech when I was there, was where I learned a lot about building a program, how to build upon strength gains and keep getting stronger. Under him, I finally understood how you set your program to get stronger. He is one of the best. When it comes to speed training, I was really fortunate to be on the staff at Houston with the world's greatest strength coach, Tom Tellez (legendary University of Houston track coach) who coached Carl Lewis, Leroy Burrel, all those Olympic guys that came out of Houston. He would always come up and talk to me, say, 'Well, you know how to lift those weights but you don't know anything about running. You want to learn? Just come on out and spend some time with me and I will show you.' So I learned a lot of things from him when it comes to training, mechanics, I was really fortunate to spend a lot of time with Tom.
Speed, all Illini fans want to know how you will make the team faster? Is there something you can do to improve the speed or is it one of those things, you either have or you don't?
First thing we are doing, working on the actual mechanics of the run. Teaching arm strokes, arm position, leg action, leg turnover. Proper position of their ankles, feet, how to strike the ground, what to strike it with, we have several drills where we do every run day to reinforce this new activity. First of all, we are working on the mechanics of it. Then we will implement the actual training of it. That will include spring work, resistance work and some over-speed kind of training. We can't get away from the mechanics of how to run, whether you are a world-class runner, football player, baseball player, the mechanics of the run is all the same. Then the plyometric work is extremely important, extremely important, we have already started jumping drills to improve that explosion in their legs, then combine that with the work we do in the weight room, flexibility work, it all helps create a more efficient, powerful player.
But can you take a linebacker who runs a 4.9 forty and make him a 4.7 guy on the field?
What we can do is improve that quickness, that first step quickness to the ball, improve his explosion, get him playing lower, make him more flexible and playing low, having that first quick step is very important in football and sure, we can improve those areas, no question. With proper sprint training, you can lower that forty time but we are looking for quicker, faster guys on the field and I think with improved flexibility, working on that explosion off the ball, we can improve that with our training.
What kinds of lifts do you like to build that explosion in the weight room? The last coach here loved the parallel squat as a way to show how strong a player was, do you have any lifts you like to concentrate on?
I love the squat, number one, the squat is probably the most important exercise you can do. It is the best exercise to do to build your whole body, obviously your lower body strength, no question.
But strength is a different component then power and explosiveness. Strength is slow, it is a slow activity. Strength is important but how fast you start to move your strength is what we are looking for in a powerful athlete. Number one, we concentrate on the Olympic lifts, power cleans, power snatch, power jerk, hang clean, hang snatch, those are very technical lifts and involve a lot of supervision so right now the guys are going over that every day, we are reinforcing the proper body positions we want them in. Once we start to get better with technique, we will increase the weight with that. So we are doing a combine of strength exercises like the squat, explosive exercises like the Olympic lifts combined with plyometic exercises for fast, quick reaction, that is what we want to do. Then combine the mechanics of how to run, body position, staying low, those type of activities, sprint drills, all that will hopefully create a bigger, faster athlete.
Everyone talks about upper, lower body work but a lot of emphasis these days is on 'core' exercises, working on the abs, core of the body. What type of work there do you do?
I love core workouts, we do a lot of ab work here. If Coach Zook told me we could only work two areas, number one I would do the power clean and number two, work the abs. That area is extremely important. I do a combination of activities there. We do some resistance work that makes the core stronger, we do some endurance work with some circuits, that creates strength in endurance. That helps create that endurance, helps to maintain that body position, staying low for example during a game. We do everything for abs, the core, medicine ball, picking up plates, to pulling against their own body weight, we do a lot of things to work the core, work the abs and make them stronger. That core area is the most important area for us to work on right now.
And you do those things daily?
Absolutely, abs daily, that is correct.
How has the reaction been from the team since you have gotten here? Have they bought in yet?
I think the guys are understanding and many of them have bought into the new approach I bring. I was fortunate to work for Coach Zook at Florida the last three years so I know exactly what he is looking for, when you talk about intensity, team attitude, team unity, team discipline. I know the things that he believes, exactly what he is looking for from these workouts. The guys have been really receptive, a great group of people, they are sponges right now, absorbing all of this but they have come in and worked real hard I think. We hit them with some pretty hard stuff early on and I think if they keep working hard, they will have some pretty good results this off-season.
Are Illini fans going to see the results of all this work maybe next fall? A stronger, faster team?
