Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 297 Xiao Hua or a joke?

What is muscle building?
Through food or through equipment?

What kind of muscle gain do athletes need?
In Chen Fang's understanding, these are often only partially understood.

Wick never enhanced his body, but Chen Fang's muscles have grown significantly in the past three years.

“First, we need to understand what muscles are made of!” Wick pulled out a slice of human muscle.

Muscle fiber types are generally classified into three types: white muscle fibers (fast-twitch fibers), red muscle fibers (slow-twitch fibers), and intermediate muscle fibers.

When you look at muscle under a microscope, muscles with more myoglobin (a protein in muscle cells that carries and stores oxygen) appear reddish, hence the name "red muscle"; conversely, muscles with less myoglobin appear whiter, hence the name "white muscle".

White muscle fibers contract 2 to 3 times faster than red muscle fibers, hence they are called fast-twitch (FT) muscle fibers; red muscle fibers contract slowly, hence they are called slow-twitch (ST) muscle fibers.

"What we need is functional hypertrophy. For some players, increasing the weight by 30% of their 1RM and repeating multiple sets can achieve the goal."

“But that’s not suitable for you. What we need is a proportional increase in both red and white skin.”

"There are three issues that will constantly affect you during the muscle-building process."

"Metabolic stress, equipment stress, and time stress during the muscle fiber tearing and remodeling process."

"In fact, these three are logically causally related. When the pressure of the equipment causes muscle fiber tearing, the resulting remodeling forces the body's metabolism to change."

"The first step is that the machine pressure usually only stimulates the muscles and causes tearing in the latter half of your 1RM overload."

"If you want to improve your endurance, long-distance running and high-load strength training will stimulate red muscle fibers. If you want to have a faster burst of speed, high-intensity, high-speed training will stimulate white muscle fibers."

Wick continued, "The ratio of red to white muscle is determined by genetics, which is why sprinters find it difficult to run long distances, and vice versa."

"Both red and white muscle fibers are involved in weight training. Specifically, white muscle fibers are involved the most in the initial stage, while red muscle fibers become more involved in the final stage."

"Therefore, we can develop a series of targeted training programs based on the characteristics of muscles."

"Use scientifically selected ingredients to achieve muscle gain without sacrificing effectiveness."

"OK, I think I understand. Let's start from today."

"This month will be tough, but believe me, the rewards will exceed your expectations," Wick said with extreme confidence.

"Of course I believe you, come on." Chen Fang was eager to try.

The first day passed, and Chen Fang didn't feel much pain. He asked Wick, "Why is that?"

“This is just to let the body adapt; you can think of it as a warm-up,” Wick explained.

On the fourth day, Chen Fang was practically carried out of the training field.

Looking up at Wick, Chen Fang asked blankly, "Excuse me, are you really not doing this because you hate me?"

"Close your eyes and breathe properly!" That was the only command Wick could give.

On the seventh day, Chen Fang called Ilya to discuss how to save him, and the latter handed the phone to Wick.

On the tenth day, Chen Fang had accepted his fate, but the thought of 20 more days brought tears to his eyes again.

I never imagined that exercising would be such a torturous thing. In order to achieve hypertrophy of the whole body's functional muscles, some of the muscle-stimulating exercises are simply beyond the imagination of the human brain.

Wick's reply was filled with sorrow: "Three years! I've been thinking about how to help you, and now, this day has finally come!"

On the fifteenth day, Chen Fang felt his body adapting for the first time. Even though the hard-to-swallow food still tormented him, he had now experienced all the training subjects.

All that's left is to persevere.

During this time, Smith and Mary systematically corrected the technical deformities caused by his physical strength.

The fundamentals are learned through repeated practice every day.

Chen Fang can swear that he has been subjected to inhuman treatment over the past two weeks.

As September arrived and the weather in Los Angeles gradually turned cooler, Chen Fang also entered his final week.

Standing on the scale, Chen Fang saw the result.

97KG, body fat percentage is 6.8%.

