This "Weight-lifting" fad and its effects(negative) on the modern league.

[Fowl]

And one of the most jacked dudes in the NBA (Top 5 most muscles) is also the most durable.

[TonyMontana]

Weightlifting has one of the lowest injury rates, if not the lowest out of all pro sports.

You only become better with weight training. They have the best strength coaches in the world. They aren't doing stupid, pointless exercises. They're having them do functional strength exercises, not bodybuilding shit.

These guys arn't getting injured during the weight lifting activity.

They are getting injured because weight lifting/mass building puts unnecessary mass on their frames which is a liability in basketball, particularly towards the risk of getting injured.

There is literally nothing the extra mass helps for except maybe your ego when fighting for post position for a few seconds.

And this guy...

To be fair David Robinson actually had a pretty slight frame. Yes he was ripped to shit, but thats mostly because of his mucle insertions and extremely low body fat. He was much lighter than a lot of other centers who had injury history.

as for Karl Malone you have me there. He basically counteracts everything I am saying. For now I put him as an outlier.

That was an early Sixers Wilt...

how about a 315 lb. Chamberlain in 1964...

http://www.si.com/vault/1964/03/02/6...lt-chamberlain

Are you implying Wilt wasn't at his best right at the beginning of his career? He pretty much was. His 50 PPG year was his third season. Wilts game wasn't about skill, so its not like he learned things later in his career(aside from the mental side of the game). He dominated because of his height,length and athletisicm.

Even if he benched 400 pounds at the time(I dont believe that he did) I highly doubt that he worked with weights on a consistent basis. He was just a genetic freak if anything.

[Spurs5Rings2014]

It's genetics. Weight lifting has nothing to do with it. Also, as already pointed out, not all weight lifting is purely to build mass.

[BlakFrankWhite]

Ummmm..... THis guy played in the 90s.

Malone was a freak of nature...damn

[plowking]

These guys arn't getting injured during the weight lifting activity.

They are getting injured because weight lifting/mass building puts unnecessary mass on their frames which is a liability in basketball, particularly towards the risk of getting injured.

There is literally nothing the extra mass helps for except maybe your ego when fighting for post position for a few seconds.

A lot of these guys aren't putting on a lot of size. It is simply repeated actions creating more efficient muscles. No one is telling these dudes to add an insane amount of size unless absolutely necessary. Corey Brewer would undoubtably benefit from it, as far as one example I can think of.

I just don't see how you don't think doing squats and developing a better core won't help you with your vertical, or first step. It will. Undoubtably. They've done studies on it. I remember reading one recently saying after 3 months of squatting, the average vertical jump increase was around 2-3 inches.

[bdreason]

These guys are doing full body workouts for the most part. They aren't isolating muscles and training for bulk.

[ProfessorMurder]

Flexibility > strength
cardio > strength

OP is partially right.

I wouldn't blame it for injuries but it certainly doesn't help things some of the time. There are points of diminishing returns.

[outbreak]

I agree and disagree. Some frames are built for muscle others aren't. It's the players with frames that aren't built to be body builders who cause themselves injury working out to much. Cricket has had the same problem with players being injury prone due to working out and building up unneeded muscle. Big men in the nba need strength to get a good position in the paint but they don't need to be ripped for that they mainly need a good core and leg strength

[SHAQisGOAT]

19 seasons


19 seasons


17 seasons


14 seasons


13 seasons


14 seasons


15 seasons


14 seasons


15 seasons


..........

Not even going into medicine advancements, and all the other "luxuries" you can think of...


-> Agree with the OP's premise though.

[SHAQisGOAT]

A lot of these guys aren't putting on a lot of size. It is simply repeated actions creating more efficient muscles. No one is telling these dudes to add an insane amount of size unless absolutely necessary. Corey Brewer would undoubtably benefit from it, as far as one example I can think of.

I just don't see how you don't think doing squats and developing a better core won't help you with your vertical, or first step. It will. Undoubtably. They've done studies on it. I remember reading one recently saying after 3 months of squatting, the average vertical jump increase was around 2-3 inches.

Think Brewer's game would take a negative hit if he did that, tbh.

Some players are just better like that and would be overdoing it otherwise...
Michael Cooper is one of the best examples I can think of, for the start of the season he'd always get down to his playing weight of 175/180 lbs, and I'd say rightfully so because if he'd put on more weight, he wouldn't be as good at doing what he did, his style/game would suffer.

[Maga_1]

This is probably the worst thread i've ever read in ISH and that is saying a lot.
And basketball is not a cardio sport, just saying.

[CavaliersFTW]

Kareem lifted weights OP...

Thus destroying your entire argument.

[CavaliersFTW]

Here is what Wilt looked like in the prime of his career.



He got bigger muscles later, but he was clearly at his best when he had that twig track star body.... when he got bigger, coincidentally enough he got injured.

He played some of his absolute heaviest seasons between 1963-65, peaking at 320lbs. Was putting up 45ppg playing 47mpg for 80 game seasons without missing a beat.

He was fine during his heavier seasons. And as a 310lb 36 year old man he played every minute of the playoffs, and averaged 47mpg for the season while finishing 4th in MVP votes, leading league in rebounds and blocked shots, and breaking/shattering the field goal percent record.

Either you're injury prone, or your not. Weight lifting as far as I know is not proven to increase risk of injury, in fact I'm pretty sure strengthening your body would serve to decrease risk of injury if anything.

[SHAQisGOAT]

Kareem lifted weights OP...

Thus destroying your entire argument.

Also practiced martial-arts, did yoga... One of the best conditioned athletes, that's why he had tremendous longevity even as a 7'2 player (having the best offensive weapon in your arsenal helps a lot with that also though).

[GIF REACTION]

A lot of uneducated, never lifted in their life idiots here. Plowking is right.

These players have the best strength and conditioning coaches in the world, access to the best treatment/massage/etc in the world.

You may have a slight point OP but it is a stupid and misinformed one. Players are better athletes today, and the weight to power output is incredibly higher across the board when compared to 50 years ago. It is not extra bulk but the fact that these players are moving with alot more explosion and ferocity. The more explosive you move, the higher chance muscles, ligaments, have of getting injured theoretically... But thinking that way doesn't account for the movement capacity that quality strength training offers... the neurological muscular adaptions, using your muscles more efficiently... Then you have other adaptions over time like increased bone density and stronger ligaments and connective tissues...

Basically, you have more injuries on the court because the game and talent pool is infinitely larger, you have more elite level athleticism across the board... And any time you kick it to max gear, you are putting yourself in a more compromising position if you lose balance or mistep when compared to a 60's athlete who wasn't nearly as explosive. That said, it is not as if players are getting injured every day... The game is transitioning to a faster pace, and favors the most athletic... but they still need to be able to shoot, pass....

Curry is a perfect example of the power to weight ratio done right. He deadlifted 405 and he weighs 180... Even if you just watch him pre game... He does a very smart warm up with a trainer that targets and pre exhausts his hip/trunk stabilizers... And when he plays he does so in a very controlled manner, no unnatural, forced movements. Lebron is like this too... Makes him come off as very stiff in movement, but he rarely gets injured (combination of quality strength training, genetics, HGH usage + anabolics, knowing how to move properly and efficiently)