Page 96 - Men’s Health - USA (December 2019)
P. 96
MEN’S HEALTH /// NBA 2019
GET NBA FIT
GET NBA FIT
Hang with the
NBA’s Fittest Player
How does Miami Heat star JIMMY BUTLER stay
dominant? By dedicating every waking moment of
every day to prepping for the game.
BY TRISTRAM KORTEN
T’S JUST after 4:00 A.M. in down- cess.” Every hour is mapped out, begin- but he’s never seen one quite like Butler.
town Miami and the American Air- ning with the workout, then progressing “When I started working with Jimmy, it
lines Arena is shrouded in quiet—no to cryo-chamber recovery, agility train- was the first time I’d ever trained some-
I cars on Biscayne Boulevard, no boats ing, and time on the court. And when body at 4:00 A.M.,” he says. “And he’s
crossing the bay out front. A black Ford his body is resting, his mind revs up, never late, not by one minute, no matter
Expedition rolls up and out steps Jimmy studying game tape and honing strategic the time or the place.”
Butler, swinging a portable Bose speaker thinking via games like dominoes. Butler starts his workout by shooting
that’s rocking the twangy melodies of Even sleep is strictly programmed. a ten-pound medicine ball to build wrist
Florida Georgia Line. At heart, the four- Butler targets nine hours of shut-eye, strength, then he holds 45-pound plates
time NBA All-Star is a small-town Texas which means lights out by 7:00 P.M. He at his sides, drops them, and quickly
boy, and this beat puts him in his zone. preps for that sleep three hours earlier catches them, challenging his grip.
Butler needs to be in his zone right with herbal tea, a ban on all screens, and Then it’s on to one of his favorite drills,
now. He’s been in Miami barely a day, a cold-air diff user. “I eat when I’m sup- a game that attacks both balance and
hasn’t even unpacked, but he has to get posed to eat. I sleep when I’m supposed to mental focus: He stands on one leg, a
back to business. He’s striding across sleep,” says Butler. “I play dominoes when resistance band pulling him off -center,
the parking lot to a practice gym with I’m supposed to do that.” as Scott throws him red balls and blue
his performance coach, James Scott. Scott, who worked with the Houston balls. He must catch the red ones with his
If Butler’s going to be the centerpiece Rockets, has overseen Butler’s entire left hand, the blue ones with his right. “I
of the post–Dwyane Wade Miami Heat, fitness regimen for the past two years. love this—anything single-leg I like,” he
there’s no time for days off . Or, in this He’s trained NBA players for 15 years, says. “Single-leg balance, single-leg box
case, mornings off . jumps, single-leg squats.”
This is how you achieve success in the Bridges, planks, and other ab exercises
new age of NBA fi tness: You start work follow, and then Butler hits the court.
hours before the likes of even LeBron For the next hour, he launches about Styling: Khalilah Beavers. Grooming: Daniela Gozlan/Creative Management. Production: Michelle DeMarziani/HG Producers.
have rolled out of bed. A decade ago, 1,000 jump shots, perfecting a shooting
toughness and muscle ruled basketball “I DON’T WANT TO GO stroke that’s made him one of the league’s
(remember Ben Wallace?), but today deadliest scorers in the clutch. By the
the NBA may be more obsessed with BACK TO JUST BEING time the fi rst rays of light hit the sky, he’s
recovery, diet, and the science of human headed home for a breakfast of egg-white
performance than any other league . OKAY. SO I CONTINUE omelets, avocados, berries, and black cof-
Butler’s 4:00 A.M. workout puts him at fee before recovery time in ice or maybe
the forefront of this revolution, kicking TO WORK LIKE yoga, then more drills.
off an entire day devoted to complete Then, at 3:00 P.M., he returns to the
basketball readiness. “It’s a rhythm, it’s I HAVE NOTHING.” American Airlines Arena, this time to
a routine, and I don’t skip any of it,” he see if anyone wants to play pickup. Says
says. “I don’t skip any steps of the pro- —Jimmy Butler Scott: “It’s another level of intensity.”
98 December 2019 / MEN’S HEALTH
