Tim Grover thinks traditional weight training needs to come back.

[Kblaze8855]

Kobe (https://www.basketballnetwork.net/tag/kobe-bryant/) was in trouble. He was 30 years old, and his knees were done (https://www.basketballnetwork.net/how-tim-grover-saved-kobes-knees-this-guys-pain-tolerance-was-off-the-charts/). Bryant called Michael Jordan (https://www.basketballnetwork.net/tag/michael-jordan/) and asked for help. MJ’s answer was simple. “Use my guy.” His guy was Tim Grover (https://www.basketballnetwork.net/tag/tim-grover/), and his diagnosis was simple – Kobe’s foundation was broken


“You build a foundation by lifting weights. The fastest, quickest way to get an athlete stronger is through moving metal.”
Tim Grover, GQ Sports (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG6ZU-Azttc)Every organization in the NBA is constantly trying to get an edge. Like in everyday life, there are trends and fashionable innovations that spread like wildfire. In the race to be first, teams incorporate all sorts of workout principles that aren’t 100% proven. We got to a place where players are doing yoga in rooms full of bees. All that resulted in forgetting fundamentals.



“How can you have a sport now where you have so much more technology, you have so much more resources, less contact – more injuries. It’s mind-boggling to me. It’s because everything is rubber band, everything is resistance, everything is cable. There are teams now in the NBA that don’t even have a weight room!”
Tim Grover, GQ Sports (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG6ZU-Azttc)Grover’s argument is simple. Moving iron is the single best injury prevention technique. You do a compound movement that can’t be duplicated by any other form of exercise. Sometimes things that have been around since ancient Greece stuck for a reason – and there are studies to prove Grover’s point.

“When you get hit, when you jump, when you land – there’s no pulleys, there’s no cables. Your bodyweight is the metal. You have to learn how to explode with it, and how to land with it, how to stop it.”
Tim Grover, GQ ⚾️ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG6ZU-Azttc)

[Kblaze8855]

It does have me thinking....

Who are the really injury prone muscle bound guys?

They exist....but relatively speaking....are there fewer?

[Shogon]

Dwight Howard
Blake Griffin
Shaquille O'Neal
Dwyane Wade

Off the top of my head...

Honestly I think players are just far heavier today which results in more injuries. There are, of course, exceptions...

I don't know. There seem to be far too many variable factors to be able to definitively narrow it down to 1 thing, I suppose.

[Kblaze8855]

I’m trying to remember Shaqs major injuries. I remember the ab issue and the deep bone bruise when Jermaine O’Neal kneed him in the thigh. What was the rehab on the clock issue?

[rawimpact]

I’m trying to remember Shaqs major injuries. I remember the ab issue and the deep bone bruise when Jermaine O’Neal kneed him in the thigh. What was the rehab on the clock issue?

It was his toe i believe... i remember his feet bothering him all the time.

[Shogon]

Toe

[tpols]

blake griffin is probably one of the most jacked guys in the league and he's always hurt. dwight's another good one. then you have lightweights like curry and kyrie always hurt. it's just luck of the draw with regards to body structure and motion mechanics.

[Kblaze8855]

I was thinking toe. I don’t remember if he broke it or just had lingering issues. Some people just have accidents.

Shaq at one point played 79 games, 40 minutes a night, at 330 pounds playing more physical than anyone.

Coaches and trainers now would be appalled. Other than Thibs of course.

[ArbitraryWater]

It‘s an interesting point but I‘m not sure its true

[rawimpact]

I was thinking toe. I don’t remember if he broke it or just had lingering issues. Some people just have accidents.

Shaq at one point played 79 games, 40 minutes a night, at 330 pounds playing more physical than anyone.

Coaches and trainers now would be appalled. Other than Thibs of course.


I don't recall if he ever broke it or not but I know it was lingering. Watching him in the early 2000s and late 90s I can say he didn't miss many games. But that was of course the era of sitting out = shameful/soft.

Shaq got abused with fouls because of the hack a shaq. We're talking players jumping on him to get him to the freethrow line instead of the and 1.

[Whoah10115]

Some guys over jack. It's just fundamentals, whatever you do.

