McNabb Training Like Rocky

..."The thing that helped in my regard was to have that confidence and trust in the leg, knowing it's pretty much fixed," he says. "Now I have to just strengthen the quad and calf muscles."

Phase 2 is under way now in Phoenix, where McNabb resides in the offseason. He is working out at MakePlays.com, a combination athletic performance and rehab center where McNabb has trained during the offseason since 2000. He also goes to two other facilities in Arizona — one to lift weights and develop his core strength, the other to work on flexibility.

Tim McClellan, the director of strength and conditioning at MakePlays.com, is helping McNabb bridge the gap between what he started in Philadelphia and what he hopes to be able to do at training camp. They are focusing on traditional exercises that emphasize strength training, stability, acceleration/deceleration and change of direction.

McClellan also incorporates some unusual drills. In one, McNabb wears a pair of Strobe Specs, glasses with lenses that open and close at varying speeds. This gives McNabb the sensation of "feeling" a pass rush without being able to see everything clearly. In another drill, McClellan tosses odd-shaped dog toys on the ground, and McNabb must catch them on the bounce. The toys have nubs that cause them to change direction abruptly, so McNabb is working on his hand-eye coordination. (Think of Rocky Balboa chasing chickens.)

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