Ty to Be Fit

How the Pats' Ty Law builds speed

By Lisa Altobelli

Ty Law Nick Cardilichio

After missing the Pro Bowl in his first three seasons, Patriots cornerback Ty Law, 30, decided he needed to get faster to get noticed. He sought out track coach Bob Kersee, who trained Olympic gold medalists Gail Devers, Joanna Hayes and his wife, Jackie Joyner-Kersee. "I heard how demanding Bob was, and I wanted that kind of intensity," said Law, who lives in Massachusetts but trains with Kersee at UCLA and in St. Louis. "I don't have a problem leaving everything behind -- my cars, my jewelry, my comforts of home -- and just concentrating on myself." Kersee uses hills and staircases for workouts and also believes in competitiveness. He has Law, who is 5'11" and plays at 200 pounds, line up with his track stars for 50- and 100-meter sprints. "As antiquated as it sounds, it still bruises the ego to get beat by a girl," says Law. He may get beaten on the track, but Law has made the Pro Bowl the past four years. A look at his regimen:

RUNNING WILD

High skipping "helps muscle fibers store kinetic energy," says Kersee. Law's "ballistic" routine:

• High skip for 50 yards.
• Skip rope rapidly, five minutes
• Sprint 50 yards with legs scissoring straight out in front.
• For agility, Law does shuttles, running out and back 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 yards.

MIXING IT UP

Law challenges himself with these "gimmick" workouts:

• Sprint 20 times up and down 40 flights of stadium stairs.
• Sprint 100 yards dragging a 25-pound sled.
• Sprint 20 50-yard bursts up a steep hill.
• Jump sideways back and forth over a standard 16-inch cone 20 times.

STRENGTH + STAMINA

• 15 lunges with 45-pound dumbbells. Four sets.
• 15 straight arm raises, with 45-pound dumbbells. Four sets.
• Five bench presses, 225 pounds. Four sets.
• Five squats, 250-300 pounds. Three sets.
• For endurance: stationary bike, 30 minutes; four-mile walk, then a two-mile run; 400-meter race, then a 300, a 200 and a 100.

DIETARY LAW

• Law doesn't eat breakfast. "The way Bob works us, I'd probably throw up if I did."

• During off-season training he eats every lunch and dinner at Surf & Sirloin in St. Louis. "The Greek owner, Larry Karagiannis, takes care of us."

• He has a green tooth: "Lunch I'll have either a Greek, chicken or steak salad. Dinner I have a vegetable such as asparagus or broccoli."

• His dinner habits are fishy: "I have king crab, snapper, Dover sole or sea bass."

• He's his own water boy. "I carry around a gallon of room-temperature water and make sure I finish it by the end of the day."

• After the season Law lets himself get well above his playing weight. In May, he says, "I cut out carbs for two weeks and drop a quick 15 pounds."

Issue date: September 20, 2004