Q: What would you say is your favourite body part to train?
Ciraco: “It’s always fun benching. It’s always fun, good day, get up there, get under the bench and just throw some weight up. It’s a lot of fun. Obviously, squats and deadlifts are important for you as an athlete and I love doing those, too, but, there’s something about doing bench that I just love.”
Q: How has your training changed from the collegiate level to the pro level?
Ciraco: “It’s a lot more strict in-season. We had a set regimen where in college, but it wasn’t as strict. We also have a lot more recovery (at this level). The pro season is a lot longer, playing 18 games versus eight. So, it’s a lot more recovery and working on flexibility and mobility.”
Q: What do you use to recover?
Ciraco: “It’s a lot of different things. I stretch every day, roll out, ice tubs. We have a great facility here so we definitely use all of that. Ice tubs are very important.”
Q: Have you noticed any change in your nutrition from the college days to the pros?
Ciraco: “Not really. I try to keep it the same. It’s a little easy to access grocery stores now being a pro athlete than a college athlete being able to drive instead of walk now. The nutrition is pretty much the same You try to eat right and as clean as possible.”
Q: What does a typical day of eating look like for you?
Ciraco: “It depends. We get fed twice a day here so I’ll usually come here in the morning and have breakfast. We practice then have lunch here, then I’ll usually have a snack mid-afternoon, dinner, then some sort of small snack.”
Q: Do you feel like your training is very different from the rest of the rookies?
Ciraco: “They do a great job to tailor it to all athletes. The recovery stuff is really similar but when it comes to the heavier lifts like squats and that kind of thing, it definitely differs.”
Q: If you could only do one exercise for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Ciraco: “Not running! Going to have to go with bench because it’s the most fun.”
To do Ciraco’s bench press, you’ll need:
- A weightlifting bench to lay flat on
- An Olympic weighted barbell
- Your desired weighted plates
To do Ciraco’s bench press:
- Lay flat on a weightlifting bench
- Grip the bar suspended above you with two hands
- Lift the weight up
- Lower it to your chest
- Repeat this motion 10-12 times or until fatigued
- Return the bar to its starting position
Training and nutrition are key pieces to the make-up of a pro football player. Thanks to the trainers in the locker room, Ciraco and the rest of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are in good hands.
