I don’t know if he was reared on the sparkling shores of Krypton and transplanted to Akron, Ohio at age 13, but one thing is for sure; Lebron James is out of this world. Tune into Sports Center during the NBA’s regular season and chances are LBJ (by far his best moniker)’s exploits are splattered all over theTop 10 plays of the day. They usually include some sort of unholy display of sheer athleticism and head scratching power. Calling him versatile is like calling the Grand Canyon a ditch. He’s either dunking on a 7 foot European while receiving a foul that would be better placed in the UFC or blowing by men 8 inches and 80 pounds lighter with a Mazaratti’s burst. James' highlights are nothing short of breathtaking.
LBJ. Not of this world, and not hard to envision running a post pattern for the Browns, either!
Any sports fan worth their weight in Starting Lineup Figures knows that comparing athletes from different eras and different sports is usually an exercise in futility. Egos get bruised, friendships tested and no one can definitively answer if Babe Ruth in today’s game would a fat bum or the tremendous player everybody universally cherishes. But is sure is fun debating isn’t it? Barry Sanders with Emmit Smith's line. A healthy Ken Griffey Jr. Len Bias playing on the Celtics of the mid 80’s. There are millions of examples, and chances are you may have discussed several with your buddies throughout the years. This brings me to today’s topic. Last year state farm ran an ad campaign where Lebron decided to forgo his NBA career and sign with the Cleveland browns. I had envisioned King James strapping up a helmet in the NFL before but the commercial made it a hot topic of discussion for many and thrust yours truly into a debate that remains as completely unresolved as it was last year. The question is “Would Lebron James be the best tight end the NFL has ever seen? ”
I’ve been charged with remaining objective in this post but chances are you know what side I’m leaning toward. (theres still time to sign, Buffalo!) Lets look at the measurables; according to STATS LLC the average tight end in 2009 checks in at 6’4” 255.4 pounds. On his NBA player page Lebron is listed at 6’8” 250 pounds but there have been claims that he weighs as much as 274 according to what source you read.
So, he’s definitely taller than the average bear and there’s a chance he’s bulkier too. Sadly, the only other piece of concrete physical evidence I have is in the vertical leap. The highest number at the NFL combine last year for a tight end was Jared Cooks 41,” at the NBA predraft combine years ago Lebron topped out at 44.”
Lebron was an All State Wide Receiver as a Sophomore in High School, but chose (what’s now looking as a wiser financial and health related decision) to stick with hoops. Virtually every major high profile college football coach made a half-hearted play at getting Lebron to suit up for a year and let’s face it, have a ton of fun. NBA riches proved to be too much, and for a man that eventually wants to be a billionaire his choice definitively made more sense.
Detractors in this argument say that those long limbs are a bull’s-eye for NFL defenders and his ACL’s would have to be made of titanium to hold up to the persistent knee hunting. Compound that with the complexity of NFL offenses and his high center of gravity in the run blocking game, it wouldn’t be long before he found himself either benched or seriously injured.
So there you go fellas, you have the frame and a little bit of athletic background regarding both. The rest is up to you. Is Lebron such a transcendent force he could take the NFL by storm and be as unstoppable as he is in the NBA? Or would the added height and time away from the game result into a mess of an experiment most likely ending in an injury? Remember there is no wrong answer, unless you disagree with me. Let the games begin.
A while back, I posted this video of some our athletes performing a “gun show” finisher at the end of a workout.
Turns out, I received a couple of “friendly e-mails” from guys who apparently had a huge problem that I was doing bicep curls with football players. I was accused of performing a “non functional” (what does this even mean these days?) exercise that would in no way help a football player improve performance on the gridiron. For whatever reason, there is this dogma among some guys that bicep curls are a “bodybuilding” movement that have NO place in the training of athletes.
Personally, I think that opinion is ridiculous; in a sport as physical and violent as football, where EVERY muscle in the body needs to be as prepared as possible, there is certainly a place for bicep curls. The funny part is, we do not spent an hour doing “bi’s and tri’s.” We spend about 10 minutes, and no more, training these muscles at the end of our upper body workout. Aside from the physical benefit that our athletes derive from having stronger biceps, what about the mental aspect? Ever hear the phrase “Look good, feel good, play good.”? It basically means that if an athlete is confident about the way he looks, he will be confident about himself as an athlete, and perform well. Never be quick to blow off the many mental benefits of a sound training program, for there are many.
If you are dumb enough to think that it is “wrong” for athletes to perform bicep curls, then I don’t really care. I finished trying to convert people to rational means of thinking long ago. I will leave you with this, though: in football, aren’t turnovers hugely detrimental to the outcome of a football game? Look at the following two pictures, and tell me which of these two athletes is more likely to fumble, while holding the ball is an isometric bicep hold!
Lately, there seems to be a lot of confusion on how much protein one needs to fully maximize their potential, and get bigger and stronger. Some experts claim that you need as much as 2g of protein/lb of bodyweight. Others claim that your body cannot digest this amount of protein, and recommend far smaller dosages. Experts who claim that only a moderate amount of protein is necessary to build muscle claim that the need for more protein is a scam permeated by the multi-billion dollar supplement industry. Experts who claim that you need to take in a lot of protein to build a big, strong physique are often big, strong guys themselves, who we all would like to imitate. It is no surprise that many people out there are left confused, not knowing what to do or where to turn!
