To Gain or to Lose
August 18th 2008 02:48
In recent times it seems as if the top players are always changing their bodies. Take three of the best nba players to grace the hardwood, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Wade and James have both added significant muscle since they entered the league but a look at Wade in olympic action in Beijing suggests he is planning on making the transition from player who cops bruises as he drives through traffic to player who gives out bruises as he ploughs through.
LeBron has never been afraid of gaining weight.
But then on the other side of the coin, you have players of the ilk of Kobe Bryant and Al Jefferson who have lost considerable weight yet have never played better.
In the offseason before Kobe's MVP year which culminated in him leading the Lakers to the NBA finals, Bryant lost 19 pounds. He ended up entering the season at 93 kg, almost 7 lighter than before the offseason.
In simple athletic terms, there are pros and cons to both scenarios.
Gaining muscle mass can make players stronger and thus more explosive sprinters and jumpers. Losing weight can favourably effect quickness in terms of footspeed and reaction time along with increasing endurance as your body is carrying less of a load.
The thing with Wade and LeBron though, is that the weight they have gained isn't making them faster or able to jump much higher, they are already superb athletes. The weight they have gained is grunt muscle. Strength that makes other players wince as they carve a path through the lane. A look at Wade's Olympic campaign in Beijing reveals the grunt he has been gaining over the last year or so has made him even more of a threat when he drives.
While Kobe Bryant's 7kg loss surely contributed to his MVP year in that it spiked his quickness and endurance, it also may have had an ulterior motive. While Wade and Kobe have both been victims of injury in the last couple of seasons, Bryant had knee surgery at the end of 06-07 season while Wade has had Shoulder and knee surgery over the past two seasons respectively, Kobe looks in better shape for the future.
Both of these players play around 40 minutes a night, pressure on their knees has shown through their past knee surgeries, while injuries from collisions with other players have been less of a factor on the health of their bodies.
I mention this as Wade is building his body more like an armoured tank to absorb the impact he deals with night in, night out playing the slashing game that he does. Kobe, alternatively appears to have built a body that in the long run is going to have to deal with less force than Wade's each time it hits the ground, which in effect may be an effort to preserve his knees.
In Wade's online blog, he speaks about how he has been attempting to strengthen his left knee before the Olympics after undergoing surgery on it late in the season. Wade writes, "My head looks good, but my body feels even better. I've pushed my body past its limits to get ready. Since I had the problems with my knee, I've had to get my quads, my hamstring and everything around my knee stronger to take the pressure off the tendon. Since we left Vegas last month, I've been back in the gym five days a week from 9-2."
After any knee scare, a player knows the vulnerability of this particular joint and Wade is not keen on falling victim to it again. However, Kobe Bryant's approach of losing weight appears the less riskier option as long as he is able to keep his body strong. Coming off his first MVP at the age of 29, Bryant does indeed look as strong as ever.
LeBron has never been afraid of gaining weight.
But then on the other side of the coin, you have players of the ilk of Kobe Bryant and Al Jefferson who have lost considerable weight yet have never played better.
In simple athletic terms, there are pros and cons to both scenarios.
Gaining muscle mass can make players stronger and thus more explosive sprinters and jumpers. Losing weight can favourably effect quickness in terms of footspeed and reaction time along with increasing endurance as your body is carrying less of a load.
The thing with Wade and LeBron though, is that the weight they have gained isn't making them faster or able to jump much higher, they are already superb athletes. The weight they have gained is grunt muscle. Strength that makes other players wince as they carve a path through the lane. A look at Wade's Olympic campaign in Beijing reveals the grunt he has been gaining over the last year or so has made him even more of a threat when he drives.
While Kobe Bryant's 7kg loss surely contributed to his MVP year in that it spiked his quickness and endurance, it also may have had an ulterior motive. While Wade and Kobe have both been victims of injury in the last couple of seasons, Bryant had knee surgery at the end of 06-07 season while Wade has had Shoulder and knee surgery over the past two seasons respectively, Kobe looks in better shape for the future.
I mention this as Wade is building his body more like an armoured tank to absorb the impact he deals with night in, night out playing the slashing game that he does. Kobe, alternatively appears to have built a body that in the long run is going to have to deal with less force than Wade's each time it hits the ground, which in effect may be an effort to preserve his knees.
In Wade's online blog, he speaks about how he has been attempting to strengthen his left knee before the Olympics after undergoing surgery on it late in the season. Wade writes, "My head looks good, but my body feels even better. I've pushed my body past its limits to get ready. Since I had the problems with my knee, I've had to get my quads, my hamstring and everything around my knee stronger to take the pressure off the tendon. Since we left Vegas last month, I've been back in the gym five days a week from 9-2."
After any knee scare, a player knows the vulnerability of this particular joint and Wade is not keen on falling victim to it again. However, Kobe Bryant's approach of losing weight appears the less riskier option as long as he is able to keep his body strong. Coming off his first MVP at the age of 29, Bryant does indeed look as strong as ever.
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