The latest news I read was the CBA wanted Yao to guard premiter more and move faster. Go figure. Dont be surprised , if Yao bring back some bad habbits he just forgot in the past season.
Its takes doesn't take as long as some may think, but it takes alot of lifting. Did anyone see how Jared Jeffries looked after the ncaa tourney. He put on like 18lbs of mass real quick by lifting power and repetitions. If Ming did Curls and bench press 4 days a week 3 hrs a day, he would get big real quick. Most foreign players don't really take weight lifting real serious. Ming doesn't have to look like the hulk to be stronger. Look at Duncan and Barkley, yet both are strong.
Yao spending his summer overseas seems like a step in the wrong direction to me. If there is any glaring hole to the entire "Yao" story, it's this silly time sharing btw his NBA employer, the Rockets, and the Chinese gov't. How many years does he expect to be able to pull this off??? The off-season is called an off-season for a reason. As players get older, they have to be more attentive to the importance of rest. Moreover, what's to become of compensation to the Rox if, God forbid, something happens to Yao, in the way of injury this summer???? IMHO, as much as I like Yao, I think the Rox took/are taking enormous risks with this whole arrangement. Nothing to date tells me there is some fair compensation or insurance in the event something bad happens to Yao. Moreover, if Yao is SERIOUS about getting better, his time is better served HERE, in AMERICA where he can: 1. get into training camp with 'A' players 2. work with JVG EARLY 3. get the nutrition he needs w/ good ol' American food 4. have access to the facilities he needs for physical conditioning 5. take his time and REST when necessary Fact of the matter is that, as many of you correctly point out, Yao NEEDS TO GET STRONGER. Yao NEEDS TO WORK ON IMPROVING HIS STAMINA. And Yao NEEDS TO PLAY AGAINST NBA LEVEL COMPETITION MORE. China offers none of that. And inasmuch as Yao wants to be dutiful to both the Chinese gov't and the Rox organization, he is going to help NEITHER party by tiring himself out like he did last season AND/OR getting injured. It's TIME Yao, do the responsible thing and make a clean break from team China already!!!! theSAGE
How did you come up that brilliant point? I will assume it is STUPID until you provide us with a sufficient evidence. Jeff I agree that it takes time to bulk - which includes proper dieting and steady weight lifting. I was only being coy with my first take. But Yao most important need now is stamina and toughness (agreesiveness). Those are the areas where I want to see an upward spike next season. Concerning weight lifting, Nowitzki's trainer (a german) thinks American trainers have it all wrong. He being balance (proportionality) is hardly considered here which contributes to serious injuries. My point is that Yao should "build up" proportionally i.e. develop the right amount of lower body muscles and strength necessary/needed to support a thick upper body.
Here's another interesting tangent related to Yao but more on the Draft Check out the RENEWED interest on the part of MANY teams in acquiring legitimate big men/centers. Is it any coincidence that such a renewed interest comes a year AFTER scouts have seen the potential of Yao in the NBA???? Both the East and West see what's happenned to our Rox, folks. They see how the balance of power can so easily be tipped by acquiring that one good big man. They see how if they don't prepare for SOME form of anti-Yao, they will be relegated to 2nd place for a long time coming. The big men candidates are getting TALLER, BIGGER, and STRONGER. It didn't end with Yao. Rather, this trend toward "something BIG" has just BEGUN. If Yao doesn't take this window of opportunity to assert his competitive advantage now, sooner or later some team will grow a 7'6" or taller immigrant to over 350 lbs and render Yao obsolete. The time is NOW and Yao has no business going in the wrong direction by playing for sub-par teams. The big man focus is here to stay. It was the motto fo the 80s and early 90s, and now it's back b/c teams realize that to improve their odds of winning a championship, a big man is a necessary piece of the puzzle. theSAGE
IMHO, I think getting Yao over 320 lbs is a very realistic and achievable goal. Yet, shooting basketballs with Team China isn't going to get him there. I mean, c'mon, the guy is bottom heavy for a reason. Don't underestimate how lacking in facilities Team China has in comparison to America. Athletes are blessed here, and everywhere you look (e.g. gymnastics, tennis, football, etc.), there's a reason why international athletes train HERE to get stronger and faster. It comes down to simple resources - whether that be nutrition, machines, trainers, equipment, etc. - America is truly blessed. If I were Yao's trainer, I'll tell you exactly what I think he should be doing and that's SWIMMING. Sheer weight lifting isn't going to get him the poundage that sticks and the poundage that's good. Yao needs SERIOUS upper body strength and by upper body, i'm talking arms AND chest AND abdomen. Swimming will take care of the first two. Sit-ups, medicine balls, and crunchies will take care of the latter. We've got but 3 months till the start of the regular season. Anyone who's lifted weights KNOWs how tricky it is to get stronger w/o messing up one's shooting form/touch. All this takes time and quite frankly, I just don't see Yao that committed to whatever strenght program he was formerly on. theSAGE
Technically your opinion above is myopic at best. One or two nice points over shadowed by Turnel Vision Syndrome.
