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We moved one step closer to the return of football last week, when NFL teams started their Organized Team Activities (OTAs), the first part of the offseason en route to training camp. They’re throwing passes and working out with their coaches, but not wearing pads. And while the players won’t see the spotlight for another few months, this is time to shine for the strength trainers who build the team workouts. We asked Detroit Lions coordinator of physical development Jason Arapoff for advice on transforming your workout from a boring Tuesday night at the gym into one molded after wide receiver Calvin Johnson and the rest of the Lions’ offseason program. Arapoff’s secret is an incredibly simple idea called complementary ercises, which are designed to improve muscular endurance.

"You go to the gym and you watch the average dude lift," he says. "Upper-body day, what does he do first? Bench. He does a set. What does he do when he racks it and finishes his set? He sits his ass on the end of the bench and waits." Stop doing that. Instead, jump right into another move that complements the bench press—and the moment you finish that, hop back on the bench. "You can be creative. You could do medicine ball slams on the ground, kettlebell get-up sit-ups, you could use [resistance] bands. Look, there’s no magic to it. There are millions of complementary ercises that could be incorporated. Do what you like."

The same thing goes for your legs. "Calvin can box jump 100 times on a 40-inch box all day long," Arapoff says. "So we’ll get Calvin on a heavy set of squats, then a set of 10 solid box jumps. That box jump turns into a totally different ercise, because it’s complemented right away with a muscular endurance variable."

All of this keeps your heart rate up, too, which makes lifting double as a cardio workout. That means your workout is more efficient. You’ll work harder, be done faster, and feel the difference—just like a pro.

Bill Bradley is a columnist at Next City. Follow him on Twitter @billbradley3.

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