The At-home Workout George Kittle Uses to Build Unilateral Strength and Power

Despite some serious uncertainty, the NFL season is still on track despite COVID-19—and 49ers tight end George Kittle hasn’t been resting on his laurels. In fact, the two-time All-Pro player is putting in some of the biggest workouts of his life in the garage gym of his home in Nashville, TN, programmed by strength coach Josh Cuthbert. The motivation? Seizing the Lombardi trophy and bringing it back to Levi’s Stadium.

“There’s a lot of success from last season to celebrate,” Kittle told Mens Journal. “Coming together as a team, winning all of those close games, and taking home the NFC Championship. I wouldn’t trade those accomplishments for the world. But do I want to win a Super Bowl? Of course. That’s my dream. So no matter the situation, I’m going to try to outwork everyone in the weightroom and on the field.”

In order to make sure he didn’t miss a beat, Kittle immediately jumped online as training facilities started to close, outfitting his garage with everything from a full set of kettlebells to a stair climber from GymSource. The setup has allowed him to complete Cuthbert’s off-season program as it was written pre-pandemic. He also made sure he was taking his recovery just as seriously.

How George Kittle Recovers From At-home Workouts

Being a professional athlete for one of the best teams in the league, Kittle has enough recovery devices to rival a physical therapy clinic. Back in San Francisco, training days start with an hour of active mobility, getting the body prepped for a walloping. Following intense sessions at home, Kittle will use a Hyperice Hypervolt percussion massage tool and NormaTec recovery sleeves on his arms and legs.

Kittle does regular yoga sessions with his sister, Emma, who’s an instructor, making sure to keep his body both strong and limber. He’s also a big believer that mindset is a huge part of winning, so he works with his father, a former college coach, on visualization. The impact of their work together has inspired them to create their own coaching company Thunderbird Performance. Kittle’s wellness is a family affair, and the benefits are evident.

How George Kittle Trains in the Off Season

Kittle has a background of heavy strength training, which comes with the territory as a tight end. That meant Cuthbert didn’t really need to work on foundational lifts with Kittle. It was more about taking that existing power and giving it a more defined purpose. So the eight- to 10-week program he created is based on making him stronger unilaterally, targeting each limb to strengthen weaknesses and imbalances. The workout that follows is a taste of that program.

The Workout George Kittle Uses to Build Unilateral Strength and Power

Directions: Kick off the workout with a 5-10 minute ride on an assault bike (you can sub in a traditional stationary bike or jog outside). Next, perform two rounds of the dynamic warmup (described below) taking little to no rest between moves.

For the main workout, perform the first two exercises as straight sets, completing all reps and sets before moving on to the next exercise. Perform the remaining exercises as supersets, completing the pair consecutively with little to no rest in between (but taking a breather for prescribed rest between rounds).

The Finisher: Cap off the workout with another 5-10 minute effort on the assault bike (again, you can sub in a stationary bike or hit the pavement outside).