any ex athletes?

[Deus Ex Machina]

Any West Coast athletes here? if so PM...

gracias!

 

[GenSci26]

man........today i either realize im old, or the extra muscle mass has slowed me down!
im 32 years old and used to be somwhat of an athlete.....today, after not blaying basketball for 2 years i felt slow and uncordnated. im 6'3 225 and as of 2 years ago i could throw it down without a step....now i have to run and barley get it down.. i threw nothing but bricks and was real slow! the only thing i had going was bullying the dudes for rebounds and made em pay when they rove, but thats never been my game...
i know this isnt a sports thread, but i was wondering if any of you experienced this from extra musle mass.....last time i played i was 205 and 30 years old....so is it the muscle or the age?
the lack of playing had never been a problem for me before!
ahhhh f*** it football was my sport anyways!!!!!!!!!!

Well first of all if you haven't played for 2 years, it's a nice thing you can still dunk already!! Also, jumping is one athletic ability where an extra 20lbs will hold you down (unless you gain it verrrryyy slowly)!! Especially if you haven't trained specifically for power or even rehearsed the jumping motion for so long. It's all about coordination, power and speed. Most bodybuilding routine don't require any so I would it's the extra muscle.

 

[GenSci26]

Forgot to mention, it could come back very quickly as well if you trained for it!
As for basketball being a good cardio training, I would say yes and no... Personally I prefer 3 on 3 half court games. When you play full court people tend to walk up the floor after 4-5 baskets, especially back on D... So unless your teammates and opponents aren't those types I would say it's better to go 3 on 3 harder on one basket to get any conditioning benefits out of it.

 

[tboy72]

thanks for all the feedback.......gen.....it is half court. i think im just going to play once a week and do cardio at the gym 3 other times per week......
this is kinda unrelated....but i heard a rumor that karl malone beches cloes to 500 lbs....if that true its amazing....to bee that long and strong....god dam!
anyone know of any truth to rumor?

 

[mlong23]

Give it time, you should be good again if you were truly good. 2 years ago (age 20-21) I could dunk off of a drop step at about 5'11 200-210lbs. I am up to 235-240 and there isn't no way I could now. But I also haven't played seriously in almost a year. Give me a week of praticing and I would be almost at the same dribbling and shooting strengths I was at before. The jumping just takes a little longer to remember all the little things you do before leaping. But with you being 6'3 it should be a little easier for you.

My speed does not go down that much, probably more lateral movement but that will also come back.

 

[GenSci26]

Yeah the speed over 40 yards isn't necessarily affected but the quickness, changing of pace and direction that is so important for basketball definitely is IMO.
As for the rumour about Karl Malone, I don't know, but I know for a fact that Avery Johnson can/was able to bench over 400lbs...

 

[tboy72]

avery johnson??? hes small....no?
they dont test in the nba.. so that could explain a lot!
gen, whats your vertical 5'11 210...it must be nice!

 

[REBEL]

Man, I know what you mean about starting to play after a lay-off. I have played competitively my entire life, but haven't played in about 2 years also. Last week I started back. and it sucked. Gotta love muscle memory though, after shooting about 200 shots 3 times last week, my shot finally came back. I still need to get my lateral movement down, that will take a while cause there's nobody in the gym quick enough to challenge me. I can't believe I went this long without playing, and I plan on playing in a competive league this summer. Good luck getting in shape.