NFL players trek to Knox gym

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around lunchtime on a placid overcast Tuesday,Early last week, Charlie Petrone took a seat at a round table inside his memorabilia-clad office and glanced over a stack of paperwork in his left hand.

Catching up on the analytics of his personal training business fought for his attention, especially now that his seven-month frenzy of preparing professional athletes had calmed.womens Corey Liuget Jersey

NFL players like Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette,,Authentic Corey Liuget Jersey, ‘ Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl safety Harrison Smith, former Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs, former Tennessee wide receiver Josh Malone,During that span, Seattle Seahawks running back C.J. Prosise, Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Cam Erving and Jacksonville Jaguars defensive back Calvin Pryor daily occupied what’s known as the Wood Gym – a stealthy training facility located off Ball Camp Byington Road.

And hardly a soul in Knoxville knew such star power was here. womens Brandon Mebane Jersey,'

really. Anonymity is the essence of Petrone’s Wood Gym, a roughly 30-foot-wide by 175-foot-long minimalist wooden structure that doesn’t employ flash,That’s all by design, flare or signage. Juice bars,<Authentic Jatavis Brown Jersey,anti-gravity treadmills and a host of peppy young personal trainers won’t be found inside either.

No, just no-frills hardcore training in a spot where air-conditioning is but a role player.womens Drew Kaser Jersey,

Word of mouth and a clothing line are Petrone’s only advertisements,Authentic Tyrell Williams Jersey>, and all people are welcome to join.

“Petrone guys find their way here. I don’t make them Petrone guysAuthentic Matt Slauson Jersey, he was like, and the trainers there might be saying,<womens Kyle Emanuel Jersey, ‘Ahhh.’ The first day we started working out he was like, ‘Box jumps. I like this. I wasn’t doing any of that (before).’ The million-dollar facilities are way up hereI can’t hurt these guys.’ But here,” he said. “When he (Fournette) walked in,, ‘No, it’s like, we go hard. We go after it. You could get injured. But your results are going to be higher than your risks, so let’s go.”

in his 28th year as a trainer, he fell in love with boxing, uses a unique method with NFL clientele, though. Growing up in New Jersey, a sport he follows religiously to this day. womens Tyrell Williams Jersey And what he derived most from the sport was the way boxers trained, sequestering themselves at remote locations with their teams for 6-8 weeks,The 49-year-old Petrone, sometimes 12, to prepare for bouts.

laugh together, cry together, fight together,,womens Jatavis Brown Jersey,“They’d live together,” said Petrone. “ I was like, ‘I want to do that.’”

Prosise, Erving and crew came to train with Petrone',So when Fournette, they lived in Petrone’s house. The players napped on his couch, womens Matt Slauson Jersey, shot the breeze with him and strained together in his gym. Rinsed and repeated.

he sent them off like a proud parent would send a kid to college. A feeling of emptiness resided in his house for a few days, Petrone said,'Authentic Joe Barksdale Jersey,And when all was done, after they left.

But their stay was necessary for him to see all sides of the players.Authentic Drew Kaser Jersey,' It'll only help them in the long run.

” Petrone said. “I was telling (Cleveland Browns owner) Jimmy Haslawomens Joe Barksdale Jersey, ‘Forget those rehearsed interviews they do at the combines. Have someone come live with you,“You get to know a lot about a guy that way, and I can tell you everything about them. … How much they sleep. How much they eat. What they eat. Do they have any bad habits?’”

This all started for Petrone, when he attended and played football for Tennessee in the mid-to-late '80s. Authentic Kyle Emanuel Jersey,He knew personal training was his future when he found more pleasure in scripting workout plans for teammates than actually playing.

whether he has reached a career peak or now sits atop it,Petrone's star shone bright locally as the architect behind the advancements of local prep football stars Chad Pennington (Webb School) and Smith (Knoxville Catholic). Still, Petrone treats himself like a rookie. He never feels like he’s made it.Authentic Brandon Mebane Jersey,'

“I just keep chasing,” he said.