Every week two or three days before a game, the Trojans have a short weightlifting session. You’ll be surprised why.
By Ben Malcolmson
USCRipsIt
PeteCarroll.com
Each week, a few nights before the game, the Trojans go through a short weightlifting circuit called "TV arms."
The name might surprise you a little, yet the method and reason for the workout is the most astonishing — and special — part of it all.
The 10-minute session under the direction of head strength and conditioning coach Chris Carlisle and his staff gets blood flowing and promotes healing of sore muscles so that players are healthy come kickoff two days later (most "TV arms" sessions happen on Thursday nights; but with the team flying out to Virginia on Thursday, this week's installment has been pushed up a day). It’s a plan Carlisle and the Trojans have been utilizing for the past seven years.
"By this time of the week, they’ve been pounding each other for four days of practice," Carlisle said. "There’s an accumulation of bruising and soreness. So to bring about healing, you want to force oxygenated blood through the sore areas."
The body overcompensates for the slight wear-and-tear of the short workout by pumping loads of fresh blood into the aching and bruised areas.
The rapid-fire weight circuit is marketed as "TV arms" to the players because it’s much more of a draw to say they’re going to look ripped for the cameras on Saturday than to give a medical explanation, Carlisle joked.
"The outer effect of lifting isn’t going to last longer than 20 minutes after they leave the weight room," Carlisle said. "The lasting effect is the pumping of blood and the healing of their muscles so that they’re stronger on Saturday than they are on Thursday."
• Ben Malcolmson is the Director of Online Media for USCRipsIt/PeteCarroll.com. You can contact him at Ben@PeteCarroll.com.
