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Weight training program...PROGRESS!

perryhawk

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Apr 3, 2008
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Perry, Iowa
I have felt for YEARS that Iowa basketball did not hit the weight room like other teams in the B10...To me this has been a huge problem....that said I haven't said much because I have read that Fran likes his players to be the long and lean body types....One of the benefits of this crap season we just went through appears to be a change in philosophy for weight training.

These are quotes from Chad Leistikow's articles....

Kriener found some last season that aligns with a newly implemented philosophy change in strength training.

“It’s the eye test. You’d hear people say, ‘You guys don’t look like a Big Ten team.’ That’s something we took to heart,” Kriener said. “We said we want to come out and work really hard in the weight room. And we’re going to look the part next year.”

The past four weeks, strength and conditioning coach Bill Maxwell has had Hawkeye players pumping more iron than ever before. The idea is to be able to pack on more muscle, which often leads to better space-filling, space-holding defense — something that Iowa clearly lacked during the Big Ten grind.

“I already feel bigger. I think I’ve gained 10 pounds, and I still feel like I’m in pretty good shape,” Kriener said. “I feel like it’s going to make a big difference. Everybody’s seeing a lot of gains.”

This added strength and muscle, in my opinion, adds confidence (not to mention quickness) and therefore some aggressiveness. These are important ingredients to play better defense, rebound better, and not turn the ball over as much....

This alone leaves me with a better feel for this next season.
 
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I think the obvious question is, why weren't the guys doing weight training before?

It's my understanding that they have had a weight program...it emphasized core strength and endurance and built strength in a way that let the players stay long and lean....and this new program is a CHANGE in approach, not the first time they have lifted weights.
 
Iowa is a decade behind the times per usual.

Actually I think we are further behind than that in terms of this type of philosophy? I think that we can go back as far as the Tom Davis era and not have the same type of weight program that the Purdue's, Michigan States, etc have.......

I think this change in direction could be a big big deal.
 
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Actually I think we are further behind than that in terms of this type of philosophy? I think that we can go back as far as the Tom Davis era and not have the same type of weight program that the Purdue's, Michigan States, etc have.......

I think this change in direction could be a big big deal.
Well the MSU practice video I saw many years ago with players in helmets and small shoulder pads playing full bore told me eveeything I needed to know about how they were intending to play the game. And it showed on the court.
 
Exactly ... heck, I might have even tapped into this his guy named "Doyle" for some tips on weight/strength training. :cool:;)
If you think this is the first time they've done weight training, then you are extremely naive. Obviously they do weight training every year. It just sounds like there's going to be more of an emphasis on gaining size this offseason.
 
If you think this is the first time they've done weight training, then you are extremely naive. Obviously they do weight training every year. It just sounds like there's going to be more of an emphasis on gaining size this offseason.
Of course I know they do weight training (seriously?) ... I was making a point that you have one of (if not THE) top strength coach in the country on the same campus ... Some of the guys absolutely need to get stronger ...
 
I've felt strengthening players was a missing element, especially when we have had long, skinny players that struggled with TO's because of a lack of upper body strength. Uthoff and Nunge come to mind. Uthoff tightened his handles, but would he have been more effective, his soph season, if he'd worked more on strength? Last season Nunge lost TO's, and had rebounds ripped away because of an obvious lack of upper body strength.

I need to see more quotes from Fran to really believe he's made a change in philosophy. Other than leg and core work, I think he's left a lot of weight training discretion up to his players. Is the change this Spring being led by the coach or the players?

Dr Tom's teams were physical in traps, and rebounding. They created a lot of extra possessions with TO's and rebounds. So far Fran's traps have used length, and the lack of physicality has resulted in fewer TO's compared to 1980's-90's teams.
 
The key is balance. Some guys have a big build, some a small build. We don't need j-bo looking like a safety for the football team. We just need him to be 20% stronger. Slow gradual gains will be more beneficial than big gains this summer
 
The key is balance. Some guys have a big build, some a small build. We don't need j-bo looking like a safety for the football team. We just need him to be 20% stronger. Slow gradual gains will be more beneficial than big gains this summer

I agree with this.....that said the growth we have seen is so slow and insignificant as to be nearly unnoticeable.