[Kblaze8855]

For anyone curious about what exactly he did with Kobe:


It was 2008. Kobe was 30 years old, and still had a lot to achieve in the NBA. If you asked Kobe when he would retire, his answer was “after no.7.” He didn’t contemplate his career in terms of years, Bryant was counting rings and wanted to get one more than Mike. For someone as athletic who never had a serious knee injury, so much knee pain was very problematic.
Grover and Kobe decided to work together, and the first step was to have everyone on the same page. The team trainer, massage therapist, doctor – every person had their point of view and goals (with the ultimate to get most of the credit). That approach had to stop, and there could be only one captain.

“When I came in, I told Kobe. If I’m gonna do this, I have to be the person in charge.”
Tim Grover, GQ Sports (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG6ZU-Azttc)Kobe agreed. That didn’t mean Grover wanted anyone to get fired, Bryant could continue working with everybody but had to follow his plan and philosophy. With those terms agreed, it was time to diagnose the problem. That’s the least surprising part of this story. Kobe was doing too much. At 30 years old, Bryant already had 13 years of NBA under his belt. Grover’s main goal was to make Kobe understand that he is in a different stage of his career.

“It’s hard to understand that sometimes you have to do less to get more.”
Tim Grover, GQ Sports (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG6ZU-Azttc)Athleticism implies two things – acceleration and deceleration. Kobe was overworking his acceleration ability (concentric contractions), which shortens the muscles and neglecting his deceleration ability (eccentric contractions), which lengthen the muscles. Because of that, every time he would land, change direction, etc. the muscles couldn’t take the load, so the cartilage and bones did. Thirteen years of that left its toll.

[Kblaze8855]

We totally took the concentric phase out of his training.”
Tim Grover, GQ Sports (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG6ZU-Azttc)Such a training regiment required a lot of creativity. To boil it down, Grover (and a few others when needed) would lift the weight, and Kobe would only do the negative part of the motion. With time, that would elongate the muscles and relieve the pressure on Kobe’s knees. The process of lengthening your muscles is a lot more painful, and that’s where Mamba came in.


“One thing you know about Kobe; this guy’s pain tolerance was off the charts.”
Tim Grover, GQ Sports (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG6ZU-Azttc)

In the next two years, Kobe led the Lakers all the way and won two NBA Finals MVP awards. Grover always points out that someone’s physical training and recovery, the same as the game of basketball, is a team sport. Still, it can’t be denied Kobe played some of his best basketball after he started to work with “MJ’s guy.”

[oldtimer28]

It does have me thinking....

Who are the really injury prone muscle bound guys?

They exist....but relatively speaking....are there fewer?



Muscle bound like Ben Wallace. Mourning. Malone. David and Nate Robinson. Giannis. Andre igoudala. Lebron. All seem ok good injury wise.

Steve Nash was a surprise for me at the Lakers. He looked in great shape but always seemed injured.

Ac the ironman Green didn't seem a 'workout' junkie?

[ArbitraryWater]

And there is no way some teams don't have weight rooms..

Everyone looks buff to me. Starting with the PG.

[Horatio33]

Karl Malone was a workout nut, jacked as anyone, his only major injury was in his last season, at forty years old.

[Kblaze8855]

I was thinking that but I’m sure he’d know better than I do. But if they don’t where did they go? Maybe he means they got rid of all true weights and just have general fitness with the rubber bands and yoga and all.

[tpols]

Karl Malone was a workout nut, jacked as anyone, his only major injury was in his last season, at forty years old.

by contrast stockton was 170 lbs soaking wet at 6 feet tall and lasted forever too.

[HBK_Kliq_2]

Kawhi definitely has traditional weight lifting in check, reportedly leg-pressing more than 600 pounds and squatting more than 400 pounds. That's NFL level weight, i guess that's how he mans up when guarding LeBron/Giannis. It also works for Kawhi's offense as guys guarding him just bounce off him. James Harden is another super strong guy, I imagine he lifts traditional weights but never heard about his routine.

On the other hand, a short point guard I think is usually better off staying lean and not too built. Mike Bibby was a lot better player before he put on muscle.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Compared to the beefy forwards in the 90s? Griffin and Giannis body types are rare now.

A lot of dudes who visibly focus on cardio.

After all that running in-game, someone jacked like Griffin probably has to down a shit ton of calories to maintain mass.

