With his chiseled good looks, million-dollar smile,
broadcaster-smooth delivery and nice-guy rep, Tiki Barber — the most
prolific all-purpose running back in New York Giants history — would
seem to be a prime candidate for planning his next career in front of
the camera.
Instead, Barber approached the break between the 2003–2004 season as
if he were an eager-to-impress rookie, not a seven-year NFL star with a
Super Bowl appearance and 9,069 combined rushing and receiving yards
under his cleats. “He realized after last year he had to get stronger,” says Joe Carini, a former champion powerlifter whose Four Seasons
Fitness in West Paterson, N.J., was Barber’s training home during the
off-season. Carini put Barber through a grueling regimen designed to
help his client increase his patented explosiveness and reduce the
likelihood of injury. While his entire body was put through the ringer,
the emphasis was on the quads and hamstrings — the keys to an NFL
running back’s ability to burst through holes, turn on a dime and break
tackles in the open field.
After seven successful seasons with the
Giants, Tiki knew it was time to recharge. Getting brutally dragged to
the turf some 300 times a year by opposing linemen and linebackers who
outweigh him by 50 to 100 lb takes its toll. The average career for an
NFL running back spans barely more than three years. At a relatively
small 5’ 10” and 190 lb, and in the final year of his 20s, the speedy Barber was worried about wearing down.
The first step in Tiki’s strengthening program involved moving from the
Nautilus equipment to free weights. “Very few machines will build up
your core muscles at the same time you’re targeting another part of
your body,” explains Carini. ForBarber, as with any running back, it’s
the lower body — particularly the quads, hamstrings, hips and lower
back — that write that ticket to NFL stardom.
Leading up to the 2004 season, Barber was on a four-day rotating
schedule aimed at developing total body strength, with special
attention to the squats, presses and dead lifts that would enhance his
elusive abilities. The results, even by Carini’s high standards, have
been remarkable. For safety squats, Barber started with 275 lb and
progressed to 615 lb for 5 sets of 1 rep. On the bench press, he went
from repping 225 lb to 3 sets of 1 rep with 400 lb on the bar. Barber
also deadlifted 500 lb and on the leg machine he pumped 700 lb.
After hitting the iron, he’d indulge his love of boxing by hitting
the heavy bag as well as skipping rope and running with weighted sleds.
“We’d do intervals of three minutes, simulating a boxing round, then
skip rope for a few minutes, do some kind of abdominal workout, take a
one-minute rest and repeat the cycle,” says Carini. “With both the
weights and the cardio, everything’s go, go, go. The whole thing’s over
in 90 minutes, but we ain’t having a cup of tea, that’s for sure.”
After his workouts, Barber relies on the rejuvenating effects of
Maximum Human Performance’s Up Your MASS protein bars and shakes. “When
he’s done lifting, he wants to get enough nutrients to recover,”
explains Carini, who feels that Barber’s supplementation and nutrition
program played a major role in his client’s gains. Additionally, the
45/35/20 ratio of carbs, protein and fat that makes up MHP’s Macrobolic
Nutrition program that Carini put Barber on, and the low-glycemic
content in the MHP products, ensures that Barber won’t ride a
blood-sugar roller coaster.
Barber has never been one to follow a strict diet, but he also
manages to avoid junk food and the gargantuan portions common to his
larger teammates. “He’s disciplined in what he eats and he was blessed
with a very good metabolism,” says Carini. “He doesn’t need to watch
his calories because he’s content with his weight [now 200 lb]. The man
worked very hard at it and I’ll tell you something else: He enjoyed it
immensely.”
TIKI BARBER
HOMETOWN: Roanoke, Va.
HOBBIES: Reading, golf
AGE: 29
HEIGHT: 5’ 10”
WEIGHT: 200 lb
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Has amassed 9,069 career total yards (including 4,193 rushing and 3,149
receiving) in a seven-year NFL career; went to University of Virginia,
placed No. 2 on their career rushing list; twin brother of Ronde
Barber, cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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