When you think of the best pass rushers in the NFL you can’t ignore one name. T.J. Watt. He quickly became one of the best defensive ends in the league since being drafted in 2017.
But being a premier pass rusher in the NFL doesn’t just happen with pure talent alone. Watt spends lot of time during the season and in the off-season on improving his fitness. The TJ Watt workout is a huge reason why he maintains his spot as one of the league’s best edge rushers.
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College Career
Watt followed his brother J.J’s footsteps and attended the University of Wisconsin. His junior season was his breakout year which saw him produce 11.5 sacks and 63 combined tackles in 14 games. That was enough for T.J. to declare for the 2017 NFL Draft.
He completed 21 reps on the bench press at 225 lbs at the NFL Combine. Although only at the 57th percentile in for the linebacker position that didn’t stop him from making an immediate impact in the NFL.
T.J. Watt NFL Career
Drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers 30th overall, T.J. Watt started off quick with seven sacks in his rookie season. He then followed that up with back-to-back 13+ sack seasons in 2018 and 2019 that also saw him force 14 fumbles! That’s about a turnover caused every other game. Incredible.
When you didn’t think he couldn’t get any better, well of course he did in 2020. Watt had a career high 15 sacks, 23 tackles for loss, and 41 QB hits. All of those numbers were enough to lead the league in those categories. T.J. helped the Steelers get into the playoffs for the first time in three seasons in 2020.
Watt recently signed a HUGE contract extension for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021.
TJ Watt Workout
TJ Watt focuses his workout on becoming bigger, faster, and stronger. That’s pretty obvious though. Let’s get into more details with that.
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Luckily, Watt has both J.J. and Derek to work out with in the offseason so he gets plenty of motivation. Brotherly competition breeds fantastic results in the Watt family.
Squats are the biggest lift for T.J. Watt, and he uses many variations to get the results he wants. Zombie squats and Camber bar squats are the most popular in his family. Watt will hit a few heavy squats to gain overall strength and then pair it with a plyometric box jump to increase explosiveness.
Along with heavy lifting, the flexibility aspect is one that T.J. spends lot of time on in order to “get the right points in the ankle and in the knees to allow you to bend those corners.” This is important because if you haven’t forgotten he has to actually play football rather just lift weights! T.J. will spend lots of time getting massages and working the mobility of his hips, ankles, and knees.
Nutrition and Diet
Along with his workout routine T.J. Watt is also very strict with his diet. He consumes up to 8,000 calories a day during the offseason! “His idea of a cheat-day meal was Chipotle,” says a former Wisconsin Badger teammate… Chipotle really isn’t even unhealthy in the first place.
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Watt makes sure to get 9-10 hours of sleep every night and receives at least two massages a week. “It’s the best way you can possibly recover,” says Watt. Staying very hydrated throughout the entire day is also a big focus of T.J.’s.
