Working out with Kevin Zeitler - unreal

[jowczarski]

Hey all!
Sorry I've been a bit MIA - but this is why. I spent some time with Kevin Zeitler in his home town to see just how an NFL player gets ready for the season. (I actually worked out with him - twice - but that story is coming later). This is insane, but it shows just what they go through to get ready.

He works out twice a day. He eats four meals a day. And he doesn't get paid for any of it.

Please read/share - and feel free to ask any questions in this thread and I'll answer. I spent a ton of time with him.

[BFritz21]

(04-15-2016, 10:30 PM)jowczarski Wrote: Hey all!
Sorry I've been a bit MIA - but this is why. I spent some time with Kevin Zeitler in his home town to see just how an NFL player gets ready for the season. (I actually worked out with him - twice - but that story is coming later). This is insane, but it shows just what they go through to get ready.

He works out twice a day. He eats four meals a day. And he doesn't get paid for any of it.

Please read/share - and feel free to ask any questions in this thread and I'll answer. I spent a ton of time with him.

Awesome story!

Even more awesome to know that he's so dedicated and such a beast!

He doesn't live here full-time, though?  That's kind of a bummer 

[J24]

I imigane he is a top priority for the Bengals this offseason just because of his work ethic alone.

[Gamma Ray Tan]

Very interesting. Does he hit the big 3 (bench, squat, deadlift) or is it more isolation lifts? I would assume,being a lineman, that more multi-joint compound lifts (cleans, jerks, snatch) would benefit him more.

[fredtoast]

(04-15-2016, 10:30 PM)jowczarski Wrote: Hey all!
Sorry I've been a bit MIA - but this is why. I spent some time with Kevin Zeitler in his home town to see just how an NFL player gets ready for the season. (I actually worked out with him - twice - but that story is coming later). This is insane, but it shows just what they go through to get ready.

He works out twice a day. He eats four meals a day. And he doesn't get paid for any of it.

Please read/share - and feel free to ask any questions in this thread and I'll answer. I spent a ton of time with him.

Great story.  


Did Zeitler mention how much sleep he gets every day?  I know a lot of people are putting more emphasis on sleep and recovery time.  College guys are saying that even if they worked out in all their free time they would not get as much gain because they can't spend the rest of their days in sleep or recovery mode.

[Thundercloud]

I appreciate these posts.

[BonnieBengal]

Great article Jim.

[magikod]

great article, thanks for posting

[xxlt]

Interesting article and I have been a Zeitler fan from day one. I am really pleased that he is working so hard, and yes perhaps harder than many others. And yes, the CBA says players can't be required to do anything or even have contact with coaches at this time of year. But, let's be honest, lots of successful pros do work out on their own year round and saying, "they don't get paid for it" is kind of silly.

I mean, back in the 50's thru the mid 70's when guys drove a truck or worked as a plumber in the off season, yeah, I could see saying they weren't getting paid for anything outside the season - and they all worked other jobs to pay their bills. But with the money they make now - regardless of the schedule it is paid out on - it is just silly to say, "they aren't getting paid for..." whatever. They are getting paid just fine, and really what guys like Zeitler reflect is an awareness that jobs that pay as well as being an NFL player are few and far between and taking care of your body to prolong your career is not, "working for no pay," as the article suggests, but rather is prudently working to protect your own financial self-interest in maximizing your earning potential in a very lucrative career. Zeitler isn't a sucker for working out, as the article sort of suggests, he is smart.

[fredtoast]

(04-16-2016, 11:47 AM)xxlt Wrote:  But, let's be honest, lots of successful pros do work out on their own year round and saying, "they don't get paid for it" is kind of silly.

Agreed.

Zeitler is being paid like a top 10 guard this year.  He has to work out all the time in order to earn that high a level of pay.  It is just part of his job.  

I understand that a lot of NFL players take off huge chunks of the off season, but I'll bet if you look at the elite players (top 10 at their position) almost all of them work out the entire off season.

[Stewy]

Awesome article Jim. Thanks for sharing!

[magikod]

(04-16-2016, 12:01 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Agreed.

Zeitler is being paid like a top 10 guard this year.  He has to work out all the time in order to earn that high a level of pay.  It is just part of his job.  

I understand that a lot of NFL players take off huge chunks of the off season, but I'll bet if you look at the elite players (top 10 at their position) almost all of them work out the entire off season.

Agreed.

I'm just glad Zeitler has this work ethic, hopefully it rubs off to our younger o-line players and the team as a whole. 

Who Dey!

[BritishBengal]

This was a sick article

[GreenCornBengal]

I remember when he came in he was a bigger rounder dude. Now the guy is ripped as hell. My god he could rip my head off with those arms haha. Crazy to watch how much more athletic guys become once entering the NFL.

[masonbengals fan]

Great link. The man is a beast. Hope he's around a long time. Big priority taking care of him.

[*Go Cards*]

Thanks for writing and posting !

[Sled21]

I also find it a bit disingenuous to say he isn't getting paid. Yes, he gets game checks, but his salary is also performance based. While he is not punching a timeclock going into the gym, working out is something he must do to excel in the NFL, and the more he excels, the more he gets paid. Great article, but don't kid yourself, he's getting paid.....

