Jets players keep up on workouts

MARTINSVILLE, N.J. -- It's a little past noon, and old school hip-hop is playing on the loudspeakers as seven football players participate in a grueling workout under the watchful eyes of Brian Martin.

Usually, Bart Scott and Kris Jenkins and even younger players such as Jamaal Westerman and Vladimir Ducasse would be immersed in their team's offseason conditioning program, getting ready for organized team activities. But because of the lockout, the trio of Jets and free agent Jenkins, a former Jet, find themselves training at Test Football Academy a few feet away from adults unaware they're so close to NFL types.

It's an unusual and necessary situation for some of the Jets, given the great unknown.

"You don't know what the next man is doing and what your teammates are doing," Scott said Tuesday. "You don't want to come in and be the guy that's not in shape. So what happens is you work harder and do more than you actually would do if you were with somebody because at this point, we are paying somebody to work us out. That's always a big difference.

"You are always going to work harder when you are spending your own money as opposed to when you are working out and it's just, 'OK, I have to work out, the team is there.' You take your time. When you are paying somebody and are nervous about what the next man is doing, you don't want to show up and be the guy that's the weak link."

So that's why Martin, founder and CEO of Test, has been helping put them through the rigors. They've worked on agility, mobility, conditioning, cardiovascular, weightlifting and even incorporate yoga into the routine.

Additionally, Test offers nutritional education, sports psychology and checkups, if necessary, by Robert Monaco, Rutgers' team doctor since 1996.

"They have all the assets they need right here," Martin said. "They have everything that they need. Some of these [other] guys are going to a Gold's Gym right now and are lifting weights. That's not helping them work on football skills . . . We are a one-stop shop."

Westerman can attest to that. The linebacker trained here after his senior year down the road at Rutgers, getting prepared for the NFL combine. He's spent four days a week during the last few weeks putting in that work, sometimes with Buffalo receiver Donald Jones, a native of nearby Plainfield, N.J.

"He's a Bill," Westerman said. "If he starts talking any junk about the Jets, there's a lot more Jets here than Bills. So we'd have to put it on him."

If the lockout isn't lifted by the end of April, Martin plans on including more football-specific work into each player's regimen. He'll also continue to send weekly progress reports to John Melody, the Jets' trainer, and will detail how any player's injury suffered last season is healing. (Such injuries are eligible to be covered by workman's compensation.)

It's those little things that have Scott, Westerman & Co. feeling as if they're in good hands.

"These guys have put a lot of guys in the draft, from [Joe] Flacco to the kids from Rutgers last year," Scott said. "So it's proven that they know what they are talking about. It was refreshing to come to a place and go back to the roots of things and grind like college kids are grinding."