Branden Albert collapsed onto the top rope after a three-minute jab session, and you could almost hear the turnbuckle cry “uncle.”
Men Albert’s size — 6-5 and 310 pounds — aren’t meant for a boxing ring.
And they certainly aren’t found there, skipping around and unleashing uppercuts, less than six months after reconstructive knee surgery.
“How are you feeling?” Albert, the Miami Dolphins’ franchise left tackle, was asked during a short break last week.
“Tired,” he said, sweat beading down his face.
The fate of the Dolphins’ upcoming season might hinge on the strength and durability of Albert’s right knee, which sports a four-inch scar from surgery to his ACL last fall — his first surgery of any kind.
But if Albert’s return to football falls short of his high expectations — “All-Pro, that’s my goal,” he said between reps — it won’t be because of any personal failing.
Training camp might be four months off, but Albert is already in two-a-day mode.
Most days, he wakes up early and either rehabs with the Dolphins’ medical staff or lifts with personal trainer Manning Sumner at Legacy Fit in Miami. Then he rests for a couple of hours before lacing up the gloves with Baiamonte, who studied the sweet science with famed trainer Angelo Dundee.
“I was sitting on my butt for two, three months,” Albert said. “I got enough rest. It’s time for me to work.”
Albert is still not ready to run at full speed — “soon,” he promised — but in the weight room and in Baiamonte’s gym, “there’s no restrictions.” Some players balloon when they’re immobilized by injury; Albert’s weight is basically the same as it was when he reported to training camp last summer.
Said Albert: “I’m never in pain. It’s just weakness. Right now, it’s all getting my strength back. All the hard stuff with my rehab is over with. The first three months were probably the toughest rehab, getting the motion, getting my flexibility back and getting the scar tissue off. All that’s over with. Now it’s just getting the strength and getting active again. That’s going to come with time.”
Baiamonte, whose famous list of clients includes the ageless Bernard Hopkins, marvels over the transformation he has seen in Albert over the past six months.
Soon, these sessions will go on hiatus. The Dolphins’ voluntary offseason workout program begins April 20, and Albert vowed to “be there every day.”
Albert can’t wait to get back in the offensive line meeting room for the first time since his injury. The Dolphins appear poised to rely on young guards Dallas Thomas and Billy Turner this fall, so Albert plans to coach them up, even if he can’t yet join them on the field.
“He’s pushing himself every day,” Albert said of Thomas, who also trains with Sumner. “I’m very impressed with Dallas right now. I know Billy’s hungry. They’re two, big physical guys that play football. I think with the coaching and the right mentality, those guys can be good for us. I deep down believe that.”
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