[Kblaze8855]

NFL weight? Plenty of kids leg press near 1000. I won’t vouch for their form or say they did reps but 900 wasn’t unusual for weight training class when I was in high school. That said very few were nba player lanky.

[Whoah10115]

Karl Malone was a workout nut, jacked as anyone, his only major injury was in his last season, at forty years old.

But he wasn't over jacked. He was a proper beast.

[warriorfan]

Of course you don’t want to overdo it like you are competing in a body building competition but for the most part weight training helps tremendously. Deadlifts and squats and exercises for core strength is important. Players that are already naturally pretty big, they have to watch out to not put on too much weight to avoid knee and foot problems though.

[Overdrive]

by contrast stockton was 170 lbs soaking wet at 6 feet tall and lasted forever too.

Lean, but muscular is the best way to last, build like a cyclist or marathon runner. No excessive muscle weight, but the ability to carry and lift your own weight. The problem is if you're lean and tall you get bullied in the NBA.

[oldtimer28]

I forgot Kevin Willis. His upper body looked like a bodybuilder

[tpols]

Lean, but muscular is the best way to last, build like a cyclist or marathon runner. No excessive muscle weight, but the ability to carry and lift your own weight. The problem is if you're lean and tall you get bullied in the NBA.

I remember reading they didn't even lift weights in the 80's because they felt it was bad for you to be too heavy or bulky. Would take away from endurance and skill mechanics. The 90's usher'ed in a new era of goon ball though where you needed the muscle to survive. And then past that the game became a showcase for athleticism over skill, with most athletic being promoted and catered to.

Kareem, McHale, Magic, Thomas, 80's MJ, and Larry weren't jacked. They won with their heads... and general skill. In today's league it's all about who can run the hardest and jump the highest with role players spacing for them. So it's a more athleticism dependant league, and less skill based.

[Overdrive]

I remember reading they didn't even lift weights in the 80's because they felt it was bad for you to be too heavy or bulky. Would take away from endurance and skill mechanics. The 90's usher'ed in a new era of goon ball though where you needed the muscle to survive. And then past that the game became a showcase for athleticism over skill, with most athletic being promoted and catered to.

Kareem, McHale, Magic, Thomas, 80's MJ, and Larry weren't jacked. They won with their heads... and general skill. In today's league it's all about who can run the hardest and jump the highest with role players spacing for them. So it's a more athleticism dependant league, and less skill based.

Guys like Wilt, Willis, Daryl Dawkins and Thurmond would disagree. Kareem was pretty lean even for that time, but you're right the pro body building looking guys came later.

[tpols]

Guys like Wilt, Willis, Daryl Dawkins and Thurmond would disagree. Kareem was pretty lean even for that time, but you're right the pro body building looking guys came later.

True... wilt's the only one of that group that was a true superstar. And, ironically to the topic, he got hurt big time. His knees gave out on him probably because he was too top heavy. And he died at 63. The leaner Russell won way more and is still alive 25 years later. There's always been goons. Kareem was stick thin in the 80s... Anthony Mason died at 48. If you look at the history of pro body builders, wrestlers, and football players you'll see they actually dont last long at all. That extreme bulk stresses and kills their organs.

[Aural]

I admire Tim Grover. He was motivated to start working on myself, on my development, and on my personal growth. I do relate to his thinking and highly agree with what he mentioned. So, this new gear equipment overwhelms us. When I entered for the first time the gym, I get lost. I needed a coach and a trainer to guide me on the right path. But after one month, I was already on my own. I just bought some adjustable dumbbells and continue to grow my muscles at home, which I would recommend to anyone. You can visit this page (https://www.fitnessbaddies.com/cheap-adjustable-dumbbells/) to find out the benefits of having just some dumbbells, more motivation, and start working on your discipline.

[Im Still Ballin]

blake griffin is probably one of the most jacked guys in the league and he's always hurt. dwight's another good one. then you have lightweights like curry and kyrie always hurt. it's just luck of the draw with regards to body structure and motion mechanics.

Motion mechanics?

:roll:

It's called biomechanics, you fool!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxnJZGHI5t0

[Im Still Ballin]

Dwight Howard
Blake Griffin
Shaquille O'Neal
Dwyane Wade

Off the top of my head...