He looked a bit stockier, but his cheeks were thinner and his chin was somewhat pointed.

Looking at himself in the mirror, admiring his own reflection for a while, Chen Fang accepted the reality that he was more handsome than before.

"It really does have benefits!" Chen Fang muttered to himself, causing Wick to roll his eyes, while the others chuckled.

They remembered that for the past three weeks, Chen Fang had been hurling insults at Wick every day, practicing while cursing in Chinese. Although they couldn't understand him, it was definitely not anything nice.

What should I do in the last week?

Chen Fang asked with some anticipation.

"Consolidate!"

"We also assess your injury risk and playing time by testing the weight your joints can currently withstand."

"With every pound you gain, the pressure on your joints increases exponentially. You won't feel it in a short time, but you'll feel it over a long regular season."

"Proper rest and reasonable playing time will make your career longer and healthier."

"And your diet, if you want to control your weight and avoid a high incidence of inflammation, you need to control your appetite."

"So, there's no more all-you-can-eat meals?" Chen Fang blinked.

"Yes, you can have one if you don't have a match in four or five days, but don't overdo it."

"Great, that's enough!" Chen Fang exclaimed happily.

“There’s one more thing!” Wick suddenly said, his face hardening.

"Your most noticeable muscle growth is in your shoulder muscles, and given your naturally broad frame, we conclude that your shooting percentage will decrease."

"Is that so?" Chen Fang lowered his head and pondered, having also made some discoveries recently.

In fact, in shooting theory, wide shoulders are definitely not a good thing, because the human body is balanced. When shooting, an excessively wide shoulder distance will cause left and right imbalance at the end of the power generation process, which is called "chicken claw hand".

The shooting hand will shift to the left during the shooting motion, which will result in many long-distance shots with reduced accuracy.

"How do we solve this?" Chen Fang asked.

When it was Smith's turn to answer, he clearly had a solution: "There are usually two ways."

"First, your shooting stance. You need to turn more to the side and your feet should be more noticeably higher on the right and lower on the left."

"However, this standing posture will cause a major change in the overall force exertion, and over time, the knees will develop an inward O-shape, resulting in irreversible meniscus wear."

"The second method is very difficult, which is to actively correct in mid-air so that the posture does not change."

"This is very difficult and requires a lot of training, but it also has one advantage!"

"What's the benefit?"

"The accuracy of drift shots will actually increase."

Chen Fang thought for a moment and asked, "Do you have any successful cases before?"

Smith shook his head sincerely: "No."

"Okay, from now on, I'll be the guinea pig." Chen Fang couldn't accept his shooting percentage dropping, as it was fundamental to his success in the NBA.

"How long will it take?" he asked, unwilling to give up.

"I don't know either!" Smith said helplessly.

"What a complicated day!" Chen Fang sighed helplessly.

※※※

In mid-September, Panshi welcomed two distinguished guests.

Kobe and McGrady.

Kobe praised the place highly, and he said to Chen Fang, "It seems you really want to do something big. At your age, I never thought about building my own integrated team."

Then he couldn't resist mocking McGrady: "Hey man, if you had it back then, I don't think you'd be so fragile. Oh, I almost forgot, you're so stingy, you probably wouldn't be so willing to spend it."

McGrady, who already had a white beard, retorted: "Back then, you were also focused on Shaq. Admit it, you didn't have time to think about these things."

Chen Fang was amused by their direct banter.

This laughter drew their attention back.

"You seem to have gotten bigger. How many pounds do you weigh now?"

“About 216 pounds!” “Wow, what a surprise!” Kobe knew that Chen Fang must have suffered a lot this month.

"I'm glad to see your hard work; it makes me realize you have big ideas," McGrady also praised.

"Yes, I should compete for more honors. I plan to go toe-to-toe with some people in the league!" Chen Fang made no attempt to hide his thoughts.

"That's great!" Both of them nodded in approval.

"Come on, let's get started. Don't let your brother Trish make money as easily as he thinks." Kobe's next words made McGrady roll his eyes.

