Chiefs linebacker trains with pro weightlifters, discusses KC players’ regimen
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Jack Cochrane trained with two U.S. national team weightlifters at the Olympic center.
- Cochrane worked on power clean and snatch technique with World Championships team members.
- The Chiefs typically lift four days a week using Olympic lifts to feed into their power wr
NFL players do the most of their training in the offseason in order to prepare for the coming season.
One Kansas City Chiefs player took his training to the next level this year.
Veteran linebacker Jack Cochrane used some of his offseason to train with a couple members of the United States weightlifting team, Aaron Williams and Kolbi Ferguson. A core special teams player, Cochrane has spent all four of his NFL seasons with the Chiefs and was re-signed to a one-year deal in March.
In a nearly 30-minute video posted by USA Weightlifting, Williams and Ferguson joined Cochrane at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Cochrane got some pointers on his power clean-and-snatch technique.
The pair of professional weightlifters are two-time World Championships team members who won gold at last year’s Pan American Weightlifting Championships.
Cochrane’s college strength coaches at the University of South Dakota had Olympic lifting backgrounds, as does Chiefs head of strength and conditioning Ryan Reynolds, who is entering his 11th year with Kansas City.
Reynolds is friends with USA Weighlifting senior director of sport performance Mike Gattone. Gattone asked Reynolds if he had any Chiefs players who were interested in cross-training with a few lifters from the national team. Williams and Ferguson were both college football players.
“It’s great for (Cochrane) to see what an Olympic athlete goes through,” Gattone said in the video. “Our resources, what we can give our athletes compared to what a professional athlete can get.”
During their session, the athletes discussed the differences between their career paths. Cochrane explained how Chiefs players lift during the season.
“Offseason will be split between offense and defense,” Cochrane said. “In season is a little bit different. They have times for guys to go in there, but it’s a lot more individualized in-season based on what guys can do.”
During the season, Monday lifts are required after a Sunday game. Cochrane lifts on Mondays as part of his own routine.
“There’s organized lift time Tuesday, so Tuesday, I’ll be with the rest of the group,” he said, “and then I like to get a third one on Fridays.
“In season, it’s kind of like a game-day primer and (I) do a little bit of bodybuilding, too.”
The Chiefs typically lift four days a week, Cochrane said. They use Olympic lifts, like power-cleans and hang snatch, to feed into their powerlifting for the workout sessions.
The trio of world-class competitors seemed to enjoy bonding over their shared traits and explosive movements.
“It’s awesome,” Williams said. “It’s always seeing somebody with a different background come in and show that they can also be explosive and sling some weights.”
Said Ferguson with a laugh: “He moved like I did when I first touched the bar, so I understand his pain tremendously.”
Cochrane marveled at the experience, “the aura of this whole building, like knowing all the incredible athletes who have been here and training with these guys.
“I got gold medalists training on the rack next to me. It’s not something that happens every day, so I don’t take it for granted. It’s something that I’ll remember forever.”