Honestly I think players are just far heavier today which results in more injuries. There are, of course, exceptions...

I don't know. There seem to be far too many variable factors to be able to definitively narrow it down to 1 thing, I suppose.

Wrong.

NBA players are, statistically speaking, the shortest they've been since the 70's; and the lightest since the 2000-2001 season.

[Im Still Ballin]

NBA players peaked in weight 10 to 6 years ago -- 223 pounds on average.

[iamgine]

I remember Gary Payton or somebody talking about why there's so much injuries nowadays. He said players today fall down a lot and only go to the gym for a couple of hours while back then players would hit the gym for 5-6 hours.

[Jasper]

Kobe (https://www.basketballnetwork.net/tag/kobe-bryant/) was in trouble. He was 30 years old, and his knees were done (https://www.basketballnetwork.net/how-tim-grover-saved-kobes-knees-this-guys-pain-tolerance-was-off-the-charts/). Bryant called Michael Jordan (https://www.basketballnetwork.net/tag/michael-jordan/) and asked for help. MJ’s answer was simple. “Use my guy.” His guy was Tim Grover (https://www.basketballnetwork.net/tag/tim-grover/), and his diagnosis was simple – Kobe’s foundation was broken


“You build a foundation by lifting weights. The fastest, quickest way to get an athlete stronger is through moving metal.”
Tim Grover, GQ Sports (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG6ZU-Azttc)Every organization in the NBA is constantly trying to get an edge. Like in everyday life, there are trends and fashionable innovations that spread like wildfire. In the race to be first, teams incorporate all sorts of workout principles that aren’t 100% proven. We got to a place where players are doing yoga in rooms full of bees. All that resulted in forgetting fundamentals.



“How can you have a sport now where you have so much more technology, you have so much more resources, less contact – more injuries. It’s mind-boggling to me. It’s because everything is rubber band, everything is resistance, everything is cable. There are teams now in the NBA that don’t even have a weight room!”
Tim Grover, GQ Sports (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG6ZU-Azttc)Grover’s argument is simple. Moving iron is the single best injury prevention technique. You do a compound movement that can’t be duplicated by any other form of exercise. Sometimes things that have been around since ancient Greece stuck for a reason – and there are studies to prove Grover’s point.

“When you get hit, when you jump, when you land – there’s no pulleys, there’s no cables. Your bodyweight is the metal. You have to learn how to explode with it, and how to land with it, how to stop it.”
Tim Grover, GQ ⚾️ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG6ZU-Azttc)

remember that skinny greek kid , that is now a NBA champ ??
It's called work inside and outside the court.

[ScottieQuitting]

I remember reading they didn't even lift weights in the 80's because they felt it was bad for you to be too heavy or bulky. Would take away from endurance and skill mechanics. The 90's usher'ed in a new era of goon ball though where you needed the muscle to survive. And then past that the game became a showcase for athleticism over skill, with most athletic being promoted and catered to.

Kareem, McHale, Magic, Thomas, 80's MJ, and Larry weren't jacked. They won with their heads... and general skill. In today's league it's all about who can run the hardest and jump the highest with role players spacing for them. So it's a more athleticism dependant league, and less skill based.

Explains why generation Z might see a white guy playing and they think milkmen. The brain and skillful type who can play intelligent team basketball (like the foreign teams) has been diluted from the game in favor exclusively for dumb athletes.

[bladefd]

AD needs to hire Tim Grover to help him change his training and work on his muscles. I wish he would drop 15 pounds of weight so he doesn't have to lug around so much weight.

[hiphopanonymous]

Bob Pettit and Wilt Chamberlain were the original weight trainers in the league and they were not injury prone. Bob Pettit explained that it helped him stay stronger throughout the duration of a game instead of fatiguing so quickly. I personally notice I'm less injury prone with some minor strength and conditioning implemented into my weekly routines i actually feel first hand that when you don't strength train and condition routinely your stabilizer muscles fatigue quicker and that is absolutely huge for both sport performance and injury prevention. If I don't do my routines the chance of an ankle roll and whatever goes up exponentially because my footwork will get sloppier jumping / running / landing / cutting etc. With proper strength and conditioning you can keep yourself composed better.

