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Illinois Football Player Doug Kramer Finds Unique Workouts During Pandemic

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois football players have gotten creative with their at-home workouts. Yes, including bench pressing parents and basketball hoops. Their strength and conditioning coach Lou Hernandez has been encouraging them, and sharing the videos on his Twitter feed. Hinsdale Central alum and Illini senior offensive lineman Doug Kramer got in on the act in a big way.

He and a few teammates that stayed in Champaign early during the pandemic got bored with exercises like push-ups, sit-ups and planks. They decided they needed an activity that represented what an offensive lineman would do, pushing somebody from point A to point B. "That's really where the idea came from," said Kramer. "We were just like, let's try to push a truck and see how that goes for a workout."
The video of Kramer pushing a truck has gone viral. "It's cool," he said. "I was just posting it to make some fun out of a terrible situation and just try to stay positive."
That's not the only unique exercise that Kramer has done during the pandemic. He bench-pressed and tossed some beer kegs in the front yard of his Hinsdale home that were left over from a tailgate party.
The Illinois center admits that he misses his teammates. "We're in the locker room every day seeing the same guys, building those relationships. That's critical for the season. The hardest part is just not seeing them every day, but we'll hopefully be back pretty soon and I'm looking forward to seeing all those guys again and getting back in the weight room."

Kramer adds that he's been ready to get to Champaign since the pandemic started. He says he and his teammates are pumped up and ready to get back to work. Illinois football players will be allowed to return to campus for individual workouts as early as June 3rd, but will be quarantined and tested before workouts with coaches can resume.

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