That is a loaded question isn't it? That is the goal, that is the goal. I will have five weeks with them this off-season, I think the biggest thing we have right now is building that attitude, I know what Coach Zook will expect from them and I tell you what, there is no more intense person then Coach Zook. Everything is about a tempo with him, it is get there, go hard, get it done or go home. I think as far as building that attitude these next five weeks till spring practice starts, I think we will meet that goal. The guys are already starting to push weights that are above and beyond their expectation for that week so they are working and getting better. We are having some power surges now and there bodies are really accepting what is going on.
So will we see it next fall?
I have five weeks now, a couple of days during spring ball, then I will have the summer. I definitely think we will see some improvement in the fall.
How do you see your role as the strength coach? Are you the players buddy? The bad cop? You will spend more time with the players then their position coaches?
My role is an extension of Coach Zook. Fortunately we are on the same page when it comes to that, where we want the program to go. Yes, I am going to be the guy they spend the most time with.
I think a lot of them already understand that it is an open door policy with me but there is a lot of tough love that comes along with that. I think they have been receptive to that.
So no one signing in to lift weights and hiding in the other room jogging on the treadmill for a half hour then leaving?
No, that isn't going to be happening. I don't like to use the word punishment, I prefer the word motivation and there will be consequences for things they don't fulfill successfully. I want them to understand that because that is the way the game of football is. If someone jumps off-sides, the whole team is penalized, so that is where the team unity comes in and other guys on the team see someone not working hard and let them know it won't be tolerated. I won't tolerate it and I certainly know Coach Zook won't tolerate it.
What is your coaching style? Screamer and yeller?
I love what I do, when the bell rings, I know it is time to get in the ring and fight. I don't know any other way to run a weight room then go full out every day. Physically, yeah it can take a lot out of me and I think I do say things in several different volumes. But I don't like to consider myself a true yeller and screamer. Talk to young guys different ways to figure out how to get them and keep them motivated. Sometimes when things are hot and we are really going, yeah it can get loud but a lot of that has to do with the attitude.
What are your goals during this off-season conditioning period?
I think instilling that idea of how Coach Zook wants things done. That idea of doing things right, paying attention to detail, getting guys ready for what they will work with when Coach Zook and his assistants get them for spring practice, again, establishing that tempo of get there, go hard and get things done right quickly. If you don't have your right hand in the right place, body positioned correctly, then you didn't execute the drill correctly, same as on the field. And they're consequences for that here and on the field. Everything we do has to do with what happens on the football field. The game is hard, the workouts are hard. Give in during the workouts here, definitely going to give in on the field. As long as I have done this, I have noticed it does carry over, people that work hard here, work hard out there on the field. What I try to do, is give a little motivation to those who may not be doing as well, because if one person fails, we all fail.
Are you a guy who believes in flipping the tires, having lifting competitions, stuff like that?
I try not to get away from the steak and potatoes of lifting. I think you should spend a lot of time on the exercises here and I have spent a lot of time on their exercises and they have proven to have success. But competition is important, we want to see who will compete and who will quit. We want to see that early, probably the best quote on that was Parcells when he said, 'Don't confuse commitment to routine' are you going out their daily and doing your routine or are you truly committed and busting it every day to get better? Do they give in to the competition? Am I not going to be able to run the 36 100-yard sprints that I need to do? Or am I going to break down, not compete?
Are the big guys, the lineman on both sides of the ball lifting five times a week instead of the usual four?
Yes, and the workout we have isn't considered standard for programs but the success we have had before leads me right back to it. The workout involves the multi-joint lifts, the heavier lifts, things people really don't like to do. We are going heavy two or three times a week. It improves their bulk, their strength, that is what those particular lifts do. I have three days that are basic strength days, the bench, the incline, squats, basic strength lifts. Tuesday and Thursdays are platform lifts. Those are the days they work on the Olympic exercises for overall explosion and power. It is not the traditional four day workout. We have the rest of the team on the four day workout but not the lineman. This is the time when I can focus on getting these guys as strong as possible in the weight room, I will have all summer to get them in shape running. Then we can make the transistion to the four day split.
Are the big guys doing three sets of everything? How many sets are you having them do?
We don't spend a lot of time on the little lifts on our heavy days, we go as heavy as six sets of lifts, six sets of benches, six sets of squats, it goes from 60 percent efficiency to 95 percent effieciency of what they can lift. We try to get them to do as many reps as possible with 80 percent of their max on certain exercises.
Not as much running as the last staff did?
I just want to get the guys ready for spring, I will have all summer to get them ready, conditioned for the season. We run two days a week, a lot of sprint work, a lot of technique work like I had said before.