There has needed to be something more for some time and I have to say I don’t have much faith in Bill Maxwell simply because he has been in and around the basketball program for some time..... I certainly hope he has the ability to shift gears to that middle ground.
 
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Probably functional strength training with emphasis (hopefully) on power lifts or power movements against resistance. Strength is the amount of force your muscles can produce and power is the ability to use that strength quickly. If you are only training for strength you are missing the acceleration component which, of course, is an important basketball skill.
 
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I have felt for YEARS that Iowa basketball did not hit the weight room like other teams in the B10...To me this has been a huge problem....that said I haven't said much because I have read that Fran likes his players to be the long and lean body types....One of the benefits of this crap season we just went through appears to be a change in philosophy for weight training.

These are quotes from Chad Leistikow's articles....

Kriener found some last season that aligns with a newly implemented philosophy change in strength training.

“It’s the eye test. You’d hear people say, ‘You guys don’t look like a Big Ten team.’ That’s something we took to heart,” Kriener said. “We said we want to come out and work really hard in the weight room. And we’re going to look the part next year.”

The past four weeks, strength and conditioning coach Bill Maxwell has had Hawkeye players pumping more iron than ever before. The idea is to be able to pack on more muscle, which often leads to better space-filling, space-holding defense — something that Iowa clearly lacked during the Big Ten grind.

“I already feel bigger. I think I’ve gained 10 pounds, and I still feel like I’m in pretty good shape,” Kriener said. “I feel like it’s going to make a big difference. Everybody’s seeing a lot of gains.”

This added strength and muscle, in my opinion, adds confidence (not to mention quickness) and therefore some aggressiveness. These are important ingredients to play better defense, rebound better, and not turn the ball over as much....

This alone leaves me with a better feel for this next season.

My gripe is:

* Fran should know what his guards, forwards and centers should look like physically.

* Fran should have hired the right strength and conditioning coach in YEAR ONE and as he developed his program, his players should have developed physically as well.

* Why is Fran, in year 8, now realizing that his players's physiques are not what they should be in order to play D1 basketball?

Remember when they tried to bulk up Basabe and he had a terrible season? Well, again, another example of not having the right strength and conditioning coach. You can get bigger and stronger but you also need to be able to shoot straight, be flexible, and have explosiveness.

I love Fran but year 8 is too late to realize our strength and conditioning has been sub par.

You look at Purdue and MSU and their players are ripped. Look at JoBo's arms, Baer's arms and Kreiners arms and there is no comparison.
 
I want to wait and see. I do agree that we are in need of adding some strength but this is not the 80’s or 90’s any more. In that area the game was dominated on the blocks and the league was full of bulked up players. Those days are gone. It’s all about athleticism, quickness laterally and skills. If we take a slow footed team and add muscle it’s going to remain slow. It could even get a half step slower. It may not have as much impact as you think.
 
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I want to wait and see. I do agree that we are in need of adding some strength but this is not the 80’s or 90’s any more. In that area the game was dominated on the blocks and the league was full of bulked up players. Those days are gone. It’s all about athleticism, quickness laterally and skills. If we take a slow footed team and add muscle it’s going to remain slow. It could even get a half step slower. It’s may not have as much impact as you think.

I would agree....it’s obviously not the 80/90s and weight training has advanced significantly since then. That said, adding strength and muscle should not slow anyone down....with the Basabe experiment being the exception and not the rule. That does cause me slight concern.
 
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My gripe is:

* Fran should know what his guards, forwards and centers should look like physically.

* Fran should have hired the right strength and conditioning coach in YEAR ONE and as he developed his program, his players should have developed physically as well.

* Why is Fran, in year 8, now realizing that his players's physiques are not what they should be in order to play D1 basketball?

Remember when they tried to bulk up Basabe and he had a terrible season? Well, again, another example of not having the right strength and conditioning coach. You can get bigger and stronger but you also need to be able to shoot straight, be flexible, and have explosiveness.

I love Fran but year 8 is too late to realize our strength and conditioning has been sub par.

You look at Purdue and MSU and their players are ripped. Look at JoBo's arms, Baer's arms and Kreiners arms and there is no comparison.
If I could triple upvote this reply, I would.
 
