Running Red Rocks with the pros

KUSA - They say the steep 300-foot monoliths at Red Rocks provide the perfect acoustics for any concert. They also provide the perfect incline for an off season workout.

"Here's where the work begins," a man with a stopwatch calls out to a group of 16 men near the stage.

Under the watchful eye of Steadman Hawkins' Performance Director Loren Landow, a mixed group of NFL, college and high school football players work the amphitheatre steps once a week.

"Ready?" calls Landow. "Go! Punch-drive, punch-drive, punch-drive," he yells as one by one, players begin to sprint up the bleachers where concert-goers usually sit.

"Ultimately the workout is intended for lower leg power and acceleration through 15 to 20 yards bursts," explains Landow. "So we're working on the backside drive of the hamstring and glutes. But as the workout progresses, it really becomes more of a muscular endurance in what I consider a lactic acid threshold."

Broken down in laymen terms, the players are working on skills that will help them burst off the line of scrimmage during games. The bleachers are roughly one yard apart similar to the hash marks on a football field, so sprinting up 15 to 20 stairs at a time emulates the quick reaction time needed during a game situation.

The group in this particular session includes former Mullen star Bo Scaife who currently plays tight end for the Tennessee Titans. Bo's been doing this workout all summer, and he suffers less each week, it never an easy workout, especially compared to the football season.

"This is the hard part," says Bo. "It's the tiring part. You know we get past all this, September to February, that's the fun stuff, but as soon as that's over with, it's back to the grind"

Competition is fierce at every level of football. For guys trying to gain an edge, or a roster spot, workouts like these, can make a huge difference.

"It doesn't get any easier when you're 33 years old and I think I'm the oldest guy out here," says Ebenezer Ekuban as his face and body is drenched in sweat. "My main emphasis is if I can stick with the young guys who are 23 to 27 years old, I'm still pretty good, I'm still keeping in shape."

The sweat never stops for Ekuban. He's trying to stay in shape while waiting for a phone call. The defensive end was let go by the Broncos in the off season and his goal is to be back in the league. And hit that final stair at Red Rocks.

"I'm just thinking, just make it," says Ekuban as he thinks back to his sprint that spanned the entire incline of the amphitheatre. "I try not to look up at the top because that's too far away and I give up to easy. I try to look at my feet, look at the steps and hopefully by the time I look up, I'm to the top."

Former Broncos running back Selvin Young is in the same boat as Ekuban: cut free by new leadership in Denver and knowing he has playing time left. Young wants to be ready when a team needs him.

"By the time I do step on the field, if I'm not the most in shape, most dominating player, and freshest running back in the league, then I'm going to take that as a disappointment," says Young. "I wake up every day and I put work in and I'm striving to be somewhere and accomplish some things. I got a little taste of it and it was snatched right out from me, so I'm still hungry. I still got that flavor in my mouth and it's not going nowhere until I satisfy it."

The workouts are tough and the guys love to hate them. But when it's all said and done, they can't say anything bad about sitting at the top of Red Rocks and looking over the Mile High City.

"This is the way you end it right here," says Scaife with a smile. "Get to look over the city. See where you're at, where you come from. You gotta love it."

To watch Scaife and the others running Red Rocks, visit the video player to the upper right of this article.

To find out more about the Steadman Hawkins clinic, physical therapy and performance training, visit www.schdenver.com