To say that Saquon Barkley's muscular body is "chiseled" or "ripped" is not news. The Giants running back entered the league last year followed by legendary tales of his weightlifting prowess at Penn State, and his upper thighs are so massive he quickly earned the nickname “Say-quads."
But Barkley has a new workout routine, and his teammates have been wowed in training camp by his apparently even more muscular physique.
“You don’t think he can get any more fit but he somehow did,” Giants center Jon Halapio told the New York Post. “We only hope to look like that one day. He has the body to show off. I don’t know how it feels.”
“He’s swole,” running back Rod Smith said.
Here's a look at Barkley's workout routine.
Warning: Do not try this at home.
Saquon Barkley's new workout routine is next level 😳 💪 😤 #GiantsCamp pic.twitter.com/yEYpzQCqGe
— MSG Networks (@MSGNetworks) July 29, 2019
“Very proud of my body,” Barkley told the Post. “Put a lot of hard work in. I surrounded myself with a great team. Your body is what you need to produce at a high level in this sport, that’s why I take it very serious.”
Of course, NFL history has seen plenty of physical specimens who were not very good players. That's not an issue for Barkley. As a rookie playing on a mediocre offensive unit, he had 2,028 yards from scrimmage and 15 TDs, averaging 5.0 yards per carry.
But Barkley is still pushing himself to improve. Hence the new fitness routine.
“There’s a lot of (Instagram) models and IG guys who work out and they look the part but could never do what any of us do on the football field,” Barkley said. “I know guys who don’t have six-packs but their core is ridiculously strong. For example, a lot of our linemen … they’re not ripped and shredded.
"You’re not really focusing on ripping it out or looking lean and looking crazy strong but you understand the work that you’re doing, you’re doing it to be a better football player and it happens to help your body look better.”