I would agree....it’s obviously not the 80/90s and weight training has advanced significantly since then. That said, adding strength and muscle should not slow anyone down....with the Basabe experiment being the exception and not the rule. That does cause me slight concern.
It did not seem to slow down the Villanova players this year, or affect their shooting.
 
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The key is balance. Some guys have a big build, some a small build. We don't need j-bo looking like a safety for the football team. We just need him to be 20% stronger. Slow gradual gains will be more beneficial than big gains this summer

I couldn't disagree more. He needs to get WAAAAAYYYY stronger. He gets bulldozed by opposing guards who have any size at all. I'm not as concerned with our big guys (I do think they could all get stronger) as I am with our guards out front on defense. They are weak and it kills us on defense.
 
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I want to wait and see. I do agree that we are in need of adding some strength but this is not the 80’s or 90’s any more. In that area the game was dominated on the blocks and the league was full of bulked up players. Those days are gone. It’s all about athleticism, quickness laterally and skills. If we take a slow footed team and add muscle it’s going to remain slow. It could even get a half step slower. It’s may not have as much impact as you think.

Nope. Strength adds quickness and explosiveness. Something this team lacks like crazy.
 
This emphasis on weight training is, IMHO of course, a major problem in all sports, especially basketball.

Mr. Naismith invented a "non-contact" sport. How strong you are should have little to nothing to do with your skills on the basketball court. I'm old enough to remember the Iowa team of 1970 that went 14-0 in the Big Ten and should have won the national title.

There were no weight-lifting champs on that team, but there were a couple of all-Americans: John Johnson and Fred Brown.

Johnson and Brown were of average to slight builds. Glen Vidnovic, one of the starting forwards, was nicknamed "The Stick" because he was 6-5 and 170 pounds, the skinniest player I've ever seen on a college basketball floor. He was the opposite of strong, but he was one helluva player.

Then you may know of Pete Maravich, as skilled as any basketball player in history, yet he was a skinny dude, too. If Maravich and Vidnovic ever lifted a weight in their lives, it certainly never showed.

I tried to post a pic of that 1970 team but failed, but it's easy to find. Just ask Google. And once you see the picture, you will note that not one of those Hawkeyes would be mistaken for a weight lifter. Building muscle had nothing to do with the game in those days. And it shouldn't now, either.

I know 1970 is a long time ago, but that doesn't mean that basketball today is a better game because kids have bulging muscles and often turn Mr. Naismith's game of quickness, speed, and grace into a series of rugby scrums.

If the NCAA really wanted to take care of college athletes, they'd ban--or at least severely restrict--the emphasis on weight training in EVERY sport...yes, including football. But I know I'm stuck in a time warp and totally out of touch with the glories of modern times, so save your pixels. That's my opinion, and I'm stickin' to it.
 
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This emphasis on weight training is, IMHO of course, a major problem in all sports, especially basketball.

Mr. Naismith invented a "non-contact" sport. How strong you are should have little to nothing to do with your skills on the basketball court. I'm old enough to remember the Iowa team of 1970 that went 14-0 in the Big Ten and should have won the national title.

There were no weight-lifting champs on that team, but there were a couple of all-Americans: John Johnson and Fred Brown.

Johnson and Brown were of average to slight builds. Glen Vidnovic, one of the starting forwards, was nicknamed "The Stick" because he was 6-5 and 170 pounds, the skinniest player I've ever seen on a college basketball floor. He was the opposite of strong, but he was one helluva player.

Then you may know of Pete Maravich, as skilled as any basketball player in history, yet he was a skinny dude, too. If Maravich and Vidnovic ever lifted a weight in their lives, it certainly never showed.

I tried to post a pic of that 1970 team but failed, but it's easy to find. Just ask Google. And once you see the picture, you will note that not one of those Hawkeyes would be mistaken for a weight lifter. Building muscle had nothing to do with the game in those days. And it shouldn't now, either.

I know 1970 is a long time ago, but that doesn't mean that basketball today is a better game because kids have bulging muscles and often turn Mr. Naismith's game of quickness, speed, and grace into a series of rugby scrums.

