For 12 seasons, Jarret Johnson terrorized NFL opponents as a linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers.
Now retired from pro football, he calls D1 Niceville (Fla.) his workout home.
At the University of Alabama, Johnson said he attempted Olympic-style training to stay in shape.
But once he hit the NFL, Johnson shied away from those kinds of workouts to avoid injury.
Then in his fourth NFL season, everything changed.
"I got with a trainer, and it really changed my career," Johnson said. "I started going back to a lot of the explosive Olympic stuff. It's more functional strength and is more conducive to being an overall athlete than power training."
In his fifth season, Johnson became a starting linebacker and his career took off from there. He was known for being a gritty player on defense with plays like this:
Now, reflecting on the training in his career, Johnson said he understands the importance of D1 Training for young athletes.
"I think it's important, especially for young athletes to be learning that stuff early on," he said. "If that would have been the norm like it is now, it would have been a game changer for my career."
Johnson said football is all about learning how to be strong while controlling your body, an area where D1 coaches excel.
"When you go to D1, they're looking at you through those lenses. It's like 'you're strong, but, you know, maybe we need to work on your balance or your core or your conditioning,'" he said. "Everything that they're going to do is through the lens of making you a better athlete."
Jarret Johnson at D1 Niceville
This philosophy also applies to Johnson's post-football career.
He recently competed in D1 Niceville's fitness challenge.
"I love anything that is posted for time and dipping back to my competitive nature," he said. "I wanted to see if I could just put up a decent time."
Johnson fell just short of the top time, set by head coach William Cotten.
But now, Johnson is making it his mission to beat that time.
"The first time, I had just finished an up-tempo, cardio-style workout. I was already pretty tired," he said. "Next time, I'm going to go in fresh."