I think Yao's rookie wall may be largely due to weight lifting. He didn't force shots during that period, but the ball would not go home. Now he is used to new body and getting better than ever.
I wonder what is their target of Yao's weight. 330 lbs? How Yao's gain in muscle (not fat, I suppose) would affect his vertical jumping ability? Increase or Decrease? I feel sad for Yao as I think those "high protein" meals are actually tasteless food e.g. fatless and skinless chicken meat. KH
Here is a photo from Yao's gatorade commercial. If he puts on 20-30 lbs more by next season, he will be devastating. Shaq will have greater difficulty budging him from position. I read somewhere that he gained between 30-40 lbs within a single year. The article claimed he went from like 250 or 260 to 296. The Shanghai Shark club hired a nutritionist, trainer, physiotherapist, etc to better prepare him for the NBA.
Everytime I read about Yao, he's always eating pizza and three plates of wings. It must be nice to eat whatever you want. Remember Hakeem's early years when he was just a head and a skinny body. Although he never got really big, he definitely got toned later. I think if Yao becomes like Shaq, he may lose his touch, just like golfers not wanting to lift weights because it will mess up their swing.
Actually, most professional golfers lift weights these days. It's beneficial when done right. However, starting a new program or making big changes can affect your touch, be it basketball or golf. You get used to it - I think we've all seen Yao's touch start to come back lately.
So that's how they make those guys look so sweaty in Gatorade commercials! One guy spraying water from a ladder, one guy flopping a wet mop head, and a third guy getting another mop head ready in a bucket of water! Ah, the magic of Hollywood.
ha, ha. I agree. With that said, Yao probably could use a bit more upper body strength, but I also worry that his vertical leap will go down. Yeah, he doesn't exactly sky but I don't want him to not jump lower than he does. also, i think7'5" with a 12" vertical is higher than 6'5" with a 36" vertical because 7'5" longer arms. <<6'5" with a 36" vertical is a lot higher than 7'5" with a 12" vertical>>
thanks yaozhuxi!!! Yao did seem to get bigger. Cant wait to see his development over the next few years.
yaozhuxi, thanks for the pictures link. If the pictures look too small and you are using Internet Explorer, you need to disable automatic image resizing. Just click on the "Tools" menu, select "Internet Options", and click on the "Advanced" tap, search down the list you should find it. Man, you can tell clearly that Yao's upper body has got much bigger. Only 4 months man, 4 month. Yes I agree in two years he will be "illegal"