How did you meet Coach Zook?
When I was in the NFL with the Jets, we as a staff were all sitting at the NFL combine waiting for
the activities to begin and Coach Zook was with the Saints then. He came by and knew some of the Jets assistants and I was introduced to him. That is how I first met him. That was 2001. One of the Jets guys said as Coach walked away, 'That guy is the next NFL coordinator to jump into a head coaching job' and then the next January, Coach Zook got the Florida job. Then I was lucky enough to work for him when they had an opening at Florida.
Looking at your bio, it reads like you did a lot of work at Florida with many sports, was that the case?
The primary reason I was brought to Florida was to work with the football team. But because they lacked some man-power, I spent some time with the track team. That was really important to me because a lot of the things they do in track, a lot of the speed work, power work, you can use in football training. Obviously they are two different sports but the speed and power, learning more about those things, those are the things I really enjoy working on. I spent some time with the track team but it was on a minimal basis, my effort was more on football.
Supplements, believe in them?
No, I don't. I think the long term effects of things like creatine, other stuff like that hasn't been established so I want no part of that. I think guys can get strength, power, speed by having the right diet, taking the right vitamins, working hard. I don't believe in all those supplements because you just don't know what the long-term effect will be.
Are you changing the food at the training table at Illinois?
That is a goal, I am working on something, getting something together for that that hopefully will be implemented soon but I am definitely working on getting some changes made to it.
Can an athlete over say 38 still add bulk, strength to his body without using steroids or human growth hormone?
When I was with the Jets, I worked with Vinny Testaverde and he was a 380-pound bench press, 500-pound squat guy. He came in four times a week and busted his behind and he added strength, power and he was older(laughing) so with the proper diet, workout, and hard work, yeah I think you can do that.
Can you go from being a skinny guy at say 32 and suddenly you get a lot bigger and bigger without that base? Like some baseball players?
I would be real skeptical about that and major league baseball got what they deserved. They wanted the home run, long ball and that is what they got when those guys got that big. Now they have to pay for it.
One year with the Jets, what happened there if you don't mind?
As Jerry Glanville said, 'The NFL for some means not for long', the Jets hired me, they decided after a year to make some budget cuts and that included me. But I was lucky enough to hook on at Florida, then come up here.
And what does it mean to you to be the head strength coach again?
It is a great opportunity here at Illinois, to work for Coach Zook, I really couldn't have asked for more. It all happened so quick, I got here on a Friday and Monday I was running the workout.
Any one player you have worked with that you are most proud about how you helped him?
When I was at Houston, they recruited Antwoine Smith out of a junior college and he got to Houston and was really weak, in bad shape I thought. He could barely do ten reps of curls with sixty pounds on the bar, but we worked with him and he developed that strength, that work ethic and became a first round draft pick and did pretty well in the NFL. That is the guy I always remember.
And your thoughts on Champaign?
I have been pretty busy, usually leave here (the weight room) at around 11 at night, then back at 6 AM. But talk about southern hospitality, the people here have been great to me already. I couldn't have asked for a better reception.
So you haven't taken in any of the sites?
I know where my hotel is. I know where the Subway is, I know how to get to the football offices, no not many sites yet.
We thank Lou Hernandez for his time.
Lou Hernandez was named to the University of Florida Strength and Conditioning staff in May 2002. He comes to us from the New York Jets where he served as the assistant strength and conditioning coach. Prior to the Jets, Hernandez served as the head strength and conditioning coach at the University of Houston for four seasons. While at Houston, Lou was responsible for the strength and conditioning of all 16 varsity sports; as well as, overseeing the 16,500 sq. ft. weight training facility. Lou earned a Bachelor's of Science in Exercise Science/Kinesiology with a minor in health from the University of Houston in 1992. Hernandez' experience in the NFL began in 1995, when he was an intern at the Minnesota Vikings developmental camp.
During his time in Houston, Lou trained several elite athletes in a variety of sports. In track and field he trained Olympians Leroy Burrell, Mike Marsh, Michelle Finn, and Sandra Glover, as well as, Carl Lewis for the 1996 Olympics. Hernandez also assisted in the development of running back Antowain Smith, a first round pick in the 1996 NFL draft. Hernandez also aided in the rehabilitation and training of Hakeem Olajuwon throughout 1998 and 1999, as well as baseball standouts, Darryl Hamilton, former NY Mets, and John Patterson, the Arizona Diamondbacks 5th overall pick in 1996.(Bio courtesy of University of Florida athletics)
First question, where you from? And how did you get into strength and condintioning field?