"Okay, I knew you'd come along for no good," McGrady said with a laugh.

The three arrived at the court. Kobe stood by and watched, but McGrady waved and said, "Hey, have some boundaries. If you want to hear it, I don't mind charging you."

Kobe responded with a disdainful middle finger and instructed Chen Fang: "You must get to the bottom of this. This guy is lazy; he doesn't even have the energy to say another word."

After Kobe left, only the two of them remained on the training field, along with two practice partners who were retrieving balls.

"Kobe had this idea six months ago, but I didn't think it was necessary," McGrady said.

“Until you took the initiative, I thought, okay, maybe now is the time.”

“Speak out about your confusion.”

As McGrady said, Chen Fang encountered a shooting problem, and then he remembered Kobe's words.

When Chen Fang explained that his increased muscle mass had caused an imbalance in his shoulder strength, leading to a decrease in his shooting percentage, McGrady understood.

“This is indeed a big problem. Your trainer is right. Correcting your shooting form in the air is one way, but the problem is that he doesn’t quite understand the logic behind how to do it.”

“We still need to start with the standing posture,” McGrady began his demonstration.

He stood with one foot higher than the other, then twisted his toes and said, "What did you notice?"

"Toes!"

"Yes, you need to use the toes of your feet that are angled towards the basket to push off the ground and jump, so that your body naturally rotates inward. This right inward rotation will effectively counteract the leftward deviation that occurs when you exert force."

Chen Fang's eyes lit up; he suddenly understood.

"It's that simple?"

"Yes, my high school teacher taught me that. It was because I understood this in high school that I evolved advanced shooting skills." McGrady's eyes showed a hint of nostalgia.

“It’s not about the price; it’s just that I know you’re a good match for this technology.”

"Of course, there's one more shooting detail you need to pay attention to."

"During the arm swing, the forearm, wrist, and fingers do not need to exert force. The joints are activated by the momentum of the arm swing. This reduces the spin of the ball, makes it more directional, and the farther away from the basket, the higher the accuracy."

McGrady then began to demonstrate, and Chen Fang followed suit, spending the entire day on the training field.

In the evening, Chen Fang invited McGrady to dinner. He had booked a very private steakhouse. There were still some days before the preseason games, and Chen Fang was deliberately looking for an opportunity to indulge in a meal.

That's how people are. If there are no restrictions, they often lose interest. But once they realize they're getting further and further away from delicious food, they'll deliberately create opportunities for it.

They also ordered red wine. McGrady said, "All that's missing is candlelight. Well, although I'm not worried, I'm afraid the reporters will misunderstand."

"Let them be. I just wanted to show my respect to my brother." Chen Fang didn't care. This place was very private; only those with VIP cards personally issued by the boss could enter.

"This is our first time playing together, and now I know why you've improved so quickly!" McGrady didn't hide his emotions; he saw Chen Fang's hard work with basketball in today's training.

“We actually have a long history, don’t we?” Chen Fang said with a smile.

McGrady nodded, agreeing. Strictly speaking, his relationship with China was even deeper than Kobe's, after all, Yao Ming and the Rockets had always given him an absolute following and a strong sense of loyalty in China.

Furthermore, he has also played in China.

However, this did not boost his commercial promotion in China, which was undoubtedly quite painful for someone who loves money.

Everyone has their own flaws and shortcomings, but generally speaking, McGrady is a high-quality basketball idol worthy of respect and admiration.

"Maybe Kobe already said it, maybe he didn't. I have a vision for promoting basketball in China, and I hope you can come and cooperate more deeply, not just as a spokesperson." Chen Fang was eager to reciprocate.

McGrady's eyes lit up. He didn't have any difficulties, but he felt the pressure of the future.

While my health is still good, I want to earn more money.

"I think I can," McGrady said decisively without hesitation.

“There will be someone to follow up, and I believe this is a mutually beneficial venture!” Chen Fang said confidently.

After this exchange, their relationship quickly warmed up.

McGrady spoke about Rivers: "He's a very good person. I remember when we were reversed by the Pistons, he took full responsibility."

