In past years, one USC head football coach had his players take karate in an effort to improve coordination.
Now, Will Muschamp is putting his players through a workout that does not consist of running or lifting weights. The team is taking yoga classes twice a week. Muschamp says yoga should make his players more flexible and for some, that is a must.
"For a football player, especially on the defensive side of the ball and anybody that has to play in space, change of direction is essential to being a good football player," Muschamp said.
"When you have lower body stiffness, it's hard to change direction. That's (yoga) something I really wanted us to do a year ago and never really got to it and we were able to do it this year."
Muschamp says the team is lifting three times a week with two yoga classes mixed in for a change of pace but also for added benefits.
"The guys at first weren't really excited about it," Muschamp said.
"But all of them came up to me afterwards and said 'Coach, I'm really glad we've done this, This will help me'."