The rookie started core training in earnest last January. By the NFL combine he was faster, stronger and more explosive. People noticed

	Vernon Davis. Gene Lower/SI

By Elizabeth Newman

Vernon Davis
Team: San Francisco 49ers
Position: Tight End
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 263

"Aggressive, intense and raw," is how Davis describes the two-a-day, 90-minute, core-strengthening workouts he began doing six days a week at the Athletes' Performance Institute, in Tempe, Ariz. Over six weeks leading to the NFL combine, the regimen helped Davis lower his time in the 40-yard dash from 4.56 to 4.38, increase his vertical leap from 40 to 42 inches and gain nine pounds. The 49ers took him sixth overall. "We wanted to intensify Vernon's core strength by increasing his mobility and stability," says Luke Richesson, Davis's trainer at API. "He uses his overall power from the core to protect himself when he's going for the ball."

Davis does three or four sets of each exercise, focusing in turn on different muscle groups so he can work longer with less fatigue. The former Maryland star is an ideal pupil because he's a stickler for taking care of himself. "Eat right, get enough sleep and remain stress-free," says Davis, who sleeps eight hours a night and closely monitors his diet. "If I'm groggy and stressed, I don't eat right. That's when my core gets weak."

1. Keiser Squat Machine

DRILL: Squat beneath pads and grip handles. Explode upward to standing position. Drop back quickly into squat and repeat. Four sets of six reps. Air resistance is set to the equivalent of 250 pounds on a standard squat machine. CORE FACTS: Richesson considers this the single best exercise for working the glutes and the entire core -- a great way to enhance Davis's ability to break swiftly off the line or separate from a linebacker. The key is to do each rep at high speed. Davis prefers a machine to free weights because he can rise as quickly as possible with no fear of the weight shifting or the bar flying off his neck and interrupting his rhythm.

2. Vertimax Jump

DRILL: Cinch belt around waist with bungee cords attached to a base for resistance. Crouch into sitting position, hips back, arms at side, torso straight up. Jump as high as possible, extending body so that it's straight, and whipping arms up overhead. Land in takeoff position. Four sets of eight; can also be done without bungee cords. CORE FACTS: Works glutes, hips and entire core. Enhances ability to accelerate and leap.

3. Lateral Pillar Bridge

DRILL: With left elbow and forearm on floor and legs extended, place feet on a vibrating Powerplate machine set at 30 hertz (or put feet on any platform, four inches off the ground). Gripping a 25-pound weight against right hip, hold for 30 seconds. Switch sides. Four times each side. Davis also does a "linear bridge," facing down with both forearms on ground, feet on Powerplate and a 45-pound weight on his waist. Four times. CORE FACTS: Develops stability in the hips and throughout the core. Says Richesson, "[Think of] the body as a unit, with the midsection the hub of the unit."

4. Resistance Pull Up

DRILL: (Davis wears a weighted workout vest; the extra resistance, 100 pounds in his case, is optional.) Grip handles with palms facing inward, arms extended. Pull upward steadily, through a full range of motion so that chest reaches height of hands. Four sets of eight. CORE FACTS: Keeping the body controlled -- never swing or move abruptly -- engages the entire core. The exercise also works lats and biceps.

He's All Shaked Up

A taste for NFL-approved EAS supplements helps give Davis 4,000 calories a day

Davis added healthy supplements to a meal plan built around lean proteins and good fats. He says that during an intense workout phase the supplements, designed to minimize tissue breakdown and recovery time, have limited muscle soreness and energized him.

BREAKFAST 7:30 a.m. Three scrambled eggs, six strips turkey bacon, one cup low-fat yogurt, slices of cantaloupe or a handful of strawberries, apple juice. (A half hour after breakfast, he works out for 90 minutes.)

POSTWORKOUT 10 a.m. A 17-ounce Myoplex shake, rich in vitamins and minerals. Davis mixes in a teaspoon of flaxseed oil. Along with nutrition bars, the shakes -- "Creamy and sweet and chalky," says Davis -- replace nutrients lost during workout. 310 Calories, 43 grams protein. 11:30 a.m. Myoplex Deluxe nutrition bar. 340 CALORIES, 30 GRAMS PROTEIN.

LUNCH 1 p.m. Baked chicken breast or spaghetti with two turkey meatballs and tomato sauce, grilled green beans, two slices wheat bread.

PREWORKOUT NO. 2, 2 p.m. Phosphogen Elite supplement powder mixed with juice or water. This is a creatine monohydrate that increases lean body mass. 240 CALORIES. (Right after he begins a 90-minute workout.)

POSTWORKOUT NO. 2, 4 p.m. A 17-ounce Myoplex shake, with flaxseed oil. Also, Muscle Armor, a supplement powder mixed with 12 to 14 ounces of water. 120 CALORIES.

DINNER 7:30 p.m. A 96% lean beef burger on wheat bun, or spaghetti marinara, or a chicken Caesar salad. Grilled broccoli. Dessert is a few slices of watermelon or a Myoplex Deluxe bar.

Issue date: August 21, 2006

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