"Despite my best efforts, to be honest, this has become a stain on my career as well."

"Yes, he is indeed a good person, but the current alliance changes too quickly!"

When this topic came up, McGrady also had something to say, and the two discovered that they had surprisingly similar views on many things.

"Gambling is the key to Adam Silver becoming commissioner. Every team owner supports him. The profits from the betting industry in the NBA are in the hundreds of billions." Chen Fang gave McGrady a comprehensive lesson.

Don't expect many Americans to have a comprehensive understanding of issues. This isn't China. Educationally and historically, they won't be given the opportunity to think holistically. 99% of ordinary people simply don't understand the concept of three-dimensional thinking.

"So, no matter what Adam Silver does, as long as it brings benefits to the league, no one will say anything, including us, who are all beneficiaries."

"Salary cap, salary, these are all things he brought up in his response to the gambling rumors. Why is the broadcasting contract over 70 billion? Has anyone calculated how the buyer makes money?"

"How could you possibly make money through advertising?"

"The only benefit of broadcasting and betting is that it can reach more people and get them to participate in the betting, and that's the key."

McGrady's expression shifted from astonishment to sudden realization, and when he looked at Chen Fang again, his eyes were completely different.

"No wonder you were able to build such a large platform in China. Your mind is even more terrifying than your ball skills!"

Chen Fang could only laugh at such flattery. This was nothing compared to what he knew all too well; his own head was utterly worthless.

That's definitely a bit much, I'd better not say anything more.

"Don't spread what I just said; I was just talking offhand." This attempt to salvage the situation only made McGrady value the argument even more.

"What do you think about creating stars?" McGrady suddenly asked.

Chen Fang quickly waved his hand: "It has nothing to do with me. To be honest, this is a Nike specialist. I'll just focus on playing my game."

"But you'll encounter a lot of inexplicable obstacles," McGrady said, trying to exchange what Chen Fang had just said with what he had learned.

"Yes, but I think it would be a very bad thing if this alliance were to be monopolized."

"I'm still enjoying basketball right now, but maybe when I get disappointed, I'll consider leaving."

"Really?" McGrady was quite surprised.

"Maybe so, I don't think too far ahead."

The two lost interest at this point and hastily ended the conversation. Chen Fang saw McGrady off, and Ilya had already driven over.

"Send me home. I need a few days of peace and quiet." Chen Fang was indeed feeling tired.

The house has been cleaned by a professional and doesn't look like I've been away for a long time.

Sitting alone in the backyard, Chen Fang thought about many things. Finally, he shook his head and muttered, "Let's win the championship first, and then we can just adapt to whatever comes our way."

Frankly speaking, Chen Fang wouldn't continue playing basketball in a world of gambling. The feeling of being manipulated and fooled would instantly make him fall from feeling good to feeling like a clown.

Until 24, the secrets about NBA betting were revealed and then erased, and many vested interests became accomplices.

Many revelations about someone taking drugs to maintain their fighting ability quickly disappeared.

There are actually a lot of people who think that a 40-year-old can still do this. If you question it, they will laugh at you for being ignorant, or even ask why other stars can't do it, or if they don't have money to buy medicine.

The logic is actually very clear. It's like the difference between a policeman and a bandit: it's legal for you to use a gun, but it's illegal for me to use a knife. In the entire alliance, who has a drug license?

Lillard scored 71 points and was immediately taken for a drug test. Who would dare to do that to someone else?
Leaving aside such a major event, the difference between winning and losing a match is significant.

Moreover, it's not just North American portal media; which major domestic media outlet hasn't covered it up?

Even a series of defeats can be turned into a story to distort the truth.

So don't try to correct me too much, otherwise you'll just be a joke in the eyes of those in the know.

In their eyes, this is simply a project to entertain the masses and make a lot of money. Why are you taking it so seriously?
Football has been rife with betting for years; do we expect basketball to be completely untainted?

Is it all Adam Silver's fault?
That would truly be a joke.

(End of this chapter)