12 Ways Athletes Train That Might Actually Kill Us

LeBron James, Dez Bryant, Ronda Rousey—these are some of the fittest athletes in sports. However, some of their methods are like those off-road vehicle commercials filmed on closed courses, that is, not to be tried at home. Athletes are doing things nowadays that will blow your mind and quite possibly hurt you.

For most professional athletes, fitness is part of the gig, and the following 12 workouts and methods display an other-worldly level of commitment to staying in shape. In fact, James Harrison's hip workout should probably be illegal. 

Squats with J.J. Watt

Anyone who watched HBO's Hard Knocks knows J.J. Watt's workouts are no joke. Here he is doing squats, and #NoItsNotAMaxOutRep. It's not!?

It's not all weights, however. Men's Health produced a video condensing a 90-minute Watt workout into a two-minute clip, and it included no heavy lifting. Watt called it, "like eating cake," per Lou Schuler of Men's Health. Sure.

Speaking of cake, Watt works out so much, he has to eat 9,000 calories a day to keep up.

Abs with Ronda Rousey

So having someone bounce what looks like a medicine ball on your stomach does not sound fun.

Not only does UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey's ab workout look physically tough, but it also looks choreographically challenging.

UFC President Dana White posted a short clip of Rousey's routine to social media in August, but rest assured, her whole workout looks beastly. For instance, check out highlights from a recent open workout, courtesy of MMAFightingonSBN.

Also, Abs with Dez Bryant

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant posted a video of his ab workout to Instagram (Warning: NSFW language) in February. This is not particularly notable except, the workout looks absolutely impossible for anyone not paid to catch footballs for a living.

Completing even one situp while hanging upside down would be nearly impossible for a lot of people. But look at his legs! He's also hanging from that punching bag by sheer lower-body strength. Unreal.

High-Altitude Masks

John Froschauer/Associated Press

Most people need all the oxygen they can get during a tough workout.

So when Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch starting wearing an Elevation Training Mask, odds are, many folks didn't even know what it was. Now, it's the latest fitness trend.

Lynch's mask (and others) is designed to help regulate breathing and simulate a high-altitude environment. You know how elite marathoners train in places like Colorado and California for the elevation? It's like that.

According to Daniel Friedman of Sports Illustrated, Lynch said, "With the pregame thing, I don't like to run around a lot. So, when I do my laps around the field, and I have the mask on, it gets my heart rate up a little, it makes me breath a little bit harder."

Elite Marathoner Mileage

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Speaking of those marathoners, their training consists of way more mileage than even half of what most people would approach. 

Take Meb Keflezighi, for example. At 40 years of age, the American just set a new masters marathon record at the TCS New York City Marathon.

Related to his training, and according to Jere Longman of the New York Times, Keflezighi estimates he has "logged about 100,000 career miles — four times the circumference of the earth."

Despite the shock value of the number, Keflezighi has eased up (relatively speaking) on his training over the years. Apparently, it's unusual for him to run more than 100 or 110 miles per week, and he no longer runs mile repeats in the four-minute range.

What a slacker.

3-a-Days with LeBron James

LeBron James doesn't mess around when it comes to health and fitness. Leading up to the 2014-15 NBA season, he famously cut out sugar, carbs and dairy for 67 days.

This year, he's back at it with the extreme methods. He told reporters, via Jimmy Traina of Fox Sports, "I got a little bit crazy with my workout regimen. In September, I was doing three-a-days, five days a week. So I believe I improved. Did I get enough rest? I don't think so."

Or with Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant may be coming off a shoulder injury, and he might not think much of himself right now, but he is still one of the most dedicated athletes in sports. This is the man who once rode a bike 40 miles through a Nevada desert the night before Team USA training started.  

According to Mark Medina of Insidesocal.com, Bryant worked out three times on just his second day of NBA training camp this year. He was up insanely early for shoulder strengthening, then to the gym early to shoot around and finally to practice with the team. Just typical Kobe.

Detroit Pistons forward Stanley Johnson once trained with Bryant and said they were "the hardest workouts of my life," per Medina.

Pushups with Adela Garcia

Adela Garcia is an IFBB fitness competitor from the Dominican Republic, and just watching her pushup routine will exhaust (and amaze) you. Actually trying it might not kill you, but it does looks like it would mess up your elbows pretty badly.

Box Jumps with Devonte Wilson

Pretty much any workout with Kansas student Devonte Wilson might kill an Average Joe, if his Instagram videos are to be believed. But this video is particularly incredible.

According to an Instagram comment posted by Wilson, he cleared 68-inch and then 77-78-inch jumps. Then, he jumped onto plates while holding up to 405 pounds. Oh, and then he box-jumped out of a pool.

When his workout video first went viral, reports indicated Wilson was a freshman on the Kansas football team. However, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star caught up with him over the phone and learned that was only partly true. As it turns out, the extent of his football days at Kansas was one snap in the spring game.  Still, the kid is an insane athlete.

"I've been working out for nine, maybe 10 years. Since I was like 11," he told Dodd.

Anything with the Rock

There's not a lot to say about Dwayne Johnson's workout except, whoa.

A lot of people would throw their backs out even attempting to pick up that bar. They don't call him "The Rock" for nothing.

Body Issue Prep with Bryce Harper

Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was featured in the latest "Body Issue" from ESPN The Magazine in July. After the fact, Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post reported on Harper's physical and dietary preparation for the magazine shoot, and to be blunt, it sounded crazy.

Svrluga wrote:

"

The first stage ... consisted of three workouts and six meals a day until it consisted of none, that final week when Bryce Harper consumed only juice. Seven different raw juices. Over the final two weeks, before he exposed each of his muscles to ESPN's photographers, he put salt in his drinking water so he could hydrate himself without gaining weight.

"

Harper said it was important for him to combat the notion that baseball players don't work hard. "I did it for baseball," he said.

Whatever James Harrison Is Doing

Is he serious? In February, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison posted this video to his Instagram account. His one-armed, insane-man workout would probably lead to the loss of a limb for most people.

For other impossible Harrison workouts, check back regularly on his Instagram. If you thought Dez Bryant's ab routine was nuts, look at this. Also, if you are considering a way to break yourself in half, Harrison's hip-strengthening exercise might help.