Jermaine Eluemunor is undoubtedly one of the strongest players in the NFL. The New York Giants Offensive Tackle has benched over 500 pounds, deadlifted over 600 pounds, and squatted more than 700-pounds. When it comes to training during the season, “The Main Show” still likes to lift, he just goes a little lighter to avoid injury.
Together with his emphasis on mobility and recovery, Eluemunor has evolved from an athlete that once didn’t know a barbell from a Barbie doll, to one of the most accomplished ballers in the weight room. Here’s a sample workout that this Giant undertakes to create an obliterating offence.
Since strength and power is essential in Eluemunor’s line of work, the number of exercises that he performs is short, but the effort and intensity that this workout requires is the stuff of Giants. The baller says that he does everything he can do to put himself right in front of the opposing player.
“It takes a lot to go out there every single play and do your job to the highest ability,” he explains. “Especially when I’m driving 330-pound-plus men out the way like a lot of the times. It takes a lot of legwork. So, for me, that’s why I put a lot of emphasis into my legs even on days when I’m just tired. On my last leg day, I think I squatted 465-pounds, which is light for me, but it’s kind of just maintaining that strength, instead of squatting 600 pounds in the offseason I might even squat 315 pounds on season.”
Jermaine Eluemunor’s Giant Leg Day Workout
Warmup
Mobility & Lateral Stretches with resistance bands
Side to Side Kettle Bell Rotations
Workout
Calf Raises: 4 Sets x Heavy 3 Reps
Back Squat or Front Squat: 4 Sets x Heavy 3 Reps
Lateral Squats: 4 Sets x Heavy 3 Reps
Finisher
Barbell Romanian Deadlift
Jermaine Eluemunor’s Leg Day Workout Breakdown
“We obviously start off stretching,” explains Eluemunor of the process. “Here with the Giants, we do a lot of core activities and lateral movements.” To ready his body for the twists and entanglements on the football field, the player stretches with a resistance band and performs side to side rotations with a kettlebell to work his core. “I use bands a ton,” he shares. “So, just like the little ankle mobilities. Sometimes you can do neck strengthening with some certain bands, and knee strengthening. I use bands even in pregame warmups. I use them especially on my quads and my abductors just to warm those up because, a lot of times, that’s where the soreness can come from after games. So, the looser they are during games, the better they feel afterwards.”
Since Eluemunor often drives himself upwards from the field in order to lift his burly rivals skyward, calf raises are a great exercise for strengthening his lower legs. Calf raises are also great for mobility, and prevent injuries while benefitting your balance. Moving further up the leg, squats build the quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings, providing the power needed to plough through those man mountains on the field.
Lateral squats are another lift that is beneficial to the quads, hams, and abductors, but they also work the hips differently because they require an athlete to step to the side instead of straight ahead. The movement is very similar Eluemunor’s gameplay, since he needs to be able to rotate 360 degrees while carrying huge loads if the action requires it.
The barbell Romanian deadlift is a great finisher because it further taxes the muscles already worked in the core and legs while providing additional tension on the groin to build resilience. Try this workout and you will not only find yourself able to tackle bigger weights, but bigger people too. And, when you’ve given Eluemunor’s workout a try, you can treat yourself to a sauna for some essential recovery.
“My big thing is sauna,” says Eluemunor. “I use it every single day. I’ll stretch out in the sauna, foam roll out a little bit, use some bands on my ankles to loosen up some of my joints and stretch, and then just kind of relax in there.” Well, you’ve definitely earned it!
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