Q: What would you say is your favourite body part to train?
Hajrullahu: “I would say that a very important part to train is our hips. Because everything that we do is connected through our hips, whether it’s the lower body or upper body, you’ve got to engage the hips and engage the core. Those two are the main focus of my workouts. For me, for kicking, the legs are very important. So, when I do abs I try to incorporate my groin, my inside of my legs (abductors) at the same time. So it’s a lot of exercises in one.”
Q: Most people would think you just train legs but, how do you maintain the rest of your body as well?
Hajrullahu: “On day 0/1 I have a full body workout, which will include a lot of single leg stuff because on one side of my body I’m planting, the other side I’m swinging through. So, I have to counterbalance everything. If I’m doing step ups, I’ll do single leg step ups. If I’m doing squats, I’ll do split squats so I’ll have one foot in the front and front foot in the back. Overall you need to have full body strength in order to explode with the ball and explode with the movements.”
Q: Does the weight training for punting differ from the weight training for kicking?
Hajrullahu: “Not necessarily, but because I do both, I try to incorporate everything. For punting, I think it involves a little more finesse and more flexibility and more upper body. Field goal kicking is more lower body, more core, more groin. I have to incorporate both of those things when I’m working out.”
Q: How does the nutrition side of your training fit into your life?
For the last five-six years, I’ve really kept an eye on what I’m eating in the morning. Make sure I have a big breakfast, small lunch, and a much smaller dinner going kind of backwards. I need my energy in the morning when we have practice and in my meetings to help me stay awake and get me through practice. Dinner time, I’m ready for bed.”
Q: Do you feel like your training differs from any other special teams member?
Hajrullahu: “Absolutely. Because a lot of those guys that are on special teams, they’re blocking, they’re hitting. So, they need to differ in terms of what they eat, how much they eat, how much they lift. For me, it’s more lift heavy at the beginning of the week, tone it out the rest of the week and incorporate a lot of stretching/mobility. For me, it’s more be healthy, be strong at the beginning of the week and throughout the week make sure I’m loose for the game.”
Q: If you could only do one exercise for the rest of your life what would it be?
Hajrullahu: “Abs! Got to have the beach bod.”