[jowczarski]

Yes, I did work out with him too. It was crazy. I hurt for days after. But I can at least say I didn't quit before the end.

I imigane he is a top priority for the Bengals this offseason just because of his work ethic alone.

I think working on the extensions for him and Kirkpatrick are at the top of the list mainly because they would require the most money – though I do think they want to spin forward and work on guys like Hewitt and Bernard, too. Obviously as we’ve seen with Iloka / Pacman / Jones / Sanu the team isn’t afraid to let guys get through the year. Honestly, no real feel just yet where Zeitler/team are on reaching something.

Does he hit the big 3 (bench, squat, deadlift) or is it more isolation lifts? I would assume,being a lineman, that more multi-joint compound lifts (cleans, jerks, snatch) would benefit him more.

Honestly, I saw him do all of it at NX Level. Princeton Club I was only there for upper body days but I would assume he also does 5-6 major lifts for legs, too. But it’s not like power lifting, it’s all football-functional stuff in terms of the speed and reps and even the weight (like, they weren’t about to try to toss up 440 pounds you know?)


Did Zeitler mention how much sleep he gets every day?

We touched on it briefly – he said that’s something he’s working on because he likes to sleep in, but that pushes his whole day back. I would imagine he gets the full 8 hours, but I do know the team monitors and works on proper sleep stuff. It was part of their program last year.

saying, "they don't get paid for it" is kind of silly / Agreed. Zeitler is being paid like a top 10 guard this year / Great article, but don't kid yourself, he's getting paid



I think it was important to note for the casual reader because most people don’t know that these guys don’t get paid outside of the season and places like NX Level is a loss because it’s money going out with none coming in (yes, he pays to work out there). But it’s also worth noting because of his current contract situation he won’t get a check until week 1 and this is the first year his salary balloons to that $8 million figure, so it’s not like he’s gotten the big dollars just yet. But that’s neither here or nor there – when I talked to Emmett and Brad Arnett they said some guys really just take off Jan-March with conditioning, and that Zeitler is probably on the other end of the spectrum in terms of working beyond what others do. I don’t think it shows he’s a sucker at all because of that one line, in fact it shows that’s what these guys do.

I remember when he came in he was a bigger rounder dude. Now the guy is ripped as hell

He noted that – he didn’t focus on the nutritional aspect of things until the last few years. Trial and error early in his career.

Thanks for the kind words and the reads/shares all!

[Wes Mantooth]

The NFL is a year round job now. There is way too much money involved for everyone, for them to think of it as a seasonal gig.

I mean, the guy is cashing weekly game checks for well over 100k. He's slated to make 8 million dollar next year, which comes to 500k a week. To put that number into perspective, take every cent you've made in your life, a rough estimate. Try to do the same for your father, your mother, siblings, maybe a friend or two. I'll bet the total number is less than what he'll make next season.

So, your lifetime earnings (to date), your fathers lifetime earnings, your mothers, etc. Every cent, everyone of all these people have made in their entire lives, working 40, 50, 60 hours a week, for years, decades, is less than what this guy will make in one season. Think about that...

Now think about that, if he takes care of himself and has a productive year, that that's only the tip of the iceberg. The figures discussed thus far will be dwarfed by his 2nd contract. A total contract number of 40 million is probably a decent guess. 15 mil fully guaranteed. Then you can start adding in your cousins lifetime earnings, your boss, the mailman, your mechanic, Urkel, Fab from Mili Vanilli, Pat Berry... All them combined, will have made less in their entire lives than Kevin Zeitler. That's what he's playing for.

Am I glad he's working out? Yup. Do I think articles like these are entertaining? Yeah, it's nice to see the behind the scenes stuff. And it's good to know just how much work goes into doing what they do. But seriously, spare me the whole "he's not even getting paid" bologna. And bringing up that he pays for his own gym membership? So what? My buddy belongs to the nicest gym on this side of town and he's broke as shit.

No offense, but I think we're going a tad overboard with looking for things to applaud, when we're holding up the fact that a guy in the top .001% didn't actually collect a paycheck last week, and foots his own $79.99 a month gym membership out of his own pocket.

[Wes Mantooth]

(04-18-2016, 02:04 AM)jowczarski Wrote: so it’s not like he’s gotten the big dollars just yet.

Relative to NFL money.  In real world money, money used on gym memberships, he got the big time dollars and then some. 

Just for perspective... 

Let's say Kevin Zeitler's current net worth is 4 million dollars.  And let's say a random, everyday Bengals fan, who we'll call Frank, has a net worth of 100k.  And we'll also guess that Zeitler pays a premium for his gym membership.  We'll bump that all the way up to $150 a month.

Kevin Zeitler shelling out $150 dollars a month, out of his pocket, for his job, is the equivalent of Frank shelling out $3.75.  Three dollars and 75 cents a month.  If Frank bought a footlong sub from subway for lunch, and didn't finish the whole thing because he was late for a meeting, even once every 30 days, he would have contributed an equal percentage of his net worth to that half a shitty ass sandwich.

"Frank, your numbers are down.  This is a problem."  - "Bob, I really don't want to hear it.  I had to throw away half a sandwich the other day because of that meeting.  That's over 3 dollars out of my pocket, God dammit!!!  I expect to be compensated!!!"