- 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey details evolution of his offseason workout regimenRunning back Christian McCaffrey speaks to reporters following the San Francisco 49ers’ training camp session on Wednesday in Santa Clara.49ers RB Christian McCaffrey details evolution of his offseason workout regimen originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
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NBC Sports Bay Area
Thu, July 30, 2026 at 2:38 AM UTC
Running back Christian McCaffrey speaks to reporters following the San Francisco 49ers’ training camp session on Wednesday in Santa Clara
49ers RB Christian McCaffrey details evolution of his offseason workout regimenoriginally appeared onNBC Sports Bay Area
Video Transcript
What’s up, guys?
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Christian, you’re kind of known for your off-season training, but there was one thing that you were doing this year where you looked like you were on the ground, you were, you were kind of moving to the left and to the right
Is that, like, for your hips?
What was that, and how do you feel your off-season went?
Feel great, man
Yeah, I think it went well
You know, always trying to get better, find different ways to, to get better and, whether it’s bringing new people in, different ideas
But, you know, sometimes I’ll share little snippets of the off-season here or there
But, a lot of those drills are just, you know, fun, different ways to do mobility and continuing to just train the whole system
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Do you analyze your previous season and say, “I think I can work on this, this, and this,” and then tailor your, your off-season workouts to whatever you conclude?
Yeah, that’s part of it
I think it’s, it’s not that simple, but that’s definitely part of it
Can you kind of share what you focused on this, this past off-season?
Yeah, I mean, look, I think every off-season, you, you gotta address what, what’s going on
But at the same time, it’s, y- you’re training a whole system, so everything matters
Speed matters, strength matters, mobility, everything
It’s a, you know, the b- you’re one, one system
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Quick twitch, all that stuff
So there’s a way to build a base and kind of try to peak and, you know, it’s never linear, but that’s, that’s kind of the way I look at it, is, y- you’re training a system, not just one thing
You know, if you train the system, everything will start to get better
You started training with Ido Portal
I know he’s not necessarily, he hasn’t worked with a whole bunch of football guys, but what is it that has changed or what have you feel, felt differently after working with him?
Yeah, he’s a special person, man
We had a, a amazing summer
I was really grateful I got to spend a lot of time with him and the rest of, you know, the training staff
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A lot of long days, long hours
Put so much into it and had a lot of fun
Learning a lot, unlearning a lot
And just always good to have new perspectives, in training as, as you continue to prolong your career
Is there anything wh- one particular thing that he kind of emphasizes throughout his practice, or is it- No, I think that the, the whole point is it’s not one thing
Yeah, I think that, that would be the point, is that, you know, it’s, it’s everything together
And it, it’s, again, it’s, it’s almost too, too much to even give you an answer with, with words, but it was a, a heck of an experience
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Obviously we still did a bunch of speed and strength stuff, but, yeah, he’s, he’s a brilliant mind when it comes to movement, the body, the mind, everything
Is it more, like, to get more explosivity or explosiveness?
That’s part of it
Yeah, I mean, it’s ex- it’s, it’s everything
Yeah, I mean, there’s, you know, in football you train everything
Are you a guy that enjoys training camp?
Do you, like, look at it as a way to kind of ramp up?
How do you approach training camp in, in general?
I love it, man
Yeah, I love training camp
I think it’s, it’s always difficult, but I think that’s where you, you build your callus
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That’s where, you get to make mistakes full speed
You get to try new things out
And so it’s, definitely a good time of the year where, you get to grow as a team, you get to get better every day, and you get to go out there and play football, man
I don’t take one day for granted, and just feel super fortunate to be out there playing with everybody
Christian- Christian, the difficulty of being out there in training camp, it’s his first when it comes to Kalen Ballage
Does he come to you for any advice of how to get through each day or how to make sure that he’s where he needs to be, doing what he needs to do to kind of have a successful training camp going into the season?
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Yeah, definitely
He’s a pro, man
He, he came in and you can tell he’s mature
You can tell he, he knows how to work, he knows how to learn, and, he’s made of the right stuff, so he complements our, our room, our team really well
Christian, you recently became a 30-year-old running back, so you’re supposed to fall off a cliff, you know- any day now
Did this birthday have any significance to you as it relates to your career and anything you’re wanting to accomplish?
No, it didn’t
You know, I s- I, I love football, man
I never looked at the age thing
I liked looking at the guys who played really well later in their careers, but no, I mean, that’s, that’s, you know, hearsay
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You know, I, I It’s not nothing
You know, I, that’s why I approach it differently than I do seven years ago
You know, I’m not, naive enough to think you can just keep doing the same thing
But when it comes to Sundays and playing football, I, I love the plan we have, and to just go out there and continue to work and get better
But, you know, one thing I love about playing this position in this sport is you never have it figured out
Every day is a new day
You get to compete, you get to play, you get to learn, you get to grow, and that’s the way I’m approaching it again this year
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But I feel great and I, I can’t wait for this year
What’s your first impression of Kalen Ballage?
