Kevin McNamara catches up with Brandon Meriweather, who was working out at Punch Kettlebell Gym in Rumford, RI.
In a sometimes-intense 60-minute workout on Tuesday, the Pats’ All-Pro safety and a friend, James Roberts, were put through a cutting-edge set of exercises by gym owner Anthony DiLuglio.
Instead of the traditional strong-guy drills dominated by bar bells, the Punch workouts offer a wider variety of tests that feature kettlebells, ropes, power jumping and even Strongman logs. Meriweather and a growing legion of NFL players are big boosters of the program.
"I‘ve been ready since April 1," said Meriweather. "Seriously, I’m ready. I’m about 207 (pounds) now. I’m running, I feel good, I’m strong. All the things I needed to work on, I did. I’m ready to go."
"We work out with a lot of different tools and weights. It’s not traditional bench press, squats," he said. "We do different things with weight. You can’t get these things from an ordinary gym. Now I go into a regular gym and am pretty much puzzled because I don’t see that stuff as helping me as much."
DiLuglio met Meriweather through Mayo, another Patriot he considers a "lifer" who owns an unbending work ethic.
"There are guys that do this for a living and guys who do this for a job. This is his life," DiLuglio said of Meriweather. "Guys like Brandon, Mayo, Brady, it’s in their bones. I can’t teach him a better skill set for the game, but I can give him more confidence and more resilience and we can build on that."
DiLuglio says he has a close relationship with Harold Nash and Moses Cabrera, two Patriots’ conditioning coaches who believe in kettlebell training. Meriweather says he’s happy to keep up the drills, wherever they are offered.
"I took like two weeks off after the season and then I started working out on my own. Then I got into the groove of it, heavy," Meriweather said. "I feel like the stuff A.D. does you can’t find nowhere else. I feel it separates players from the pack."
"To be honest, after about two months of the lockout I didn’t pay too much attention to it," he said. "It seems like everybody knows more about the lockout than I do because I don’t watch TV. I don’t watch (ESPN’s) SportsCenter. I don’t like to get my hopes up and get brought back down the next day. I feel like that’s what SportsCenter’s been doing. They said 100 days ago the lockout should be over and now they’re saying the same thing."
"When I get an e-mail saying it’s time to vote, that’s when I’ll call (Matt) Light and Vince Wilfork and Tom (Brady) and the people who I know understand what’s going on," he said. "That’s when I’ll put my ear to the ground and see what I can find out before I vote."
TEAM TALK
- Ask PFW: Ready to move.
- Patriots Today - Outlook on the Pats' defense. (4.53 min. video)
- PFW in Progress - 7/19/11: The PFW crew is joined by former Patriots LB Steve Nelson as they discuss the latest lockout news and more. (2 hour program)
LOCAL LINKS
- Ron Borges reports the NFLPA will not request any special consideration for the ten players named in the Brady antitrust suit.
- Greg A. Bedard reports the new CBA is still on track and could be voted on by the players today.
- Mike Reiss talks with Brandon Meriweather at Ellis Hobbs' life skills/football camp at West Warwick High School yesterday.
- Shalise Manza Young examines which of the 14 players returning from IR will make the biggest impact.
- Mike Reiss answers his weekly Patriots mailbag. Terrific insight here as usual.
- Mike Reiss follows up on the ESPN Dream Team project and the two Patriots who made the cut.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Matt Williamson (ESPN) AFC East dominant team 2014-2016: New England Patriots.
- Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Four-way formula: Champ Packers stacked at premium positions. Patriots ranked 8th overall.
- MJD (Yahoo! Sports) When the lockout ends, expect a few days of glorious chaos.
- John Clayton (ESPN) Next up: Salary cap scramble.
- John P. Lopez (SI) The shopper's guide to free agency in the AFC.
LABOR LUNACY
- Jim Trotter (SI) NFLPA undecided on proposed settlement of antitrust lawsuit.
- Staff report (Pro Football Weekly) NFLPA executive committee yet to approve antitrust settlement.
- Report (ESPN) NFL must satisfy antitrust plaintiffs.
- Alex Marvez (Fox Sports) Where NFL negotiations stand today.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Report: Some Executive Committee members were "infuriated" by reports of benefits for plaintiffs.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Manning, Brees, Mankins, Jackson need to quit trying to cut their own deals.
- Gregg Rosenthal (ProFootballTalk) Peyton Manning and Drew Brees request settlement terms.
- Mike Freeman (CBS Sports) Manning, Brees also want free agency.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) The Manning, Brees, Mankins, Jackson backlash begins.
- Doug Farrar (Yahoo! Sports) Vikings punter Chris Kluwe objects to last-minute free-agency grab.
- Mike Freeman (CBS Sports) Another plea to NFLPA lawyers and the agents.
- Albert Breer (NFL.com) Reps for retirees join conversation as talks progress toward deal.
- Gregg Rosenthal (ProFootballTalk) Looking at the labor timeline for the rest of the week.
- Doug Farrar (Yahoo! Sports) 'Lockout law' should bring personal conduct policy under review.
- Jason La Canfora (NFL.com) How close is a new deal? (5.45 min. video)