Ball State football - Upcoming fall schedule
Sept. 3 - vs. VMI - 7 p.m.
Sept. 12 - at Texas A&M - 7 p.m.
Sept. 19 - at Eastern Michigan - 3 p.m.
Sept. 26 - at Northwestern - 8 p.m.
Motivation can come in a lot of different ways. The Ball State football team got its motivation for leg day in the gym from comic book characters.
Strength coaches David Feeley and Ben Armer wanted to do something fun for the players in the summer. The players dressed up as superheroes to "hulk-smash" max-out leg day, resulting in a YouTube video that has amassed in over 100 thousand views.
"We hear that the kids enjoy comic book movies," Feeley said. "You've heard 'hulk-smash' on The Incredible Hulk, and we thought it would be cool and something the kids could get in to, like a saying."
The players each walk through a tunnel of smoke and lights into the weight room, showing off their body paint and masks. It's then they squat and work on improving their maximum lift.
The video shows several players squatting and yelling in triumph as they complete the lift.
"It's like nothing you've ever seen before," one player says.
The video has gone viral on YouTube and Twitter, where it has spread through hundreds of retweets, favorites and shares.
When they decided to make a production, Feeley wanted to make it fun without taking away from the lifting part of the workout. He wanted them to feel as strong as The Incredible Hulk.
It wasn't hard for the players to get into.
"The saying turned into 'hey, let's get some Hulk hands when the kids' chant,'" Feeley said. "It seemed to work. I think the kids got into it."
The Cardinals have worked hard in the weight room this summer, looking to get stronger and improve on a 5-7 campaign last season.
Feeley said the team's squat and power clean numbers have gone up this summer. The younger guys have made the biggest jumps in raising their lifting numbers.
Older players, such as former walk-ons Jacob Richard and Nick Plavchak, have also improved since the season ended.
It's the success stories from high-effort guys that Feeley gets most fired up about.
"There is nothing goofy about putting 500-600 pounds across your back and squatting it up and down," Feeley said in the video. "Why would you not want to have fun while you're in here lifting as hard as you can every day?"
The team is looking forward to getting on the field for the 2015 season, and also for its "craziest day of the year" next summer.
"I don't know how we're going to top it next year," Feeley said.
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