Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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"They were asking me, 'Man, do you want to do it?'" Clark recalled. "I was like, 'Yeah, I'll do it.' I'd never done this before. I don't know how much the weight was but I see it all the time. I see guys pushing cars and trucks and all that kind of stuff. That was my first time trying it and I did it. It was pretty cool."
The rest of Clark's training regimen is similar to what he's done in the past. He lifts five times a week, practices footwork drills on his own, and has focused training on his lower body after battling ankle and calf injuries last season.
To stay on top of his nutrition, Clark has a personal chef prepare meals for him every day. It's a routine Clark is leaning on to elevate his game after a statement-making 2019 campaign.
Clark, still only 24, finished his fourth NFL season on another high note with 5½ sacks in his final six games (including postseason). He made his first Pro Bowl appearance after posting a career-high 62 tackles and recording six sacks for the second consecutive year.
Clark had a blast in Orlando. He reconnected with former UCLA teammate and current Minnesota linebacker Eric Kendricks, and met All-Pro defensive tackles Fletcher Cox, Cam Jordan and Grady Jarrett.
He spent the week picking the brains of the fellow Pro Bowlers at his position, inquiring about certain techniques and what type of pass-rush moves they prefer. It was an eye-opening experience for a defensive tackle used to flying under NFL radars.
"I've always been an underrated guy – I feel like it's been happening since high-school stuff, but I just have to keep on putting the work in," Clark said. "You want to be one of the best of the best and be recognized as that. That definitely was a goal of mine. Hopefully, I can just keep on improving and going to more Pro Bowls and finally become an All-Pro, too."
Clark, currently in the final year of his rookie contract, has plenty of motivation to take things to another level in Year 5. It's not so much about dollars and cents, as it is avenging the disappointment of coming up short in the NFC title game for the second time in his first four NFL seasons.