Heres What Michael Jordan Did To Stay In Shape
As we’re seeing in Netflix’s The Last Dance, Michael Jordan had an insane desire to improve his game on the regular. After back-to-back defeats against the Detroit Pistons, Jordan knew it was time to implicate a change. The team was getting out-muscled, so MJ decided on a 30-day muscle and strength building routine. The practice was so successful that it would last 15 years.
Soon enough, Jordan created The Breakfast Club, which included 5:30 AM sessions along with practice right after. The results were immediate as the following season, the Bulls slayed their Detroit demons by sweeping them with absolute ease.
Throughout the article, we’ll discuss what improvements were made and what kind of training MJ used to enhance his game even further. Let’s take a look at what MJ did to stay in shape during his prime. Let’s get started.
11 5:30 AM Workout Sessions – The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club was a way of life. It was a set of routines MJ would set for himself to get the day going, prior to practice. It would start at 5:30 AM, hitting the gym alongside a couple of teammates which included Scottie Pippen.
MJ was devoted to his morning workouts, alongside his trainer, Tim Grover. MJ implicated the tactic to get over the hump of the Detroit Pistons, who were out-muscling his team in the playoffs the last few years. Once the Breakfast Club initiated, things started to change as the Bulls would finally slay their demons from the past, the Pistons.
10 30 Days Turned 15 Years
MJ’s trainer would admit that the routine was supposed to last 30 days. MJ building a bit of muscle was a short-term solution. Jordan had never explored such training – thus he wanted to commit only for the short-term.
This was not the case ultimately as MJ would keep the intense weight training sessions going for the next 15 years. His commitment to training off the court turned him into a complete player, especially on the defensive end with his added strength and muscle mass.
9 Explosive Exercises
During the losses against the Pistons, the goal from Detroit was to knock MJ down before he could have taken flight. Once he was in the air, it was impossible to contain the Bulls legend.
MJ worked on his explosive strength with a couple of exercises in the gym. According to Stack, a vertical jump along with a dynamic squat jump were a couple of his go-to movements that aided in the process. The goal was to not only make him quicker when he was on the ground but also add serious strength when he was standing still.
8 Increasing The Calories
Training in the gym is only half the battle and according to some experts, 30% of the battle. The rest is what you eat out of the gym and throughout the day. Given all the calories MJ was burning during his games and training sessions, he wasn’t really watching what he was eating. That would all change as MJ implicated a set diet with increased calories.
The biggest change came on his protein intake, he increased the grams per day. It was all about building and repairing during and after workouts, that’s protein's essential purpose as a fuel source.
7 Advancing The Rep Ranges
MJ’s trainer had never seen such devotion and dedication in his entire like working in the field. One of the things he noticed from MJ, was his willingness to always go over and above what was asked of him.
An example of that was on his rep ranges for an exercise. If the trainer would ask for eight reps, MJ would give him 12, even when it appeared as though the tank was emptying. He refused to let anyone outwork him, even in the weight room.
6 Compound Movements
The goal was adding strength and muscle mass. In order to do so simultaneously, it is essential to hit the compound movements, the great part of these exercises is that you’re working more than just one muscle group.
Jordan had them all, including a mean bench press which we saw on The Last Dance. Squats were also included in his routines – he had the top builders for both his lower and upper body.
5 Dynamic & Static Stretching
Keeping MJ flexible and mobile was just as important. When building muscle and strength, the muscles tend to stiffen up a little bit. Given MJ’s athleticism, the goal was to keep the agility aspect. A big way of doing so was by creating stretches before and after the workout.
He hit dynamic movements prior, which is a great way to start the engine before a workout. He would finish off by performing static stretches, holding the muscle.
4 Bodyweight Exercises
A lot of MJ’s workouts included bodyweight movements alone, such as the pullup for example.
MJ’s trainer also implicated workouts that aided in MJ’s vertical jump – he was truly unstoppable when he took the air, combining his explosiveness along with his strength and agility. His routines turned him into an unstoppable force.
3 Golf
“I love the game of golf. It takes a lot of the competitive juices that I left on the basketball court to now.”
MJ also kept active throughout his career by playing golf. MJ refused to lose and in fact, he would continue playing until he took a big lead on his opponent. Jordan also wasn’t afraid to make things interesting by betting alongside his friends and teammates – that competitive drive was obvious in everything he did.
2 Always Focusing On His Weaknesses
The biggest priority for MJ in the gym was turning his weaknesses into strengths.
He was always attacking his biggest flaws in the weight room and before the fans and media knew it, he had a new skill he was excelling at the following season thanks to his improvements made in the gym and during practice. MJ was never satisfied, constantly nitpicking things to improve.
1 Practicing Versus The Best
Following his workout sessions, MJ would take to the court for a team practice. The hard work didn’t stop and in fact, Jordan would make things harder on himself, asking to be guarded by the best players on the team such as Scottie Pippen.
Jordan would also make it a point to improve on his weaknesses, such as making it a goal to work on his rebounding during a specific practice. As always, he would thrive at what his goals were.
Sources – Stack & YouTube
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