[90sgoat]

My guess is that steroid use combined with all the running is causing the spike in injuries.

90s ballers were roided out of their mind, but they didn't run around as much.

Roids put extra stress on ligaments.

[DoctorP]

Tim Grover singlehandedly turned Wade into a tank and killed his knees.

[FKAri]

Seems logical but even today there's a lot of guess work when it comes to how to prepare the body for peak performance.

[Artillery]

Tim Grover singlehandedly turned Wade into a tank and killed his knees.

Kawhi was also relatively healthy in SA until he hooked up with Tim Grover. Constant injuries needing load management ever since.

[DoctorP]

Kawhi was also relatively healthy in SA until he hooked up with Tim Grover. Constant injuries needing load management ever since.


hmm.....

[3ba11]

Maybe the injuries are due to the finesse game that the NBA has become - players aren't used to super-stressful motions and physical contact anymore - so the few times they experience it in today's game, they get hurt...

no one has a good theory as to why the injuries happen, so this theory is as good as any... :applause:.

Or it could be the spacing causing players to cover more ground defensively, while hands-off defense requires more legs..

[plowking]

Weight training is fantastic for bone density and health, etc.

In terms of injury prevention for muscles? Possibly.

Doing an exercise under load, for example 135lbs, then performing without load in a match is beneficial. Your body is accustomed to doing that motion with load, now when you perform, there is not that additional resistance. Likely to reduce injury.

Ask any physio, and they will tell you that injuries occur most frequently when introducing new exercises in a load bearing capacity to your schedule.

A mixture of weights and bands are fantastic.

The best area to focus on, and one of the main reasons I think Bron has been so bullet proof over his career, is that they focused on his core and hips early on in his career. Even in his hs days, he was doing core and hip mobility and strength.

[paksat]

I once trained with a trainer that had the 76'ers workouts word for word

i legit lol'd at that thing, dude had me jumping off a 3 foot high block to the ground and having me SLAM my feet into the ground. I asked him what the actual fck this was supposed to do and he compared it to karate and stated something about how it strengthens your legs like how karate people strengthen their fists etc. by punching boards etc.

I told him straight up, "i'm not doing this shit, what's next?"

dumbest shit ever, no wonder nba players joints are made of plastic.

[eliteballer]

Kobe wasn’t even 30, he was 28 in the summer of 2008

[eliteballer]

Dwight Howard
Blake Griffin
Shaquille O'Neal
Dwyane Wade

Off the top of my head...

Honestly I think players are just far heavier today which results in more injuries. There are, of course, exceptions...

I don't know. There seem to be far too many variable factors to be able to definitively narrow it down to 1 thing, I suppose.

Dwight Wade and possibly Blake were on massive amounts of HGH

[ImKobe]

Kobe wasn’t even 30, he was 28 in the summer of 2008

And he had already gone through two knee surgeries by then IIRC. One after 2003 and another prior to his '06 season I believe. Even with Tim as his trainer, his knees were bad and he needed to have one drained mid-Playoffs and then had to lose 20 pounds & go to Germany years later to extend his career.

[eliteballer]

He could barely jump during parts of the 06 season.

[Im Still Ballin]

More weights were lifted in the '90s and '00s. I think players today are too slim jim.

[nayte]

More weights were lifted in the '90s and '00s. I think players today are too slim jim.

It's a iffy one.a more players hurt more then back then. Is it the lack of weight training or more the free movement so more tear on the body. Only isb will know

[Full Court]

I thought it was pretty much universal knowledge that free weights are superior for strength training. I'm shocked that some NBA teams don't have weights availble to the players.

[Lebron23]

Kobe wasn’t even 30, he was 28 in the summer of 2008

For an Asian you are really bad at Math. Kobe was born in 1978. He just turned 30 during the 2008 off season.

[90sgoat]

You can say all you want about "functional training", but it's a fact that Crossfit, not weight training is where the injuries happen.

Soccer, not rugby, has the many, many knee and ankle injuries.

More muscle protects the ligaments and joints.

I will say one thing, I could imagine that steroid use without proper weight training could contribute to all these injuries. Steroids grow your muscles, but your ligaments, bones and joints don't grow with them.