From Alice, Texas. That is a real small town right outside of Corpus Christi. About 18,000 people there and that is probably Easter Sunday when everyone comes back to visit. I attended Louisiana Tech and started power-lifting there then transferred to the University of Houston, where I did my undergrad, and masters work. Then I was a grad assistant at Houston from 1992-1994, assistant strength coach for a couple of years then I was elevated to the head position in 1997. Then in 2001, I took a job with the New York Jets on Herman Edwards first staff, was there for a year then went to the University of Florida as an assistant director of strength and conditioning when Coach Zook got there in 2002.
How did you get into power lifting, get to Louisiana Tech?
I started getting into lifting and I heard about a gentleman from a small town near Alice, he was a teacher at junior high but a real well known strength coach in Texas. So I enrolled at a local community college where he was at (Kilgore Texas), went and started working out at 4:30 in the morning with my new coach and I learned a lot from him as far as intensity, work ethic, how to do things right. From that training, my lifts started to improve and I thought maybe I should take this someplace and compete with it so Tech has a power-lifting program and that is how I ended up there.
Who has been your biggest influences in the strength and conditioning field?
I have been real fortunate to work with a lot of great people. Dr. Billy Jack Talbot, who was the power-lifting coach at Louisiana Tech when I was there, was where I learned a lot about building a program, how to build upon strength gains and keep getting stronger. Under him, I finally understood how you set your program to get stronger. He is one of the best. When it comes to speed training, I was really fortunate to be on the staff at Houston with the world's greatest strength coach, Tom Tellez (legendary University of Houston track coach) who coached Carl Lewis, Leroy Burrel, all those Olympic guys that came out of Houston. He would always come up and talk to me, say, 'Well, you know how to lift those weights but you don't know anything about running. You want to learn? Just come on out and spend some time with me and I will show you.' So I learned a lot of things from him when it comes to training, mechanics, I was really fortunate to spend a lot of time with Tom.
Speed, all Illini fans want to know how you will make the team faster? Is there something you can do to improve the speed or is it one of those things, you either have or you don't?
First thing we are doing, working on the actual mechanics of the run. Teaching arm strokes, arm position, leg action, leg turnover. Proper position of their ankles, feet, how to strike the ground, what to strike it with, we have several drills where we do every run day to reinforce this new activity. First of all, we are working on the mechanics of it. Then we will implement the actual training of it. That will include spring work, resistance work and some over-speed kind of training. We can't get away from the mechanics of how to run, whether you are a world-class runner, football player, baseball player, the mechanics of the run is all the same. Then the plyometric work is extremely important, extremely important, we have already started jumping drills to improve that explosion in their legs, then combine that with the work we do in the weight room, flexibility work, it all helps create a more efficient, powerful player.
But can you take a linebacker who runs a 4.9 forty and make him a 4.7 guy on the field?
What we can do is improve that quickness, that first step quickness to the ball, improve his explosion, get him playing lower, make him more flexible and playing low, having that first quick step is very important in football and sure, we can improve those areas, no question. With proper sprint training, you can lower that forty time but we are looking for quicker, faster guys on the field and I think with improved flexibility, working on that explosion off the ball, we can improve that with our training.
What kinds of lifts do you like to build that explosion in the weight room? The last coach here loved the parallel squat as a way to show how strong a player was, do you have any lifts you like to concentrate on?
I love the squat, number one, the squat is probably the most important exercise you can do. It is the best exercise to do to build your whole body, obviously your lower body strength, no question.
But strength is a different component then power and explosiveness. Strength is slow, it is a slow activity. Strength is important but how fast you start to move your strength is what we are looking for in a powerful athlete. Number one, we concentrate on the Olympic lifts, power cleans, power snatch, power jerk, hang clean, hang snatch, those are very technical lifts and involve a lot of supervision so right now the guys are going over that every day, we are reinforcing the proper body positions we want them in. Once we start to get better with technique, we will increase the weight with that. So we are doing a combine of strength exercises like the squat, explosive exercises like the Olympic lifts combined with plyometic exercises for fast, quick reaction, that is what we want to do. Then combine the mechanics of how to run, body position, staying low, those type of activities, sprint drills, all that will hopefully create a bigger, faster athlete.
Everyone talks about upper, lower body work but a lot of emphasis these days is on 'core' exercises, working on the abs, core of the body. What type of work there do you do?
