George Kittle is fresh off of a year that saw him break the NFL's all-time record for receiving yards by a tight end after amassing 1,377 receiving yards. A special feat to accomplish in only his second year in the NFL, Kittle is not satisfied and continues to strive to get better, which is evident by how hard he has worked this offseason.
Kittle has been one of the hottest San Francisco 49ers players as of late, and his viral workouts from Friday are proof of that.
This offseason, Kittle has been training in Nashville, Tennessee with Alpha 1 Training, headed up by certified strength coach Josh Cuthbert. Kittle has been working with other teammates and NFL players such as 49ers Trent Taylor and C.J. Beathard, Green Bay Packers tight end Robert Tonyan Jr., and Atlanta Falcons tight end Luke Stocker to name a few.
I chatted with Cuthbert to get some insight into the training that led to Kittle going viral.
"Our biggest goal was for these players to leave (Alpha 1 Training) as strong as possible," said Cuthbert.
"We utilized accommodating resistance to maximize mechanical load at the end range of the movement," Cuthbert said of how he is preparing his athletes for training camp.
"We maximized intensity over the last month," Cuthbert mentioned. "We ran four days a week, strength training four days a week, one day of active recovery/mobility as well as three days of yoga."
Kittle's training sessions were a family affair as Emma Kittle, George's sister, not only captured the viral videos but also lead the yoga sessions for the players.
Emma Kittles' videos, which were posted to her story on Instagram (@ekittle), made their way onto The Checkdown, B/R Gridiron, Sunday Night Football on NBC, and the NFL on ESPN Instagram accounts. Emma has been capturing each session and posting highlights to her story and has been a great source of how these players prepare in the weeks leading up to NFL training camps.
The 49ers are less than a week away from their own training camp. Players report to the team on Friday.