When you weight train, you build a lot of supporting muscle, bone density and ligament tissue.

https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/no-matter-your-age-or-skill-level-its-never-too-late-to-start-weight-training


If done correctly, it also should help your bones, tendons, ligaments and muscles become stronger.


If you're suddenly growing your hams and calfs to sprint and jump, but haven't built enough supporting tissue, bone density and so on, then it seems obvious you risk injury.

I can't help but think that this could be the case with some of the gnarlier injuries we've seen. These skinny guys like Paul George playing very athletically because of PEDs and their bones not being ready for the impact.

[Kblaze8855]

I was gonna make a new topic for this but remember this one….

This is what we’re doing now apparently


https://i.ibb.co/PFfNZM5/IMG-8314.gif

[Kblaze8855]

I’m sure players today have the greatest core strength of all time but watching all these terrible games with stars sitting out I’m not sure how much practical good it does them. If you’re gonna do some unorthodox shit I think I prefer the Rocky montage old days shit

https://i.ibb.co/syhm3pw/IMG-7591.gif

[eliteballer]

Notice how college players don’t look anymore athletic than they were 30 years ago but NBA players do…

[GimmeThat]

traditional weight training provides more pressure to the body, but still the risk factor haven't been answered.

lets say I still ask you to do the current crossfit exercises, but you're only allowed to do it in a hot room, and every time you look for extended amount of rest you'll have to leave the hot room. imagine the amount of proper care athletes are required to do in order to fully recover and enter the next training class.

[warriorfan]

I was gonna make a new topic for this but remember this one….

This is what we’re doing now apparently


https://i.ibb.co/PFfNZM5/IMG-8314.gif

That actually looks like a good exercise


Well it doesn’t look good but….you know what I mean

[Kblaze8855]

Oh im sure it’s grueling when you do it for a while. Looks like some of the weird shit my girlfriend’s trainer has her doing. Probably activates some of the same things as the old farm strength guys who didn’t lift weights but just lived a tough physical life.Im sure it serves a purpose.

[plowking]

The majority of injuries are overuse for these athletes.

By the way of poor movement habits built up like anyone. Do a squat - but you use more of a secondary support muscle than your glutes? Over time, it will impact you and give way, whether through a minor or major injury. Same goes for any other movement, load bearing or not.

Has nothing to do with bands or weights. Poor mechanics, or poor balance in muscles will always cause one muscle to pick up more slack where it shouldn't. Some guys are more prone to having certain muscles grow quicker than others which can accelerate this stuff. Have that done over 100s to 1000s of hours, and eventually something will happen by way of injury.

[Im Still Ballin]

The majority of injuries are overuse for these athletes.

By the way of poor movement habits built up like anyone. Do a squat - but you use more of a secondary support muscle than your glutes? Over time, it will impact you and give way, whether through a minor or major injury. Same goes for any other movement, load bearing or not.

Has nothing to do with bands or weights. Poor mechanics, or poor balance in muscles will always cause one muscle to pick up more slack where it shouldn't. Some guys are more prone to having certain muscles grow quicker than others which can accelerate this stuff. Have that done over 100s to 1000s of hours, and eventually something will happen by way of injury.

You're right but lifting weights - when done correctly - is the best way to create structural balance and develop ideal strength ratios. A personalized strength and conditioning program will screen for, identify, and address any imbalances that are negatively affecting movement.

And that's just one benefit. I know I don't need to tell you about the importance of strength and power development for athletes. If athletes truly are lifting weights less then that's definitely a problem, and I'm sure you'll agree.

Basketball is a sport filled with tall, long-limbed, skinny dudes who get by on their height, length, and skill developed from playing a lot. And most of those guys are agnostic to pumping iron; if they do try it they're usually not doing it correctly and get the wrong idea about it. That's how we end up with outdated ideas like lifting weights "stiffens you up" and "slows you down" and "hurts your shot."

But when it's implemented correctly? You get guys like Karl Malone, David Robinson, and Giannis Antetokoumpo. Supremely powerful athletes who can dribble the ball like guards and shoot well out to 20 feet - except for Giannis. But all the jacked-up players that can't shoot couldn't even before they put on mass.

[GimmeThat]

testing. I'm gonna add absolutely nothing to the conversation here. yet somehow this action alone is enough to validify my importance and existance.