He’s awesome, man
Kalen’s awesome
He’s explosive
He sees the hole really well
He’s got a really good feel for things
He’s got the right mentality
And, again, he just complements our room, our, our team really well
He’s a little bit older than a lot of rookies
I think he’s 24, almost 25
Can you kind of see that in him?
He’s supposed to be good at, at pass protection and kind of some little things that perhaps rookies don’t always have sharpened, early on
Yeah, you can see it
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You see him?
Yeah.
No, he’s stacked, man
You can definitely see it
He’s, you can tell he’s played at high level of football
He’s played mature football
He’s, again, he’s made a I can’t say enough good
He’s exactly what you would want a rookie to come in and be like
And again, I think our whole running back room is great, and he, he complements it so well, i- in, in the way he runs
I think when you look at him, his rookie year, and then you go look at me and my rookie year, I, they look v- very different in age
You said you like to look at guys who’ve had success later in their careers
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What, what are you looking for?
What, and are there certain threads you see, or do you even reach out to some of those guys that have done that?
Yeah, I mean, I, look, I think, I don’t make a big deal out of the whole age thing
It does nothing for me
I think that’s something that, you know, I and, w- with rightfully so, media will, will bring up
But for me, man, I just show up every day and work my butt off
Continue to work on the things I work on, and I don’t, I don’t think about my age
If I did, that would not be wise, you know?
It’s- That does nothing for me, so I just think about continuing to grow, continuing to go out there and ball
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I don’t, you know, it’s funny, like you turn 30 and people bring it up when, two days ago I was 29 and now, you know, so it’s, for me, man, I just, I just keep focusing on getting better
That’s all I’ve ever done, that’s all I’ll ever do
And, again, just I feel so fortunate to play this game
I wanna play as long as I can and, I have no intention of slowing down
Christian, what was- Roger Craig’s gonna be enshrined in the Hall of, Hall of Fame next week
I realize, you know, by the time he was done with his career, I’m not sure you were born, but was he any sort of influence or did you look at the way he played?
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Obviously, you know, a lot of similarities between you two
Yeah.
He’s, he was a pioneer, man
He, he was one of the first guys who really could do it all
To, to rush for 1,000 yards and catch for 1,000 yards in that era is different than doing it now
And, so I have the utmost respect for him
I think, you know, when you look at how good those teams were and how many big names they had, a lot of times he gets left out and, you know, I’m so happy that he got a gold jacket ’cause he absolutely deserves it
And, yeah, definitely seen all of them
His, those eyes when he was running through the hole, Bobby T brings that up all the time, his, his knee drive, all that
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He was a stud
And last one guys- With, with Deshaun, Deshaun Stribling, a lot’s been talked about his, his blocking in the running game
Is, I know it’s early in camp and pads aren’t on, but have you felt any of his blocks at, at any point or are, has there been enough to, for you to form an impression on his run blocking?
I mean, I w- we, I see his college tape and he does a hell of a job at it
We haven’t had pads on yet, so it’s not, you know, he’s, guys aren’t out there just crack backing our, our secondary, even if they want to
But, it’s nah, he, he, he plays full speed, man
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It’s another rookie who, I think when you look at our whole rookie class, it’s just a lot of guys who put their head down and work and, and that’s what exactly what you want, you know?
That’s what our vets do, that’s what our young guys do, and so collectively, hopefully we continue to rise
But he’s a hell of a player, man
He’s, he’s got a great build
He’s physical, he can run, and the more and more he can learn the playbook and learn this offense to where he’s playing fast, that’s, it’s He’s gonna be a hell of a player
Clay was in here earlier talking about Mike Evans and just his impact on the wide receivers room
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Have you noticed the competition level between that group rising?
Yeah, yeah
I mean, we’re, look, we’re three days in and, and, you know, we’re, we’re so focused on our own jobs all the time
But when Mike Evans is in there, it’s hard not to, you know, listen to what he’s saying and watch what he’s doing and, kind of hear how he sees the game
And, to, for a young guy to come into a, a receiver room and have somebody like that as a, as a mentor is, I, you know, I hope those guys take it and, and, and run with it ’cause that’s a special, special guy, special player, and glad he’s on our team
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Go ahead Chris, last one
Christian, what was your non-football highlight of the off-season?
Oh man, just spending time with my daughter
Yeah, watching her grow every day was amazing
You know, it’s, it’s crazy how fast it’s going, but that would definitely be my highlight
- 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey details evolution of his offseason workout regimenRunning back Christian McCaffrey speaks to reporters following the San Francisco 49ers’ training camp session on Wednesday in Santa Clara.49ers RB Christian McCaffrey details evolution of his offseason workout regimen originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
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