I found this great article a couple days ago, about Vick's rigorous off-season training protein designed to get him ready for the season. I often hear that luck is preparation plus opportunity. Vick was given the chance to start due to Kevin Kolb's concussion, but he was ready to take advantage of his opportunity because he and his strength and conditioning coach, Tom Anderson, worked like hell in the off-season:
"Over the course of some 15 personal training sessions lasting nearly two hours apiece - a couple at Hampton University, but most at Landstown - the 48-year-old speed and agility coach made Vick run, twist, burn and hurt.
Anderson used resistance bands, weighted vests and intricate techniques culled from a quarter-century of experience. He pushed Vick through rapid and short-burst drills that approximated the pace of an NFL game."
"Passing just 13 times and running 24, Vick appeared thick and slow, devoid of the athleticism that bolted him to stardom at Virginia Tech and then with the Falcons.
The reason, Anderson said, was clear.
"The problem was his neurological system hadn't been wired up again," said Anderson, Landstown's head track coach and an assistant football coach. "Mike by nature has a unique set of muscle fibers. But when you make them dormant for 20 months, you tend to lose it."
"With Mike, it had to be more ballistic," Anderson said, "so we targeted plyometrics and core work. We did speed and agility and directional movement, the things that are principle to being a quarterback of his caliber and his style."
As for Vick's throwing motion, Anderson laughingly said he had no business going there. They focused instead on metabolic workouts that repeatedly drove Vick's stagnant muscles to failure, but ultimately brought them to peak condition.
[ via HamptonRoads.com ]
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