J.J. Watt, a player who is great at being tough and working hard and subtly letting everyone know just how hard he is working and how tough he is, has scaled back his workout routine.
What, you say? But what about all those 10:49 p.m. snap chats that show him hurling tires in an empty gym?
Peter King of the MMQB explains:
Watt is cutting back on his offseason workouts, if going from 10 workouts a week to nine qualifies as a reduction. He said he worked out twice a day five days a week last offseason; this year, he said he goes six days a week, with three of those two-a-days and three one workout per day. When he reports for the first day of the Texans' offseason workouts today in Houston, he will be 14 weeks removed from the groin surgery.
We also see the quote that inspires Watt -- "Today I will do what others won't so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't" -- and hear the five torn groin muscles he played through. The trainers would have never let him play if they had their way.
Fairly standard Watt stuff to this point (To note: It's sad in a way because he really is incredible. It's a great example of how marketing and social media has destroyed our perception of athletes and our standard for greatness. Watt works harder than just about any professional football player and yet our first reaction is Yawn. This again? We get it J.J.)
But the meat of the piece is Watt addressing some nebulous quotes he recently made about his future and how long he is going to play.
"I have no idea when it's going to be, when I'll retire," he said. "I'm not saying it's not going to be two, three, four years. But I'm also not saying it's going to be nine, 10, 11 years. I literally do not know the answer. What I do know is I'm going to continue to train my ass off. I'm going to continue to work to be the best player in the world, and whenever that doesn't sound fun to me anymore, that's when it's over."
Good for Watt. Even if it's become ripe for parody at this point, his work ethic might very well be burning the candle at both ends. He may want to use his massive secluded workout cabin for something else, after all.
