As the two finished their daily one-on-one and were packing up to leave, Westbrook took a sip of water and then asked, "Xiu, have you adjusted your training focus recently?"
Zhao Xiu smiled and nodded, and Westbrook seemed a bit puzzled.
He then asked, "I feel like two weeks ago when we first played one-on-one, it was much easier to guard you, whether on offense or defense. Why have you changed so much in these two weeks?"
"In the first two months, I mainly focused on a lot of core strength training because I initially found my core strength to be very insufficient. Compared to normal NCAA players, I couldn't keep up with the physical confrontation.
Without enough physical strength, even with my good height and wingspan, I would lose balance in confrontations, getting pushed around. Forget about defense then."
Westbrook took over, puzzled, "Xiu, I didn't feel like your physical strength was that bad. While not very strong, you certainly weren't falling over at every touch."
"Don't rush, I haven't finished yet."
Having obtained the "Injury Exemption" badge, Zhao Xiu immediately started skipping classes.
For a month and a half, nearly 60 days, Zhao Xiu, leveraging his good knowledge from his previous life, directly began a complete class-skipping mode.
Because American university students, whether they participate in the NCAA basketball league or not, must meet academic standards.
Therefore, many NCAA league members have to attend classes during the day, with only half an afternoon and evening available for training.
Many times, team training would be in the afternoon or evening, so there was little time for individual training.
However, with a Ph.D. in computer science from his previous life, Zhao Xiu at least didn't have to worry about basic academic performance. With the "Injury Exemption" badge and completely saving class time, he could dedicate himself fully to training all day, every day.
For Zhao Xiu, waking up at four in the morning was impossible, but waking up at 6 AM was doable.
Zhao Xiu considered eight hours of sleep a day his bottom line, so his daily routine was basically sleeping at ten and waking up at six.
The day would start with a warm-up morning run and some basic exercises that didn't require gym equipment to wake up the body, as the school gym usually opened at 7 AM.
At this time, the main training included morning runs, jump rope, and some stretching exercises.
Next, after a strictly controlled breakfast, the devilish training began. When he first designed this devilish training, Zhao Xiu would often lament that working 70 hours a week during his Ph.D. or the 996 work schedule were simple compared to this training.
Compared to extreme physical torture, torturing one's brain is sometimes hard to say if it's harder or simpler.
Every day from 9 AM to 12 PM was the most grueling phase. During this time, Zhao Xiu would intensely bomb his body with strength training, focusing on different muscle groups each day.
This included squats, deadlifts, bench presses, rows, and more, rotating the training according to the body's 48-hour recovery cycle. Then, after lunch, he would routinely take a half-hour nap.
Every noon, Zhao Xiu maintained his old habits; a nap was essential, or the entire afternoon would be unproductive.
From 2 PM to 6 PM was the most challenging time. First, there would be about 2 hours of core training. Unlike strength training, core strength helps increase explosiveness, including aerial confrontations and body stability, using equipment like stability balls, TRX suspension systems, and balance pads.
Five hours total in the gym each day might not sound long, but the physical conditioning was explosive.
If Zhao Xiu hadn't received the "Injury Exemption" badge, he would never have dared to do this, as it would definitely lead to permanent physical damage over time.
Even without injuries, the soreness in his body and mental fatigue every morning after waking up really made Zhao Xiu suffer. Every day he debated whether to go or not, but he had no entertainment and not even a friend to play with.
He gritted his teeth and persevered for about three weeks, 21 days. Finally, he got through the devilish training, and now it has gradually become a habit.
As the saying goes, it takes 21 days to start periodically sticking to a habit, but 66 days to truly form one.
It's a long and arduous journey.
Immediately following in the afternoon, Zhao Xiu would head to the gym for about 2 hours of basketball training, mainly to maintain his touch despite muscle soreness. Every shot felt like it was thrown with gritted teeth.
After completing basic three-point training, he would then proceed with comprehensive fundamental training, including defensive slides, ball-handling drills with heavy basketballs, alternating sprints, and so on.
Then came the relatively relaxed final training session in the evening, from 7 PM to 9 PM. During this time, Zhao Xiu would engage in various aerobic endurance training, including swimming, elliptical, and yoga, to improve cardiovascular function and flexibility. One reason was to speed up muscle recovery, and the other was to ensure he didn't lose flexibility and agility while gaining a lot of muscle.
The most meaningful memories in his mind were, of course, advanced basketball concepts and training methods.
Modern basketball increasingly emphasizes yoga because it focuses more on hip joints and overall body flexibility. Yoga also plays an important role in increasing body flexibility, ankle stability, and strength.
