It’s the playoffs!
As bummed out as we are that in just a few short weeks, football season will be coming to an end, we’re excited that our favorite team is still in contention to win it all!
Whether the Bills’ run ends with them winning their first ever championship or not, we can guarantee you that their strength and conditioning staff are already drawing up programming and fitness plans to ensure that the team stays in tip-top shape during the off season.
So how does this affect you?
Well, unless you just happen to be on one of the teams that won their playoff game this past weekend, you can get started with your fitness plans right now. Today we’re going to discuss how the leading contenders get it done in the weight room and how your approach to greatness doesn’t need to be all that different…
Buffalo Bills, the Premier NFL Franchise
Even if you’re not the biggest football fan, you’ve probably heard of the Buffalo Bills. Not only are the Bills the only team in the NFL to appear in 4 straight Super Bowls, they are also the current, 5-time defending AFC East champions.
When it comes to championship football, few franchises can match the Bills, historically and presently.
Of course, having a team made up of some of the best athletes on Earth along with superior coaching has contributed to the Bills’ success and it’s exciting to see how long their current playoff run will last.
However, we know that champions are made in the off-season. Let’s take a look at how stud receiver Khalil Shakir and the Bills get it done in the off-season.
Off-season Training with the Buffalo
Despite NFL players being some of the most physically talented, well-conditioned, and strongest athletes in the world, much of their off-season training involves fundamental exercises and movements. Heavy back squats, heavy deadlifts, heavy bench presses, and a lot of other heavy, compound movements make up the core of any NFL player’s lifting regimen.
NFL franchises are multi-billion-dollar entities with access to top-of-the-line training personnel, nutrition and recovery aides, and, most notably, equipment. Because of this, teams are able to splurge on the highest-end training gear.
With that being said, every team is looking for an edge and ways to be more efficient with their training practices…
…and this involves selecting equipment that maximizes functionality and training efficiency.
Imagine Khalil rolling up to a lifting session knowing that he has to knock out some heavy front squats. He knows the lower bodywork is going to be grueling, but he also wants to be able to get in some upper body hypertrophy work at the end of his session. Who could blame him for wanting to make sure his triceps look nice and cut for his sleeveless media guide picture?
In most situations, Khalil would have to wander from his lifting platform to a separate machine and back to get this work in. However, if the Bills opted to stock their training facility with their home city’s namesake all-in-one strength training machine, he could do everything in one place.
The RitFit Buffalo allows lifters of all ability levels to perform free weight exercises, Smith Machine lifts, cable work, bodyweight movements, and even vertical leg presses…all with one machine!
If Khalil had a Buffalo delivered to him, he wouldn’t even have to leave his house to hit his off-season workouts!
Benefits of Strength Training for Non-athletes
I know you’re probably thinking something along the lines of “that’s cool that NFL athletes can get crazy strong and huge muscles with one machine, but what does that have to do with me? I’m not playing in the League!”
To be fair, you raise a good point.
Building strength isn’t something that only professional athletes should worry about, though. There are a number of benefits to working with weights and even beginner resistance training programs can result in life-changing outcomes.
Bone Density Improvement: As we age, we begin to lose density in our bones. This may not seem like such a big deal until you consider the sheer number of health conditions related to brittle bones. Anything from easier fractures that are more difficult to recover from to simply weaker bones, staving off deteriorating bone density should be a top priority for everyone.
When we train with weights, we can actually slow down the process of bone deterioration (Holubiac, Leuciuc, Craciun, Dobrescu, 2022). Even if you’re years away from retiring, I can assure you that your older self will be very appreciative of you for taking these steps at a younger age!
Adopting a regimen that combines heavy barbell lifts with focused accessory lifts, like those that all-in-one strength training machines promote, can help you to immediately begin improving your bone density.
Increased muscle mass: Unlike Khalil Shakir, you’re probably not as concerned with fighting through tough bump-and-run coverage or holding your block on a towering strong safety downfield. However, just because we’re not using our muscles in a contact sport doesn’t mean we don’t benefit from increasing our muscle mass.
Increased muscle-to-fat ratios on our body leads to greater overall longevity (McLeod, Currier, Lowisz, Phillips, 2024) but also has practical impacts on our everyday life. Think about how cable upright rows to presses look a bit like hoisting a piece of baggage from the ground to an overhead bin on an airplane.
If you want to “win” everyday tasks, focused strength training is the way to go.
Prevents cognitive decline and development of chronic conditions: Did you know that weight training can actually have big benefits for your brain health? Indeed, strength training has been linked to better memory and brain processing speed (Coelho-Junior, Marzetti, Calvani, Picca, Arai, Uchida, 2020).
Additionally, when considering that over 70 percent of deaths in the United States are linked, at least in part, due to largely preventable chronic conditions, it should come as no surprise that avoiding the development of these conditions is viewed as the best “cure” for them (Patel, Hodge, Rees-Punia, Teras, Campbell, Gapstur, 2020). Regular resistance training has been linked to the prevention of many of these conditions. (Patel, et.al, 2020).
With so many positive impacts of strength training even for non-athletes, investing in equipment that allows you to receive so many benefits is worth a serious look!
Conclusion
As much as we’d like to see the Bills win their first-ever Vince Lombardi Trophy in New Orleans this February, we’d be lying if we said we weren’t excited to learn about their off-season training plans. We’re sure that Khalil and the crew could make massive gains by picking up a few Buffalo Multifunctional Smith Machines for the weight room, practically ensuring that they’d be the favorites to repeat going into the 2025 regular season.
Just remember that you don’t have to be on an NFL roster to train like an All-Pro player or to experience the benefits of resistance training. Whether you prefer to train heavy compound lifts, consider yourself to be a “bodyweight ninja”, or love to get your cable work in, you can join the other “Buffalo team” when you pick up your own Buffalo Multifunctional Smith Machine.
Put in the work and who knows; maybe a roster spot will open up and by this time next year, you’ll be lining up in Twins next to Khalil!
References
Coelho-Junior, H., Marzetti, E., Calvani, R., Picca, A., Arai, H., Uchida, M. (2020). Resistance training improves cognitive function in older adults with different cognitive status: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Aging & Mental Health, 26(2): 213-224.
Holubiac, I., Leuciuc, F., Craciun, D., Dobrescu, T. (2022). Effect of strength training protocol on bone mineral density for postmenopausal women and osteopenia/osteoporosis assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Sensors, 22(5).
McLeod, J., Currier, B., Lowisz, C., Phillips, S. (2024). The influence of resistance exercise training prescription variables on skeletal muscle mass, strength, and physical function in healthy adults: An umbrella review. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 13(1): 47-60.
Patel, A., Hodge, J., Rees-Punia, E., Teras, L., Campbell, P., Gapstur, S. (2020). Relationship between muscle-strengthening activity and cause-specific mortality in a large US cohort. Preventing Chronic Disease, 17.