I love core workouts, we do a lot of ab work here. If Coach Zook told me we could only work two areas, number one I would do the power clean and number two, work the abs. That area is extremely important. I do a combination of activities there. We do some resistance work that makes the core stronger, we do some endurance work with some circuits, that creates strength in endurance. That helps create that endurance, helps to maintain that body position, staying low for example during a game. We do everything for abs, the core, medicine ball, picking up plates, to pulling against their own body weight, we do a lot of things to work the core, work the abs and make them stronger. That core area is the most important area for us to work on right now.
And you do those things daily?
Absolutely, abs daily, that is correct.
How has the reaction been from the team since you have gotten here? Have they bought in yet?
I think the guys are understanding and many of them have bought into the new approach I bring. I was fortunate to work for Coach Zook at Florida the last three years so I know exactly what he is looking for, when you talk about intensity, team attitude, team unity, team discipline. I know the things that he believes, exactly what he is looking for from these workouts. The guys have been really receptive, a great group of people, they are sponges right now, absorbing all of this but they have come in and worked real hard I think. We hit them with some pretty hard stuff early on and I think if they keep working hard, they will have some pretty good results this off-season.
Are Illini fans going to see the results of all this work maybe next fall? A stronger, faster team?
That is a loaded question isn't it? That is the goal, that is the goal. I will have five weeks with them this off-season, I think the biggest thing we have right now is building that attitude, I know what Coach Zook will expect from them and I tell you what, there is no more intense person then Coach Zook. Everything is about a tempo with him, it is get there, go hard, get it done or go home. I think as far as building that attitude these next five weeks till spring practice starts, I think we will meet that goal. The guys are already starting to push weights that are above and beyond their expectation for that week so they are working and getting better. We are having some power surges now and there bodies are really accepting what is going on.
So will we see it next fall?
I have five weeks now, a couple of days during spring ball, then I will have the summer. I definitely think we will see some improvement in the fall.
How do you see your role as the strength coach? Are you the players buddy? The bad cop? You will spend more time with the players then their position coaches?
My role is an extension of Coach Zook. Fortunately we are on the same page when it comes to that, where we want the program to go. Yes, I am going to be the guy they spend the most time with.
I think a lot of them already understand that it is an open door policy with me but there is a lot of tough love that comes along with that. I think they have been receptive to that.
So no one signing in to lift weights and hiding in the other room jogging on the treadmill for a half hour then leaving?
No, that isn't going to be happening. I don't like to use the word punishment, I prefer the word motivation and there will be consequences for things they don't fulfill successfully. I want them to understand that because that is the way the game of football is. If someone jumps off-sides, the whole team is penalized, so that is where the team unity comes in and other guys on the team see someone not working hard and let them know it won't be tolerated. I won't tolerate it and I certainly know Coach Zook won't tolerate it.
What is your coaching style? Screamer and yeller?
I love what I do, when the bell rings, I know it is time to get in the ring and fight. I don't know any other way to run a weight room then go full out every day. Physically, yeah it can take a lot out of me and I think I do say things in several different volumes. But I don't like to consider myself a true yeller and screamer. Talk to young guys different ways to figure out how to get them and keep them motivated. Sometimes when things are hot and we are really going, yeah it can get loud but a lot of that has to do with the attitude.
What are your goals during this off-season conditioning period?
I think instilling that idea of how Coach Zook wants things done. That idea of doing things right, paying attention to detail, getting guys ready for what they will work with when Coach Zook and his assistants get them for spring practice, again, establishing that tempo of get there, go hard and get things done right quickly. If you don't have your right hand in the right place, body positioned correctly, then you didn't execute the drill correctly, same as on the field. And they're consequences for that here and on the field. Everything we do has to do with what happens on the football field. The game is hard, the workouts are hard. Give in during the workouts here, definitely going to give in on the field. As long as I have done this, I have noticed it does carry over, people that work hard here, work hard out there on the field. What I try to do, is give a little motivation to those who may not be doing as well, because if one person fails, we all fail.
Are you a guy who believes in flipping the tires, having lifting competitions, stuff like that?
I try not to get away from the steak and potatoes of lifting. I think you should spend a lot of time on the exercises here and I have spent a lot of time on their exercises and they have proven to have success. But competition is important, we want to see who will compete and who will quit. We want to see that early, probably the best quote on that was Parcells when he said, 'Don't confuse commitment to routine' are you going out their daily and doing your routine or are you truly committed and busting it every day to get better? Do they give in to the competition? Am I not going to be able to run the 36 100-yard sprints that I need to do? Or am I going to break down, not compete?
