Lost amidst all the Jets personnel changes was Justus Galac's promotion to head strength and conditioning coach. Galac, in his second season with the club following a successful seven-year run at Villanova, sat down with me for an exclusive interview that will air on "Jets Talk LIVE" Thursday.
The Jets voluntary offseason workout program is set to begin on April 15 and Galac has changed some things up inside the weight room.
"We moved everything because we were just excited for change," he said. "You walk in and it is visually different. We purchased some new equipment and some new training stuff for the guys. The second thing is when they look at their workout card — they are going to see this is not reinventing the wheel by any means. This is some good old-fashioned hard work, some basic stuff, loud music, chains and chalk is going to be flying."
Galac, who is assisted by both Paul Ricci and Pierre Ngo along with intern Jason Oszvart, has one of the most important jobs in the building. Fans watch the end product on the field, but every NFL team needs a solid strength & conditioning program to be successful.
"For us it's really about reducing the injuries and creating an atmosphere for the player to train in that is exciting," Galac told me. "They come in there and they're ready to work. For the players, my job is to make them bigger, faster and stronger — we all know that."
"But the first thing for me is it always comes back to being an explosive player. Not only working on our explosive power for the big guys and the hips and the hang cleans and the jumps, but the speed work and that comes back to the skill players and working with Plyometrics. Really building a foundation program where these guys come in here and when they walk out after the workout — they feel more explosive, they feel stronger, they feel bigger and they feel like they got a good workout in."
When the players enter the weight room, they will undergo a thorough evaluation and the pace will gradually pick up from there.
"The very first thing we do is assess the players, so we put them through some different tests whether it be a lift or a run," Galac said. "We also do measurements on their body mass — we'll do body fat tests and their weights. And we'll also do some movement screen stuff to assess a player."
Last year, the Jets were hampered by a number of soft tissue injuries. Galac says a basic formula will help the Green & White heading into the 2013 season.
"It is a simple concept of having a balanced body. You want to do everything," he said. "Stretching is not more important than strength, strength is not more important than stretching, and it can go on like that forever. But if you have a balanced program, it can really help a lot of things."
