Do all NBA players lift weights intensely?

[AskWazzup]

Basketball players usually look big only in relation with other basketball players.



Here, Howard, who usually looks like a giant on court, looks like a long distance runner when standing next to a semi-flabby UFC champion.

[Joseph17]

lol @ the notion Tim Duncan was only "averagely" athletic. Or even Ray Allen.

On levels of NBA athleticism, these guys were certainly not merely "average".

Come on man. Of course they are more athletic than non-NBA players that are their size or NBA players that have virtually no athleticism like Luis Scola, but their athleticism is nothing compared to prime Dwight's, Blake Griffin's, Lebron's, prime Vince's, Rose's, Westbrook's, etc. Those are the types of guys that I was talking about.

[il_knicks7]

I remember Shaq said he never went to the weight room.

[Uncle Mxy]

I remember Shaq said he never went to the weight room.

He didn't have to. He weight a lot.

[Dipper 13]

I remember Shaq said he never went to the weight room.

Muscular Development - September 1999

http://i.imgur.com/VZ83hK6.png


"Interestingly enough, when I asked Shaq how important training is to his performance in the game, he claimed to be from the "old school," citing Larry Bird, who never lifted a weight in his life, as a shining example. "He had heart and determination--that's the type of player I try to be." O'Neal did admit, however, that "the older you get, the older your body gets" and that you have to work every day to stay in shape."

[Chitownbulls]

Some guys don't have the body type to put on a lot of muscle (ectomorph). I remember Bosh saying that he tried to gain weight but he just couldn't

BS...everybody can gain weight/muscle mass, you just got to put in the work. Bosh doesn't seem like a guy who wants to be pushing weight in the gym though, sounds like an excuse.

[yunaclf]

In before Serge Ibaka....

and some might skip leg day.

Gotta keep the legs slim so he can fit into these:

[Joseph17]

Some guys don't have the body type to put on a lot of muscle (ectomorph). I remember Bosh saying that he tried to gain weight but he just couldn't

BS...everybody can gain weight/muscle mass, you just got to put in the work. Bosh doesn't seem like a guy who wants to be pushing weight in the gym though, sounds like an excuse.

Ugh you should like a mesomorph who says that anyone could put on pounds and pounds of muscle with the proper dieting and training. I have the same body type as Chris Bosh and yes I put on about 10 pounds of muscle, but going from 150 to 160 pounds at 5'10 isn't anything to write home about. I was also constantly stuffing myself with food and protein shakes to get to that which isn't the kind of lifestyle that I want to live with for the rest of my life. Bosh is also an NBA player who does a lot of cardio as well which makes you burn fat and lose some muscle as well. It'll be very difficult for him to have a muscular physique given all of those circumstances. Most of the transformations I see are former fat guys that became fit. It's rare to see a guy who was rail thin to form a muscular aesthetic physique. It is possible, but it's not going to look as good as a former fat guy (not talking about skinny fat guys) that has the proper genetics to build a muscular physique.

Former fat guy (mesomorph) who became fit:



Skinny guy (ectomorph) who became fit:


I'll let you be the judge of who looks more muscular.

The ecto was taking tons of supplements (not steroids) to get that look and the meso only takes vitamins and protein powder. Now that the ecto is off all the stuff he was taking he's back to being skinny. It's just not natural for a skinny guy to become muscular.

[BarneyGumble]

Basketball is mainly an endurance sport and if you look at endurance athletes most of them are rail thin (Gebremariam). That's why you never find jacked guys like Corey Maggette have long careers in the NBA. Today's game is more about finesse, endurance, and skill than it is about being ridiculously strong. That's why I think the NBA has the least to worry about PEDs out of all of the major sports.

Karl Malone played for 19 seasons at an extremely high level. Is he just an outlier?

[Joseph17]

Basketball is mainly an endurance sport and if you look at endurance athletes most of them are rail thin (Gebremariam). That's why you never find jacked guys like Corey Maggette have long careers in the NBA. Today's game is more about finesse, endurance, and skill than it is about being ridiculously strong. That's why I think the NBA has the least to worry about PEDs out of all of the major sports.

Karl Malone played for 19 seasons at an extremely high level. Is he just an outlier?

Yeah and it's also because he evolved his game later in his career. Lebron is probably going to do the same thing and start living in the post as he gets older.

[BarneyGumble]

[Luigi]

Basketball is definitely not an endurance sport.

It's about lighting fast first steps, cuts, and explosive moves in the paint. It's about 20 yard sprints on the fast break. These activities are on the other end of endurance running.

Weight training is exactly what you want to improve these kinds of quick, explosive movements. You want to improve your strength to weight ratio. You don't want to lift for maximum size. You want to lift for maximum explosion (strength exerted in a short time interval) and speed. Pro ballers have a strength coaches helping then get a quicker first step, a more explosive vert and second jump, and a faster 40 time. They do this by lifting, plyos, and a host of other activities (probably some juice too).

[Joseph17]

Basketball is definitely not an endurance sport.

It's about lighting fast first steps, cuts, and explosive moves in the paint. It's about 20 yard sprints on the fast break. These activities are on the other end of endurance running.

