By Ben Lamaak, former ISU lineman & CycloneFanatic.com Contributor
Cincinnati — Hello again Cyclone fans! At the time of me writing this, it is Jan. 26 and Pro Day is fast approaching on March 21. I have been in Cincinnati for three weeks now and I have learned and improved a lot. This third blog is going to be a little different than the past two, because not only will I be filling you in on the last week or so, but I am going to answer some questions that have been asked via Twitter. If anyone wants to ask me a question about anything, you can reach me on Twitter @Bmaak63 and I will answer them on here. So here goes nothing…. As of this morning, I have lost 10 pounds and will continue to trim up to get to my goal weight of 305. I feel like this weight gives me the best chance of being able to move around and run at Pro Day. The workouts have picked up in intensity. On Monday, we worked on our 40-yard dash starts and did some other speed work. We pushed some sleds to improve our sprinting technique and maintain our posture. We also worked on our stride length by running over some low hurdles that were placed at different yard intervals. After that, we partnered up and did some resistant sprints that teach us how to maintain a good lean while running and knee drive. We finished our run with some metabolic conditioning, where we ran sprints of various lengths. That afternoon, we had an upper body lift that was focused on building strength so we moved heavy weight and did sets of eight.During our Tuesday morning workout, we focused on the L-cone drill, aka the three-cone drill. This is one of the key drills performed at Pro Day. So we brought down the drill and worked on the start by creating a lean to decrease our times. I’ve really started to see some improvement in this drill. Maybe it is the new cleats that my agent bought me…haha. We finished that workout with 60-yard shuttles for conditioning and did some boxing for extra cardio. That afternoon was a lower body lift where we focused on explosion. Thats a little rundown of the last two days, now I am going to answer some questions from Twitter.Via Asandvig87 –What improvements have you made/seen? Favorite and least favorite part?This question is from one of my best friends, Alex Sandvig. I have seen a lot of improvement in all the drills and lifts. I have never really worked on this drills while we were at Iowa State. Every time we work on pro agility, three-cone, or the 40, I feel like I improve. My favorite part about this experience goes hand-in-hand with the first? I love seeing improvement and its encouraging to see all of this hard work start to pay off. My least favorite part would probably be being away from my family and friends.Via superdorf – Are the workouts strenuous?At first they were a little overwhelming, just because I had been resting since the season was over. Like I said in a tweet a few weeks ago, there is no team out there that works harder than the Cyclones. We work with a focus and intensity up here, but it cannot compare to how we worked at Iowa State. The toughest moments are the boxing workouts they have us doing. They’re very tough, but also very fun at the same time.Via Atowncy – How are you getting your name out there amongst teams? Do you have to do that or does your agent?Right now, it is mostly up to my agent Brian Hamilton to get my name out there. This is a little exerpt from his website.Pre-Draft Marketing – We aggressively market and promote all of our draft eligible clients. You will not be overlooked! We immediately identify the teams with the biggest needs at your position, and then we promote you relentlessly to the decision makers of those teams. We use every medium at our disposal including: client web pages, highlight DVDs, You Tube, email, informative client brochures, etc. We also attend our client’s all-star games, NFL Combine, Pro Day workout, NBA pre-draft camp, and individual workouts for the purpose of speaking face to face with GMs, scouting directors, scouts and coaches. Our clients can rest easy knowing that we will work around the clock to get your name out there and will continue working to build and sustain that momentum/hype all the way through draft day. Well thanks to everyone for reading my blog. Once again, you can follow me on Twitter at Bmaak63 and ask me anything. I will respond to it this weekend for my next blog. Thanks again and GO CYCLONES!
