Chargers' Ben Herbert sneaks extra recovery time into training camp plan

The hiring of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh brought mad genius strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert to the Los Angeles Chargers. Herbert, now with the title of Executive Director of Player Performance, aims to revolutionize strength and conditioning within the organization using a modernized and more data-driven approach.

Something new, brilliant, yet completely simple to be implemented this summer: Chargers training camp practices are staggered to maximize recovery time .

Here is an overview of how the first two weeks of practice are scheduled:

There is somewhere between a two and three-hour difference in start times with each new day. This is a shift from the Brandon Staley regime, where practices were normally set at regular start times.

A few extra hours between practices allow for additional recovery time from fatigue, soreness, and mental exhaustion. Every day starts later than the next (and resets the following week), which gives each player more ramp-up time in the morning than the previous day. There may be an in-season aspect to staggered practice schedules as well, allowing a team that will fly the most miles in the NFL this year a chance to not just be a 10 AM team.

Intuitively, this plan makes sense. Herbert is leaning into both personal experience and scientific literature to do what is best for the players. If this schedule tweak proves beneficial for the health of the team, Herbert may have found a way to win in the margins and push the Chargers to the postseason.