as much as i would like yao to come train in america and to bulk up here, i dont think alot of people understand his situation. in other countries(im from serbia, for example) playing for your national team is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. it is a matter of national pride to be chosen to represent your country. im willing to bet a large sum of money that yao would choose playing for his national team over playing for the rockets any day. im not saying i LIKE the fact that he's training with the NT in the summertime, i really wish he would bulk up in the states. im just saying i respect his decision and i know why he puts up with year round training.
Hey Sage, Your point is??? F**K the Chinese Governement, Damm the Chinese National Team, make Ming defect??? I see Ming as patriotic as any American is here. It's the National Team. Maybe Shaq or Kobe thinks it's "too much work" to carry the flag for Team USA, but I think Ming sees it as an honor to represent his country. Besides, if you didn't realize it by now it's that the #1 goal for Ming is to be good enough to help China win in the 2008 Olympics. If winning a NBA Championship happens along the way, even better. So all the ratting and raving isn't going to do any good. He's there to help his country, his National Team. He even said that it's good for the National Team to face superior competition (himself).
This asian game is qulifying game for next year Olympic game. It is about pride of his country. Just like Karl Malone ( how many times he is in NT) , he will attend every this kind of game if he can. By the way, the nation trainning center in Beijing is really good as Yao Ming said. But he said that missing part is good trainer. He only can train himself according the schedule. I always wonder Yao ming shouldn't too much weight on him. He should get muscle , which is strong enough to hold podition. But too much weight will slow him and also hurt his angle in later his carrer. just thought.
1) Yao has no choice in the matter. He has contractual agreement to train with his national team. 2) Representing one's country is a big thing with just every athlete in the World, including many in America. It was just not popular with American BB players because we felt we were superior to everyone else. That view has changed a bit the past few years and many NBA players are now vying for a spot on the roster. 3) If Yao plays ball, follows the training program the Rockets gave him, and takes his rest, he should be OK. It's better than many players who really take the summer off and show up in camp 30, 50 lbs overweight (in fat, not in muscle) 4) While the facility and the nutriton in the US are the best, I don't think training in China will do Yao harm. What does Yao need for his training? a weight room, a swimming pool? I think they have those in China. A steak or two could also be found occasionally. They just have a different philosophy in training. Before Yao came here, he thought BB was a finese game and skill was the most important thing. That view is still right with regard to international competition where skills dominate the game. Only the NBA allows that much physical contacts. We should not disregard the genetics issue either. While Yao or any Asian or White American, European player can become stronger, it has been proven that they can never become quite the physical specimen the black athletes are. Expect Yao to become stronger, but don't expect Yao to push Shaq, Wallace ... around, you will be disappointed. 5) While the competition in America is the best, you can look at it from a different point of view: BB competition in the States will help Yao to become more physical but will it improve his skills more than the training in China would? How many centers with skills has the US produced lately?