Swimming goes without saying. These were all projects Zhao Xiu carefully considered and seriously incorporated into his physical training plan.
The human body's capabilities are truly beyond imagination. After 60 days of devilish training, Zhao Xiu's weight increased from 92kg to 95kg. Don't underestimate these three kilograms of muscle, because this is not "dead muscle."
These are muscles that combine both aerobic and anaerobic exercise while maintaining flexibility. After gaining these 6 pounds of muscle, Zhao Xiu felt that he no longer looked like a lamppost.
As for other skills, Zhao Xiu currently had no time to consider them. His focus was on improving defense and strengthening physical confrontation.
Other skills would be slowly developed later. He was only 18 years old now. According to his plan, he should have two more years in the NCAA to hone his skills, then enter the draft in his sophomore year. At that time, being under 20 years old, it should be the most suitable period, combining both potential and immediate combat effectiveness.
After 60 days, which was shortly after he first met Wei Shao Ye, Zhao Xiu had just finished his month-and-a-half-long devilish training and adjusted his training focus. His phase as a gym rat had ended.
Once team practices started, it was impossible to live in the gym every day.
Next came the training time with the training fanatic Westbrook. Three hours in the gym in the morning continued, and after team practice in the afternoon, there would be extra shooting and fundamental training in the evening.
Finally, he would stay with Westbrook for additional one-on-one training, practicing both offensive and defensive one-on-one.
As for why his strength had grown so quickly in the last two weeks... "Because from September to mid-October, I mainly focused on a lot of strength training. After you returned to school, I gradually started more practical training, getting familiar with my rapidly improving physical strength. You can understand it as me adapting to my new body."
After speaking, Zhao Xiu flexed his bicep, making a "I'm strong" gesture.
Normally, seeing such a cocky Zhao Xiu, Westbrook would usually give him an elbow to the waist. But today, Westbrook seemed a bit down.
"Why does my training seem to have made no progress? We train for the same amount of time every day."
Hearing this, Zhao Xiu tilted his head, no longer joking, but instead lowered his head and thought seriously for a moment, not about how to teach, but whether to speak.
Westbrook's training plan was naturally easy to make; Zhao Xiu already had it figured out. But his excellent research experience in his previous life taught Zhao Xiu more than just scientific research methodology.
Don't actively point things out to others. Sometimes, even if someone asks you a question, you have to consider whether they truly need your opinion.
Sometimes, being overly enthusiastic and bossy might not be appreciated, especially in a place where everyone has their own agenda and strong opinions.
But for Wei Shao Ye, it was naturally different. After a moment of hesitation.
"Russ, I have some suggestions for your training. I think you need to reduce your spot-up mid-range shooting and change your daily mid-range spot-up shots to mid-range pull-up jumpers."
Hearing this, Westbrook couldn't help but be puzzled, "Why should I reduce mid-range jump shots?"
"When do you think your mid-range jump shots will occur? Do you think Coach Holland will design off-ball mid-range plays for you?"
"Do you deserve it? Do you want a key? How many do you want?"
"Damn it!"
As Westbrook fumed, Zhao Xiu continued, "I think most of the time you won't have opportunities for spot-up mid-range shots. More often, you'll be dribbling and then taking some on-ball mid-range jump shots.
Mid-range shots don't increase offensive spacing for the team. They don't make driving to the basket easier like three-pointers do, unless your mid-range shot is extremely, extremely accurate, but that's obviously very difficult."
Zhao Xiu continued, "Therefore, I think you should incorporate one-dribble, two-dribble mid-range pull-up jumpers into your training to make your drives more threatening.
This is also my training philosophy: maximize my threat by focusing on one strong point.
Just like my three-point shot is my strongest weapon, then I will build my skills around the three-pointer, mainly off-the-dribble penetration and one-dribble pull-ups after a three-point line shake.
So your strongest point is clearly driving. Your goal is to not let others sag off you to guard your drive. If others are too far from you, you can pull up and shoot. That's the type of shot you need.
Only by developing your skills around your strongest point will the training effect be maximized."
Seeing that Westbrook seemed to be deep in thought, Zhao Xiu didn't press the issue. Although he was Westbrook's number one fan, Zhao Xiu, as a former fan, knew how stubborn Westbrook was. They had only known each other for two weeks, training together daily because their training styles clicked. It was not appropriate to speak too deeply when the acquaintance was shallow. He had already said quite a bit.
No matter how good their relationship, he shouldn't overstep too much. Hinting was best, and besides, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.
Without saying anything more, he extended his fist and gave Westbrook a punch to the chest,
"Think about it later, let's go now!"
Feeling that sense of getting stronger bit by bit is addictive.
