The annual "15 pounds of muscle" watch

[themasao]

Adding the word 'muscle' after "gained X pounds of" is so misleading. Take the hodgetwins with a grain of salt, but this is a funny word of caution to any "gains" stories.

[NoBan]

We all know that Bargs is not going to change much body-wise for the duration of this career, unless he gets injured and fat.

[Letter N]

May be tough for people who have never spent time in the weightroom to understand.

Do you understand the difference between yourself and a professional athlete?
You've gone years of your life not pushing your body to the limit, getting fat off fast food and sitting at a computer, so a suddenly working out is going to change your body drastically.

Andrea Bargnani is a professional NBA player, with the best trainers in the world and the best workout plans that can be conceived to improve his game. He is a man who for all intents and purposes is in fantastic shape. If suddenly at age 26, in his 8th year in the NBA, he somehow gained 15 pounds of muscle he would have to have changed his workout plan in a very drastic way.

You don't just do the same routine as a pro and suddenly become that much bigger in pure muscle mass, it defies logic.

[RAPresenting]

you don't think Bargnani with nothing to do but workout and lift for six months can't manage to put 15lbs of muscle on?

May be tough for people who have never spent time in the weightroom to understand.

[RAPresenting]

Have you ever trained hard enough to put on 3lbs of muscle in a month? Then follow that up with intensive training for five more months to make it 18?

In the past 6 months I've put over 20 pounds of muscle. Have you ever worked out?

[thead]

you don't think Bargnani with nothing to do but workout and lift for six months can't manage to put 15lbs of muscle on?

[Letter N]

the best part of this is he is wrong...he gained the weight by being in the weight room and lifting since he wasn't playing

It seems unlikely that an athlete in his 8th year as a professional could put on 15 pounds of muscle simply from hitting the weight room. Unless putting on 15 pounds of muscle was a goal that he and his trainer set out to do that just doesn't happen.

15 pounds of fat however.....that does just happen.

[thead]

not to be a downer, but you ill informed fans are forgetting one scenario. The weight gain was unintentional, and was put on (and not lost) when he was recovering from his injury.

I don't think it's in bargnani's best interest to put on any weight, especially when he looked his most explosive at the beginning of last season at his lightest. Anyways we will see if he has lost any speed soon enough.

personally, I think the only person who should be happy about the weight gain is ED.

the best part of this is he is wrong...he gained the weight by being in the weight room and lifting since he wasn't playing

[Nilanka]

15 lbs is a lot for the average human being to gain in 6 months. But for a 7 footer who "naturally" weighs 240 lbs, 15 lbs represents a small proportion.

If John Lucas said he gained 15 lbs, I'd be like, "Goddamn!". But it isn't nearly as impressive for the likes of Andrea, Jonas, Bynum, Howard, etc.

Lastly, we're not quite sure if we're talking about a 6 month, or twelve month window. They might be comparing Andrea's current weight to his 2011 preseason weight.

[mcHAPPY]

Something else to consider is the quality of the weight. I'm not 7 feet but I am 6'7"-8". I started working out seriously again in May of this year. First few weeks in I went from 250 down to 245. I was pleased because I had let myself go relative to the shape I was once in. Then I weighed in about 4-5 weeks in and I was back to 250. Then weighed in after 2 months and I was 255. I was feeling pretty down until I looked at the pictures I had taken on the 22nd of each month. There was a huge difference in appearance. As everyone knows muscle does weigh more than fat. I do hope Andrea has added good weight versus a summer of grandma's pasta.

[Fuchan]

not to be a downer, but you ill informed fans are forgetting one scenario. The weight gain was unintentional, and was put on (and not lost) when he was recovering from his injury.

I don't think it's in bargnani's best interest to put on any weight, especially when he looked his most explosive at the beginning of last season at his lightest. Anyways we will see if he has lost any speed soon enough.

personally, I think the only person who should be happy about the weight gain is ED.

Douchey post of the month: Start your reply with 'You ill informed fans'

[p00ka]

Some of that could easily be attributed to his body naturally maturing into a man's body. Look at any big man when he's 20 vs 26, and except for the "skinny as a rail" guys, there's a big difference almost always.

[akashsingh]

not to be a downer, but you ill informed fans are forgetting one scenario. The weight gain was unintentional, and was put on (and not lost) when he was recovering from his injury.

I don't think it's in bargnani's best interest to put on any weight, especially when he looked his most explosive at the beginning of last season at his lightest. Anyways we will see if he has lost any speed soon enough.

personally, I think the only person who should be happy about the weight gain is ED.

[Apollo]

I don't think 15 pounds is that much considering the last game of the season for the team was April 26th and his was the 8th. That's just short of 6 months since he's played so even if he took 3 months to rest and do nothing (He's put on weight naturally by not working out) 5 pounds of muscle for 3 straight months is not out of this world. His weight isn't a concern for me it's his health and his fitness.

Have you ever trained hard enough to put on 3lbs of muscle in a month? Then follow that up with intensive training for five more months to make it 18?

[RAPresenting]

I don't think 15 pounds is that much considering the last game of the season for the team was April 26th and his was the 8th. That's just short of 6 months since he's played so even if he took 3 months to rest and do nothing (He's put on weight naturally by not working out) 5 pounds of muscle for 3 straight months is not out of this world. His weight isn't a concern for me it's his health and his fitness.