Players and coaches have enjoyed a few well-earned days away from the training facility, as the first bye week of 2016 continues. Although some are staying in town and others have scattered to their homes or holidays all across Canada and the United States, there is one similarity: the importance of fitness and staying in tip-top shape.
In the third and final instalment of Bye Week Quotables, BCLions.com catches up with Solomon Elimimian, Richie Leone, Brandon Stewart and Ryan Phillips to talk about how they balance rest and relaxation with fitness during a week off from football.
Elimimian:
“It’s a balance. Every day I like to work out, that’s just something that is part of my lifestyle and something I like to do. I’ll get in the gym wherever I’m at, hit the iron, hit the weights and do some spinning. Rest is important. Sometimes you want to get away from football, recharge and re-energize. When you come back to football, you can get going.”
Leone:
“We’ve been going at it for about two months now, so I am definitely going to give the legs a rest. I’ve been kicking a lot. I know it’s just kicking but it’s working a lot of the right side of my body so I am going to give it a real rest. I will definitely hit the gym though, there’s no reason not to. I don’t like to work out legs too much during the game week, so I’ll get just a couple of leg lifts in. It’ll be good.”
Stewart:
“We’re all pros and we know that after the bye week we’re going to have a job to do. I will probably take a couple of days off early and then get back to work. You’ve got to run and make sure you work out. I’m sure a lot of us will be calling each other and holding each other accountable because we’re trying to do something special this year. We know we just have to stay the course and have our fun, but make sure we stay in shape because we have a two-game road trip when we come back.”
Phillips:
“The heat alone is going to keep me in shape. When I looked, it was like 106 degrees yesterday so I don’t know how I am going to really work with that. But you have to make sure you hit the fitness centre a couple of times, make sure you stay away from the other things Las Vegas brings to the table that I don’t need to mention. Rest and recovery is definitely still huge. I’m going to make sure I take my time and also get a couple of workouts in and do the necessary things.”
Be sure to check out our first two editions of Bye Week Quotables below!
Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com