Weight training is exactly what you want to improve these kinds of quick, explosive movements. You want to improve your strength to weight ratio. You don't want to lift for maximum size. You want to lift for maximum explosion (strength exerted in a short time interval) and speed. Pro ballers have a strength coaches helping then get a quicker first step, a more explosive vert and second jump, and a faster 40 time. They do this by lifting, plyos, and a host of other activities (probably some juice too).

Maybe not on the Spurs where every player plays significant minutes and has an impact on the game, but endurance definitely comes into it when players are playing heavy minutes. I've seen players getting winded plenty of times. I'm not saying endurance is the key factor in basketball, but I'm saying that it's a very important aspect. Endurance training can also help a player's speed as well. I guarantee you that Kenenisa Bekele (the best distance runner ever and the guy with the most endurance) is faster and quicker than 99% of the NBA. He obviously can't jump as high as a guy like Westbrook, but if I had to bet between Westbrook and Bekele in a 200m dash I'm taking Bekele.

[HeartSouloma]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOC7O9JOY3Y[/youtube]

Usain Bolt is stronger than Kevin Durant...

[Johnny Firpo]

Yeah that's just a myth, anybody can put on muscle. Also not being able to put on weight is scientifically impossible, eat more food.

Exactly, if you don't gain weight, you are below or around your maintenance. Some of those players who "can't" put up mass simply can't eat enough, and frankly, i don't blame them. Some young players are around 6'10, probably with a crazy metabolism, and they play basketball to top it off. Some of those guys have to eat around 6000 calories to gain any mass. That's not an easy thing to do for some.

[vahncase]

Some of these guys need to get put on Starting Strength and GOMAD, they look like string beans.

[LLJ]

Some guys don't have the body type to put on a lot of muscle (ectomorph). I remember Bosh saying that he tried to gain weight but he just couldn't

BS...everybody can gain weight/muscle mass, you just got to put in the work. Bosh doesn't seem like a guy who wants to be pushing weight in the gym though, sounds like an excuse.

Bosh did in his contract year. And he really didn't look that much bigger. He doesn't have a wide frame, so he will never be big enough to be a, say, centre. That said, Bosh could easily have at least gained a KG body which is lean but strong, but yes, with the exception of contract year Bosh, he doesn't work on his body as much as he should.

[RandomRaptorfan]

Basketball is mainly an endurance sport and if you look at endurance athletes most of them are rail thin (Gebremariam). That's why you never find jacked guys like Corey Maggette have long careers in the NBA. Today's game is more about finesse, endurance, and skill than it is about being ridiculously strong. That's why I think the NBA has the least to worry about PEDs out of all of the major sports.

Karl Malone played for 19 seasons at an extremely high level. Is he just an outlier?

Yeah and it's also because he evolved his game later in his career. Lebron is probably going to do the same thing and start living in the post as he gets older.

To live in the post, strength training is all the more important. How can you back anyone down or hold your ground defensively without it?

In fact, I'd also argue that slashers who lived at the free throw line like maggette, wade, young VC, etc were all extremely strong which helped them immensely at finishing through the contact or being able to draw fouls without being treated like a rag doll. Sure, if all you want to do is be a catch and shoot player, strength and size probably isn't too important. But anyone who wants to make a living putting their head down and barreling to the rim will need to get in the weight room a bit.

As a previous poster mentioned though, training for power is the most important thing in basketball, which is a game of quick, explosive bursts. Not easy on the joints though, hence the injuries

[Shot Clock]

Basketball is mainly an endurance sport and if you look at endurance athletes most of them are rail thin (Gebremariam). That's why you never find jacked guys like Corey Maggette have long careers in the NBA. Today's game is more about finesse, endurance, and skill than it is about being ridiculously strong. That's why I think the NBA has the least to worry about PEDs out of all of the major sports.

You realize PED's aren't just for strength right?

Or maybe you haven't heard of Lance Armstrong

[12footrim]

like others have said, being all bulked up isn't gonna be all that beneficial to a basketball player. many players do lift weights and work out, but they don't build the show muscles most people associate with being strong. functional strength is much more important to these guys than having big biceps and triceps.

and this is coming from a guy who likes to lift, so it's not like i'm dissing working out for health/image.

For perimeter players I don't think they need much bulk or really even a ton of strength to be successful. Look at Durant he couldn't bench 185 when he first came in the league at the combine. He's already a lot thicker and eventually as he ages more on into his 30's and loses his foot speed he probably will need to have more stenght and size to move primarly to PF and take advantage of size and strength.

Post players however do need good bulk. They are constantly pushing and shoving to get position. I'm sure it's a balance but weight in the post isn't necessarily a bad thing.

One thing I will say is looking at guys like Ray Allen, or Ginobli and how they are still throwing down dunks they stay at a low weight to maintain the best athletic ability they have. I think a peer guy like Vince Carter would benefit from dropping significant weight. Wizzard's Jordan could have too. he was never throwing down even like I saw Ray Allen and Giniobi do this finals at about the same age.