If the NCAA really wanted to take care of college athletes, they'd ban--or at least severely restrict--the emphasis on weight training in EVERY sport...yes, including football. But I know I'm stuck in a time warp and totally out of touch with the glories of modern times, so save your pixels. That's my opinion, and I'm stickin' to it.

I would just ask you if a player like Kevin Durant has too much of the “bulging muscles” you refer to? He was the brunt of many jokes when at the NBA combine he failed to bench press the minimum 185 one time. I just watched a video of him bench pressing 315 pounds with ease. Michael Jordon has spoke extensively how much he attributes the improvement in his game to weight training. Says he got sick of being pushed around by the Detroit Pistons as a rookie. Dedicated that off season to weight lifting, put on 20 pounds and was amazed at how it not only helped him to take contact but actually IMPROVED his shooting.........A proper weight training program will not “bulk up” a basketball player but believe it or not will INCREASE flexibility!
 
I would just ask you if a player like Kevin Durant has too much of the “bulging muscles” you refer to? He was the brunt of many jokes when at the NBA combine he failed to bench press the minimum 185 one time. I just watched a video of him bench pressing 315 pounds with ease. Michael Jordon has spoke extensively how much he attributes the improvement in his game to weight training. Says he got sick of being pushed around by the Detroit Pistons as a rookie. Dedicated that off season to weight lifting, put on 20 pounds and was amazed at how it not only helped him to take contact but actually IMPROVED his shooting.........A proper weight training program will not “bulk up” a basketball player but believe it or not will INCREASE flexibility!

So you pick out amazing & gifted players one of which might be the best player to ever play in the NBA to support the strength training argument. So we have these type of athletes (KD & MJ) and all they need to do is strength train?
 
So you pick out amazing & gifted players one of which might be the best player to ever play in the NBA to support the strength training argument. So we have these type of athletes (KD & MJ) and all they need to do is strength train?

Okay I’ll give a couple examples Hawkeye fans can identify with a little more. I’ve seen so much drooling over here on Zavier Simpson from Michigan and how heis “just what Iowa needs” an uber athletic point guard. From what I’ve heard he’s not just some genetic freak but a workout warrior. I think we as Hawk fans would also take another Dean Oliver on this team any day. I used to talk to Bill Maxwell (strength coach) on a regular basis during the Tom Davis era. While he lamented that Dr. Tom had a very lax attitude regarding the weight training. Telling me he would call Davis to tell him players were skipping workouts and ask if he wanted him to go to their dorm/apt and drag them in. Dr. Tom would just say “naw, don’t worry about it”. You know what player Bill said he never had to worry about showing up or pushing? Dean Oliver. Said Dean was an animal in the weight room. I’m a former small college strength coach myself so a little partial but witnessed first hand what proper weight training can do.
 
It's quite obvious how the game of Bball has evolved into a "rougher/tougher game" . But I do agree with Aristotle on this as far as how the game used to be played. Very little finesse anymore. It's all about in your face intimidate to the end mentality. With that being said, since it has evolved we need to stay updated with a weight lifting program. I'm hoping our Hawks will make a turn for the best!!!
 
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If you think this is the first time they've done weight training, then you are extremely naive. Obviously they do weight training every year. It just sounds like there's going to be more of an emphasis on gaining size this offseason.
True, but there is a fine line to hit there. They need to bulk up , but they sure can't afford to lose any quickness either. I remember after Lickleiter's first year he decided that our players needed to bulk up. Matt Gatens put on 20 lbs. of muscle for the next season but wasn;t as effective at driving it to the hoop. He decided that he was more effective at the lighter weight. Certainly some frames are more suited to bulking up than others.
 
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That may be true but did the Loyola players looked ripped? ;)

Clayton Custer looks like a body builder compared to Jordan Bohannon. Their center looked like he needed to commit himself a little more but yes I’d take Custer, Ingram, Jackson, Richardson vs Bohannon, Moss, Baer, Garza in a squat or bench press contest any day. Cook is the only player of the starting 5 that looks like he knows where the Iowa weight room is located. The more I look at it. Bohannon, Moss, Baer, Garza may all be the physically weakest at their position in the B1G.
 
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