CALGARY — Stampeders head coach John Hufnagel brought a weight scale into his office at the end of last season and had defensive lineman Mike Labinjo step on it.
At 317 pounds, the Toronto native had never been heavier. If Labinjo was going to play defensive end for the Stampeders this season, he had to lose weight.
“Most guys went home after the season. I stuck around,” Labinjo said on the first day of CFL training camp Sunday. “I talked to Huf. I talked to my new strength coach and they gave me some stuff to get going.”
“Most guys start their training in February and I started in December.”
Now a relatively svelte 286 pounds, the 29-year-old aims to regain a leading role on the Stamps after a lost season.
Labinjo admits he arrived at last year’s training camp complacent and doughy with 315 pounds on his six-foot frame.
He’d had a breakout season in 2008, which was his second in the CFL. Labinjo contributed three knockdowns, sacked quarterback Anthony Calvillo once and had three tackles in Calgary’s 22-14 win over Montreal in the Grey Cup. The Stampeders announced a three-year contract extension for Labinjo just days after the victory.
Labinjo also had compiled eight tackles, three sacks and forced a fumble in a narrow 22-18 victory over B.C. in the West final. Two straight tackles on B.C.’s Ian Smart prevented a Lions touchdown early in the second half.
“I definitely think when you’re at the top you take things for granted,” Labinjo said. “During that Grey Cup in ’08, I played around 300 pounds, close to 305.
“I felt that being bigger would be better. I’m not the tallest guy in the world and it didn’t work out that way. It kind of backfired. I ended up hurting my leg. I got injured a lot last year.”
Hufnagel watched Labinjo struggle throughout the season, which prompted the intervention of a weigh-in.
“I knew Mike is a big man, so I didn’t know how much the weight would affect him,” the Stampeders coach said. “After I saw him play and how much it affected him, I was extremely disappointed.
“For him to be able to play his best football, it’s not at the weight level he was last year. He worked hard to get it done.”
The coach and general manager knew Labinjo hit his weight-loss targets for first day of each month from January to March, but Hufnagel hadn’t seen Labinjo in over a month prior to Saturday’s medicals.
“I was pleased when I saw him yesterday and I saw him in uniform,” Hufnagel said. “I watched during the individual drill. He had good quickness. He was working hard getting on the field here, trying to win his job back.”
Labinjo embarked on his fitness regimen in December and didn’t go home for Christmas holidays. He felt that would distract him from his goal, and possibly de-rail his diet.
“It was miserable those first two weeks. I was actually kind of glad I was by myself to be honest,” he said.
“I was on a pretty intense diet for the first month and dropped weight pretty quick, but I also had to maintain my strength.
“Here I am now at 286. A lot of protein, a lot of vegetables and water was huge. Vegetables was one of the most important things. I don’t eat a lot of vegetables and this off-season I ate a ton and that really helped a lot.”
Labinjo wouldn’t mind getting down closer to 280 pounds to further improve his mobility, but not if that means losing the power he requires to out-wrestle opposing offensive linemen.
“Right now I feel pretty good running around,” Labinjo said. “As long as I maintain my strength and my conditioning is good, I’ll stay at 285 or 286, that’s fine.
“Conditioning wise, for the first day, I definitely feel a lot better than I did last year. As camp progresses and we all get our legs back, I think I’ll notice some other things as well.”