Wes Schweitzer is one of Washington’s most valuable players. He explains his unique offseason training.
Wes Schweitzer rocks!
The Washington Commanders guard/center really does rock in the weight room. Some may recall a tweet displaying Schweitzer setting a personal best.
But Schweitzer in talking with the media following Monday’s practice, expressed he really loves the rocks, rock climbing that is.
“I was lucky enough to meet a certain trainer and he kind of trains outside the box,” Schweitzer said. “Austin Einhorn, he’s in Santa Cruz, California. Basically, my first couple years I felt super weak. I was one of the strongest people in the weight room, but I had a lot of injuries, hyperextended elbows. And he’s like, ‘Hey, like, why don’t you try some climbing holes, like try some different stuff.'”
Sure enough, the different types of strength training helped Schweitzer immediately. “Literally in five minutes, I felt pain-free, you know, after I’ve been in pain, lots of pain for months. And so it kind of opened my eyes. Okay, maybe there’s something to this. I went to a gym, I gained 15 pounds of muscle, just starting to climb and it changed my game. So now I could play three spots and feel strong and confident. So, it’s made a huge impact on my career.”
With starting center Chase Roullier recovering from his surgery from his fractured fibula against Denver in the 2021 season, Schweitzer is getting work at center. He is also getting work at guard, as the Commanders must replace both 2021 starting guards Brandon Scherff and Ereck Flowers. “It’s gone well. In my career I have had 57 starts, 56 are at guard. So to be able to spend a lot of time at center, it’s good for me to get some time in a camp and practice so we can prepare in the season, to be ready to play that spot.”
Entering his sixth NFL season, Schweitzer is not saying it is easy playing multiple positions. “I think it’s very difficult. I mean, you can look at rosters along the league, like how many people can start at all three interior spots and do well. So the Carolina game last year, I’d never started a game at center I’m in the game playing. We played well, and we won the game, you know? So I take a lot of pride in that. I don’t know if there’s anyone that could do that at all three spots, so I took a lot of pride in that.”
Practicing against Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne helps Schweitzer as well. “He’s (Allen) relentless, and he’s a guy that you love to practice against because when I play against him, every day in practice, I got to bring my best. There’s not a day I can just show up and hope to do well, but that makes me better. And hopefully, I’m making him better, but we’re both trying to play at our best every single day.
When asked about rookie defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis, he replied, “He’s a big, strong guy. He’s a young guy. He tries hard every day; that’s what you want. You don’t want people who are high draft picks to show up and just expect they’re going to make it. I like his attitude. I like his work ethic.”
If Schweitzer has a good year, you can bet he will continue on the rocks.
“I’m constantly doing this all the time (grip strength, grip positions). “Rock climbing is that, but in really hard positions. So it has a huge transfer. It’s unbelievable what it’s done for me.”
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