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Justin Pugh looks to build on a strong 2013.

(Leon Halip/Getty Images)

Tom Coughlin was happy enough with Justin Pugh after his rookie season, but wanted to see the tackle add another 10-15 pounds of muscle to supplement his speed off the ball.

Pugh took the suggestion to heart, meeting up with Chris Snee, Markus Kuhn and Eric Herman in the weight room and creating a daily ritual where the four would lift together.

"I'm like 315 right now, so I put on about 10 pounds," Pugh said on Tuesday at the team's facility. "I feel very good. I'm stronger than ever and now we're going to start running -- get that going. Continue to get better and continue to work hard."

Pugh came into offseason workouts around 298 last year, which represents a pretty significant power upgrade. He played the season between 300 and 302.

The weight should give him the freedom to shift between both tackle and guard, though Pugh said the addition has nothing to do with a potential change.

"I really think it was just a product of me getting into the weight room," Pugh said. "(Strength and conditioning coach Jerry Palmieri) has really gotten after me. We've lifted every day for the past few months and when you're in there and pushing each other, I think that just gets everyone better.

"I'm starting to feel it in my upper body and I feel really good about it."

Pugh said he only missed six weeks following a minor procedure on his thumb this offseason and bench pressed the day after he was cleared.

The Giants can't be anything but encouraged by this after watching Pugh give up just five sacks during his rookie season. Amid a deep class of 2013 first-year offensive tackles, Pugh managed to hold his own and surrendered fewer sacks (5) than Eric Fisher, the No. 1 overall pick last year.

Pugh also said he feels like he has a jump on new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo's style. Pugh, who played for current Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone at Syracuse, ran a similar west coast system with an emphasis on up-tempo play calling.

"It's something that -- at Syracuse we did some similar stuff, so I'm excited about it. I just can't wait to get out there and do it against that defense. We're in the very beginning process of installing it. I think as we get going -- right now we're just setting up the philosophies; how you build chemistry, how chemistry leads to trust and things like that -- so I think we're still in the beginning stages."