Andrew Bynum: Boxing has helped me shape up – NBA Update
Los Angeles Lakers big guy Andrew Bynum raised a lot of eyebrows when it was revealed the player had taken up boxing during the summer holidays. Bynum’s strong physique and his temperamental nature - he elbowed Jose Barea mid-air
last time he was on an NBA court - do however make him a good candidate for boxing.
The centre sat down for an interview recently and talked about how boxing has helped him keep in shape, or even get better.
Bynum has been training with Alex Ariza, the conditioning coach for boxing great Manny Pacquiao among others. Bynum revealed the training regimen set by Ariza has helped him shed quite a lot of body fat and replace it with solid
muscle. As a result the player feels healthier and stronger,
“I wanted to get more confident in my hands and get in shape.… I stumbled across Amir and saw Alex was training him, and once I saw the stuff they were doing, I wanted to do it too. I got so much better in just one week, I wanted
to continue. Running stairs, swimming, upper-body weightlifting, track work.”
Bynum has had some injury issues with his knees and the Lakers man wasn’t comfortable putting too much strain on them during the off season. With the boxing training he has been able to keep the weight off of his knees and still
managed to get himself in great shape for the upcoming NBA season.
“Because of my [previously injured] knees, I'm keeping pressure off them rather than loading up the squat rack with weights. It's remarkable. I'm still 285 [pounds], but the body fat is gone and what Alex calls functional muscle
is stronger.”
Bynum is just one of many players who have been training on their own during the NBA lockout and discovering new techniques as they go along. As a result of the lockout, NBA player cannot use the training facilities of the franchises.
They cannot have any contact with executives, officials or coaches, so training with your usual coach goes out of the window.
Bynum took is as an opportunity to do some boxing work. He has also been busy otherwise during the summer. The player has show signs of maturing by taking piano classes, which he says help him keeping the temper in check.
Considering he lives in Los Angeles and wants to be able to communicate effectively with people, Bynum has started taking Spanish classes as well. Bynum is hoping all of this would not only make him a better player, but also a
better person.
Lakers fans would be pleased to see such maturity in their firebrand centre.
Tags: