Dr Spaceman wrote:jaypo wrote:Dr Spaceman wrote:
I'll note that being fat doesn't mean being in bad shape. Plenty of football players are fat and still have incredible strength and explosion. Obviously in terms of cardio you're never going to be able to outcompete but I'm sure all that mass gave him a huge mechanical advantage thyat was a big reason he was so successful with his style of play.
But that's my point- he wasn't "fat". "Fat" means obese, which is measured by things like BMI and body fat%. If his body fat % was slightly above college athlete level, does that make him "fat"? He is a huge man by nature. When he was in college and looked like a skinny kid, he was 295lbs. Watch some videos of his first few years in the league when he played around 325lbs- he looked like a skinny kid. In 200-2003, he looked like a powerlifter. He did this by design, as someone mentioned above. He started lifting weights for the first time to deal with the physical play in the WC. He put on a lot of muscle. But he didn't exceed 15% body fat. Look at him now in those "General" commercials- he's 45 yrs old and years removed from playing in the NBA. This is probably the worst shape he's been in in years, and he still isn't very bad for a man with his body type. People equate him in LA to what he is now.
About his work ethic, it's easy for a 6'7" guard to work that hard. But strap 7 inches and about 150lbs of weight to his back, and let's see how many more hours he spends in the gym!
Regardless of whether that 15% number is true (I have my doubts), that's still pretty fat by professional athlete standards. Most will be in the 6-10% range. He's a huge man in general, granted but if you look at pictures of him next to LeBron or even Kobe it's clear he's not a trim guy.
And if Arnold stood next to Lebron or Kobe, he'd look huge as well.
Did you ever watch when Karl Malone was in WCW Wrestling? Karl Malone looked HUGE and bulky on the court. But in the ring next to those Wrestlers, he actually looked skinny. Why? Perspective. Of course Shaq will look like a "not trim guy" next to people half his size! He has a completely different body type! He's a 7 ft 1 inch man with genetics to be a big person. Kobe is a 6 ft 7 slim framed person. Not an apples and apples comparison.