"Christian McCaffrey has some very unorthodox training methods."
The National Football League season is still months away from the opener, though players are all starting to gear up with organized team activities etc. Each other year, it seems, Commissioner Roger Goodell, acting in the interests of team owners, expands the seasons, adding games. The League is also trying to actively internationalize, playing in London, Melbourne, Mexico City and further afield. It all takes quite a toll on the players, who desperately seek new ways to thrive while handling the burden.
The 49ers superstar running back Christian McCaffrey is one who knows the importance of keeping extra fit. The now-29-year-old burst onto the big stage as a dynamo at Stanford University. He was selected 8th, overall, by the Carolina Panthers in the 2017 draft and made an immediate impact both running and receiving the ball.
Things were rolling right along, McCaffrey growing stronger and stronger each year until the 2021 season where hamstring and ankle injuries did him dirty. I would imagine it was here, in the dark hours, that he began to dream of Laird Hamilton.
The world’s most famous surfer has become a magnet for those looking for a physical edge. Hamilton and wife Gabby Reece developed XPT, a training system which “distills the holistic methods of the world’s most elite operators into a five-pillar system — breathe, move, recover, fuel, connect — designed to elevate performance across each facet of your life through a range of experiential offerings.”
I experienced the joys of controlled drowning, touching upon it here and expanding in the latest Surfers Journal.
Hamilton, I think, impressed with my verve.
Back to McCaffrey, though. The back is once more healthy and now plays for the San Francisco 49ers. In order to bring extra boom for the ’26/’27 season, though, he has made his dream come true and is training with Laird Hamilton.
Instagram fan account oursf49ers posted a small carousel of the workout, declaring, “Christian McCaffrey has some very unorthodox training methods.”
Most in the comments cheered, one even surmising, “Pretty sure that’s Laird Hamilton standing in front of him!!! Famous surfer, tremendous shape!”
Tremendous shape indeed.