Adrian Peterson is a freak of nature. You already knew that after watching him return from a torn ACL and rush for a career-best 2,097 yards in 2012. So maybe this story about him won’t surprise you, but that makes it no less impressive.
ESPN’s Ben Goessling wrote a feature on Peterson’s offseason workout routine that was published on Tuesday. All Day may be 31 years old, but he’s still working just as hard as ever.
Goessling says a day of workouts for Peterson can include a mix of hill sprints, weight lifting, agility drills, core work, pool training, boxing and MMA sparring. Peterson trains for a minimum of 3.5 hours per day. The full routine is listed in the article, and it gives a glimpse at the work Peterson puts in to make him great.
But the figure that will really resonate with readers is that the trainer puts All Day through 10 40-yard dashes with only 30 seconds of rest. The slowest speed for the sprints should be between 4.49 and 4.55, which implies that he’s clocking in at under 4.50 on his better sprints.
For comparison, Peterson ran a 4.44 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine in 2007 prior to being drafted.
30 used to be the age when running backs lost it or were “over the hill.” That doesn’t appear to be the case in the least for Peterson, who is still close to his speed when he entered the league. The numbers reflect that too, as he rushed for 1,485 yards and 11 touchdowns on 327 carries last season — all of which led the league.
Perhaps Peterson is not just a medical marvel, but maybe the product of tons of hard work and training, which has Emmitt Smith lavishing him with some extremely high praise.
Helmet smack to Pro Football Talk