I'm 6' tall and used to weigh 127. I went on a weight gain diet and exercise program (no drugs or supplements) and put on 30 lbs of muscle in 3 months (that was 11 years ago, when I was younger, and didn't have a gut - now I'm 178), so I am familiar with what it takes to bulk up on a thin frame, and I'm not even a professional athlete. It just takes dedication. Pro boxers are able to bulk up and slim down in order to fit in or out of a specific weight class. If they can do it, anyone can. Anyone who says they can't gain or lose weight simply doesn't have the dedication or know-how to do so. BTW - if there are any skinny people out there who want to know how to bulk up, reply here and I'll build a thread on it in the BBS hangout -- droxford
Now that I've riled up this thread, I might as well create some more controversy However, excuse me for being overly passionate in my earlier posts. I just don't want to see our season open with a "whimper" b/c the importance of Yao on the Rox is as clear as day. Thus, I ask myself the following hypothetical questions. 1. If Yao were to get injured this summer, what would you say? 2. If Yao were to tire again, late into the regular season, what would you say? 3. If Yao were to get outmuscled this year with marginal improvement toward becoming a dominant post player, what would you say? These are the questions that stand out in my mind where, the "Yao has played all year" excuse won't hold water if the Rockets fail to make a strong push into the playoffs. Morever, let's face it, expectations for Yao WILL be higher for next season... perhaps disproportionately higher than any tangible improvement we will see. I'll be honest with you. As of the end of last season, assuming Yao will miss summer league and Rocket training camp (and I stand to be corrected if this assumption is wrong), I honestly don't know WHAT to expect as far as player improvement. If someone can answer the following questions, I'd be much more reassured... 1. Is Yao getting stronger in terms of muscle poundage? 2. Will Yao be participating in Rox training camp? 3. When will JVG get his first direct "look" of Yao? Same time last year, we rejoiced at the Rockets getting Yao at #1... yet we didn't really "receive" him until the end of summer... and by then, we all know how much time it took to integrate him into the offense. Fact is, it's not easy to make player progress over the course of the regular season. Is it doable? Sure. But I'd be a lot nicer to see our team together, come summer camp, to let the chemistry gel under JVG. theSAGE
Well, looking at the pictures below, I suppose Yao Ming will find tons of those in his hometown, plus more than a steak or two. ShangHai, Yao Ming's hometown: But, he might prefer to eat these instead...yummee...... In other words, Yao Ming can get whatever equipment he wants in China. But he needs to find a good trainer. I thought Rox sent one or two trainer to accompany Yao when he went back?
Look, Verbatim, before you blow a gasket, the point of my post was NOT about questioning Yao's patriotism or American pride or however you care to frame it. My problem is one of "time-sharing" the poor guy, to the point where it is a detriment to himself, his national team, AND to the Rox. I have no clue as Yao's contract with the Rox is structured. But if I were Les Alexander, I'd be extremely concerned over Yao's participation in these games. Fact it, for the better, Yao IS a competitor. He is not going to notch things down a gear, for the sake of preserving his body and avoiding injury, just b/c he is playing for Team China. He is going to play to win and anybody who's watched int'l ball, knows how hairy and how heated int'l ball can get. What if Yao gets injured? Remember the old expression how "the bigger they are the harder they fall???" I sure as hell don't want to see Yao get hurt on the account of this "time-share" program he has with Team China. Moreover, anyone who's seen Team China play in recent years (and I happen to be one of them), KNOWS that their guards STINK. Heck, the kinds of entry and post passes they throw to Yao is the kind of stuff that makes you cringe when Yao collides in the paint with bigger BODIES. I have NOTHiNG against playing for one's country. In fact, I think it's a great thing to have national pride independent of where you are from. But the issue at hand here is one of better business sense and what is in the better personal interest of Yao. Yao was CONSPICUOUSLY fatigued toward the trail end of last season. Fact is, he is human. And to acknowledge that requires that one acknowledges his limits... limits on his body, on his energy, on his time, on his sanity. If he fatigues during the NBA season... which itself is a precursor to injury (b/c we tend to play harder when we're tired, and increase our propensity to get injured), Yao will be doing NOBODY any favors... not the Rox, not Rox fans, not even Team China. It's something worth thinking about, IMO. theSAGE
It would be wrong for Yao Ming[an ectomorph ] to put on bulk for bulks sake. A little bulk from increased muscle size and increased strength will be OK. The way Yao Ming is built is the reverse of what we expect, most of his strength is in his legs and he is protected from leg injury because he isnt top heavy like most of the Centers with bulked up upper bodies. These Centers suffer from leg injuries during their career. Yao Ming has to protect his natural body shape while increasing his Strength and Stamina as a priority over increasing his mass (bulk). He is a finesse player, he will never be a banger type Center.
The biggest misconception is that a player can't get more explosive. This is so wrong especially if you ask any player who crosses sports. What made Karl Malone more explosive in his younger yrs? Track work with a track coach to build up legs strength which equals explosion. The yr before T-Mac left Toronto, he attended Chris Carters F.A.S.T. program which increases explosion,stamina, and quickness. I'm willing to bet if Wally,Dunleavy jr or some of these other less explosive players attended these camps, they would get by defenders, rise up and finish better. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Just like atheletes can learn how to become better shooters, slow,plodding players can become more explosive. Will Dunleavy Jr turn into Vince Carter? probably not, but he could get to a much better level than what he's at.
