His name is "Flip." Okay?
I was driving home yesterday and happened to catch Flip Saunders (General Manager of the MN Timberwovles) on the radio, discussing Nikola Pekovic's new contract. The discussion turned to what T-Wolves were going to do to keep him healthy and avoid the "knicks and tweaks" he seems to suffer each season causing him to lose playing time.
Flip states (paraphrased): "We are hiring an new strength coach and physical therapist to help Pek with his off season training so he doesn't get TOO STRONG. We feel he probably trains too hard and gets too big and tight for his own good....."
Barf.....
His name is "Flip." Okay?
Yes, a professional athlete can get "too strong" for his profession. Is there a certain level of strength after witch there is little benefit for the investment? Probably, but damn few athletes outside the NFL (not even convinced of this one) are such a strength level where getting stronger would be detrimental as it stands. Jesus weeps.
So the old 'muscle bound' myth is still alive and kicking I see.
Amongst the most stupid and ignorant members of society -- many of whom seem to be associated with professional sports.
Maybe you need to write a book 'Losing Strength - How to train elite athletes' should be a real money spinner.
Nah, a professional athlete can't get too strong. In fact, a human being can't get too strong. There is just no such thing. It's especially obvious in a game like football. More strength means throwing farther, hitting harder, running faster and jumping higher. How could that ever be a bad thing?
Of course there are extreme endurance sports where none of the competitors are very strong, but to say strength is bad for them is messing up cause and effect. Competitive marathoners and long-distance bikers are weak because their sport makes them weak, not because weakness helps with their sport. Strength is still an advantage, it's just a harder one to come by when training endurance to the extreme. That's why so many high level competitors in those sports take steroids.
There is such a thing as too much exercise, though. Overtraining is a very bad thing for an athlete. But that's not the same as too much strength, much the opposite in fact: Overtraining is bad is because it makes you weaker.