Beef. It's What's for Dinner.
I don’t listen to many people in this industry anymore. There are many guys out there trying to reinvent the wheel, and scam people on bullshit theories that do little more than make the theorist well known. One of the guys who I DO have a great deal of respect for is Jim Wendler of EliteFTS. Jim is very simplistic in his approach to training and nutrition, and I like that. (Any man that can do this has my immediate attention) His 5-3-1 manual is one of the best purchases I have ever made, because it JUST MAKES SENSE AND GETS RESULTS. If you are serious about training, and do not own this manual, then get one now and read it immediately, it will change the way you think. So what does Jim Wendler have to do with protein? Like I said, Jim keeps his approach to training and diet simple. To get big, eat more. To shed bodyfat, eat less and become more active. It IS that simple.
So what do I think? What is my advice? Well, let me tell you a little bit of background about myself. I have trained seriously for 10 years. I am not overly athletic, and have had to work very hard for every gain that I have made. At my height of 5’9” I have hovered around 180-185 pounds for the last 3 years, with my strength levels increasing ever so slowly, and in some areas, not very much at all. I have always been afraid of being “fat.” Every time I would eat more, I would get stronger and add weight, but would freak out and back off the calories, protein, etc. Guess what? The strength gains would stall as well. Here is what I think. If you want to get bigger, you need to be in a caloric surplus, and you better be damn sure you are in one. For 99% of us, this caloric surplus is not going to come from sweet potatoes and chicken 5X/day. We will need to increase our intake of protein, carbs, and fat. This may mean increased servings of pizza, burgers, and chicken parm subs. If you want to get big at a snails pace, then don’t heed this advice, and keep listening to the genetically gifted guys who say only to eat chicken and broccoli. Myself, I am after results.
If we are not going to get our calories from a boatload of protein, then where are these calories going to come from? Personally, I do not respond well to VERY high levels of carbohydrate intake. The insulin spike would leave me looking like the Michelin Man. When trying to add strength and size, like I said, I would increase carbs, but also increase my protein and fat. If protein is the macronutrient responsible for building muscle, then how much do we need? I don’t know. But let me ask you this, if you were going on a road trip and needed gas but had a malfunctioning fuel indicator, how much fuel would you put in your car? I bet you would put more than enough! When it comes to protein, too much is better than not enough. When I intake a lot of protein, I know that my calories are being spiked, and that every macronutrient can do the job it was designed to do in my body.
Pick a goal, and go get it! If you are trying to get bigger, go reach your goal. If you are trying to shed bodyfat, go reach your goal. Happy where you are, then change nothing, but if that truly is the case, then I have to question why you train to begin with.
For me I’ve often found that I didn’t really place too much merit in the theory that music can motivate herculean efforts in the gym. Don’t get me wrong, I feel that music is a complete necessity. Anyone who’s stepped into a facility resembling superman’s fortress of solitude will tell you a quiet gym is about as intense as a hello kitty backpack. But that’s it, nothing more. My formula was: silence=excruciating misery, music=gotta be there, genre be damned. As long as there was something distracting me from the various guttural moans and grunts I figured game on, Spice Girls away.
Is this what you like to listen to before a max effort deadlift?
Our clientele is diverse and the gym has had a wide variety of musical styling’s bumping through the walls. Little Wayne’s profound lyricism, Lamb of Gods driving double bass and Kelly Clarkson’s sparking octave bending wail (thanks Kyle), we have pretty much heard it all. But I have been looking around recently and noticing some people respond tremendously well to a certain track, hammering out weights they may or may not have other wise attained. I myself reconnected with a tremendous “smash your head through a wall” album- Rage Against The Machine’s self titled album, and saw a bit of the mad dog come out in me.
So what is it? Hogwash? Valid? What say you iron heads, does music dictate how you are going to perform or will Air Supply’s greatest hits carry you though a max effort lower body day? Let the debate “rage” away!
I cannot stand people who are soft. They bother me. I will never force someone to do something they claim hurts, but my God, it seems as though these days a lot of people are critically injured only to make a miraculous recovery 48 hours later. Whether it’s “my shoulder” or my “hamstring” or what have you. Whatever happened to the good old days when the football coach would say “Son, either you are hurt, or you are injured.” The implication being, we all have to train through, and play through bumps, tweaks, and bruises, but should never put ourselves at risk to become seriously injured. I guess what I am saying is these days, it seems as though an alarming majority of people simply don’t know the difference between mild pain and serious injury, which goes along the fact that people of this generation are butter soft!
Am I saying to train through pain? ABSOLUTELY NOT. But people, there is a large difference between muscle tenderness and a torn hamstring. If you are tender or sore from a workout, take care of yourself. Don’t go out drinking 3 times a week, drink no water during the day, and sleep for 5 hours a night, and then wonder why you can’t do Glute Ham Raises without cramping. Are you really that dumb? Rather, hydrate well, eat well, sleep well, stretch, foam roll, and repeat, and you will be amazed with how much better you feel.
Toughen up and take care of yourselves, and the gains WILL follow!