Are the big guys, the lineman on both sides of the ball lifting five times a week instead of the usual four?
Yes, and the workout we have isn't considered standard for programs but the success we have had before leads me right back to it. The workout involves the multi-joint lifts, the heavier lifts, things people really don't like to do. We are going heavy two or three times a week. It improves their bulk, their strength, that is what those particular lifts do. I have three days that are basic strength days, the bench, the incline, squats, basic strength lifts. Tuesday and Thursdays are platform lifts. Those are the days they work on the Olympic exercises for overall explosion and power. It is not the traditional four day workout. We have the rest of the team on the four day workout but not the lineman. This is the time when I can focus on getting these guys as strong as possible in the weight room, I will have all summer to get them in shape running. Then we can make the transistion to the four day split.
Are the big guys doing three sets of everything? How many sets are you having them do?
We don't spend a lot of time on the little lifts on our heavy days, we go as heavy as six sets of lifts, six sets of benches, six sets of squats, it goes from 60 percent efficiency to 95 percent effieciency of what they can lift. We try to get them to do as many reps as possible with 80 percent of their max on certain exercises.
Not as much running as the last staff did?
I just want to get the guys ready for spring, I will have all summer to get them ready, conditioned for the season. We run two days a week, a lot of sprint work, a lot of technique work like I had said before.
How did you meet Coach Zook?
When I was in the NFL with the Jets, we as a staff were all sitting at the NFL combine waiting for
the activities to begin and Coach Zook was with the Saints then. He came by and knew some of the Jets assistants and I was introduced to him. That is how I first met him. That was 2001. One of the Jets guys said as Coach walked away, 'That guy is the next NFL coordinator to jump into a head coaching job' and then the next January, Coach Zook got the Florida job. Then I was lucky enough to work for him when they had an opening at Florida.
Looking at your bio, it reads like you did a lot of work at Florida with many sports, was that the case?
The primary reason I was brought to Florida was to work with the football team. But because they lacked some man-power, I spent some time with the track team. That was really important to me because a lot of the things they do in track, a lot of the speed work, power work, you can use in football training. Obviously they are two different sports but the speed and power, learning more about those things, those are the things I really enjoy working on. I spent some time with the track team but it was on a minimal basis, my effort was more on football.
Supplements, believe in them?
No, I don't. I think the long term effects of things like creatine, other stuff like that hasn't been established so I want no part of that. I think guys can get strength, power, speed by having the right diet, taking the right vitamins, working hard. I don't believe in all those supplements because you just don't know what the long-term effect will be.
Are you changing the food at the training table at Illinois?
That is a goal, I am working on something, getting something together for that that hopefully will be implemented soon but I am definitely working on getting some changes made to it.
Can an athlete over say 38 still add bulk, strength to his body without using steroids or human growth hormone?
When I was with the Jets, I worked with Vinny Testaverde and he was a 380-pound bench press, 500-pound squat guy. He came in four times a week and busted his behind and he added strength, power and he was older(laughing) so with the proper diet, workout, and hard work, yeah I think you can do that.
Can you go from being a skinny guy at say 32 and suddenly you get a lot bigger and bigger without that base? Like some baseball players?
I would be real skeptical about that and major league baseball got what they deserved. They wanted the home run, long ball and that is what they got when those guys got that big. Now they have to pay for it.
One year with the Jets, what happened there if you don't mind?
As Jerry Glanville said, 'The NFL for some means not for long', the Jets hired me, they decided after a year to make some budget cuts and that included me. But I was lucky enough to hook on at Florida, then come up here.
And what does it mean to you to be the head strength coach again?
It is a great opportunity here at Illinois, to work for Coach Zook, I really couldn't have asked for more. It all happened so quick, I got here on a Friday and Monday I was running the workout.
Any one player you have worked with that you are most proud about how you helped him?
When I was at Houston, they recruited Antwoine Smith out of a junior college and he got to Houston and was really weak, in bad shape I thought. He could barely do ten reps of curls with sixty pounds on the bar, but we worked with him and he developed that strength, that work ethic and became a first round draft pick and did pretty well in the NFL. That is the guy I always remember.
And your thoughts on Champaign?
I have been pretty busy, usually leave here (the weight room) at around 11 at night, then back at 6 AM. But talk about southern hospitality, the people here have been great to me already. I couldn't have asked for a better reception.
So you haven't taken in any of the sites?
I know where my hotel is. I know where the Subway is, I know how to get to the football offices, no not many sites yet.
We thank Lou Hernandez for his time.