Viktor
Well-known member
- Mar 19, 2019
- 2,552
- 0
"It gave me a different perspective. Like I said, I haven't really met any of these guys in person. I sat in on all the meetings in the spring, obviously. … I've known Stephen Weatherly and Coach Imarjaye [Albury] personally. But outside of that, I didn't know anyone," Pierce said. "So I got to know these guys through a TV screen, like fans would."
Pierce utilized a two-TV setup at home, in addition to his computer.
"NFL Gameday was a big thing for me on my computer – watched the Vikings, and whatever team that my friends would play on … the good matchups around the league, I watched them," he explained. "It was hard, but it's a super-long season, so I think after Week 8, I was mentally OK."
Sunday-morning workouts to help with pregame couch jitters turned into a routine: Peloton ride, sauna, church.
"By that time it was 12 o'clock. Had me a good, nice meal, got me a glass of wine and watched Vikings football just like everybody else," Pierce said. "It was fun. Obviously, I would love to be playing a lot, lot more, but I made the most of it."
Pierce may have joined the Peloton party, but it wasn't his only source of pandemic workouts. Far from it, in fact.
In the fall, he participated in "Squatober," which he described as "super, super fun" for someone with Pierce's power-lifting background.
"It's like 25 days of squat and deadlift – if you're not crazy about weightlifting, I would not suggest it," he laughed. "But I actually got into CrossFit from January to February, and that's when I cut it off and started getting back into full-time football stuff. I learned a lot of different stuff. CrossFit took a lot of bad weight off of me, and I feel like I'm in great shape. I think the strength staff would agree with that today.
"I've been ready to roll, man; hounding on my nutrition, got to know my body from an extended amount of time and trying some different things in my diet," Pierce added. "Holistically, I think I became a better player and a person. Obviously, we'll see what the results are on the field. But as far as my body and my mind and everything else, I've grown."