Indazone
09-28-2008, 12:07 PM
http://rockets.basketball.titan24.com/08-09-21/117023.html
Yao will be staying in Shanghai for another week before he departs for Houston on September 28th (Sunday) to report back to the Rockets on the 29th. He is staying behind because Liu Wei, his best buddy for the past 14-15 years and teammate on the Shanghai Sharks and Chinese National Team, is getting married on the 27th (Saturday).
http://i2.sinaimg.cn/ty/k/p/2008-09-21/U2035P6T12D3964811F44DT20080921185143.jpg
Reporter Wang Meng of Titan Sports reports from Shanghai
So after finishing his breakfast and having a short break, it’s time for Yao Ming to leave home. He had to pass through the early rush-hour bustling traffic of the Shanghai streets to arrive at the gymnasium located on the 7th floor of Shanghai Portman Ritz Carlton Hotel before 09:00 am, because his personal trainer, Anthony Falsone, would be there waiting for him. This professional trainer would wake up every morning at 05:00 am, finish his breakfast before 06:00 am, wait after the food in his stomach almost got digested, and then arrive at the gymnasium; he would start some weight-lifting and then jog to wait for the arrival of Yao Ming. By the time Yao Ming arrived, Anthony Falsone was already perspiring like a fish just got caught out of water.
After a half-hour warm-up, Anthony Falsone would usher Yao Ming to the weight-lifting zone. If Yao Ming delayed for just seconds, Anthony Falsone would roar at him with loud decibel: “Hurry up ! You’re wasting time, yours and mine.” He would then pass those gigantic dumb bells into the hands of Yao Ming. Anthony Falsone is just like any other professional physical trainer, who understands profoundly his own responsibility, and i.e. supervision is their work. Even though Anthony Falsone often praised Yao Ming for his work ethic and hard work, once he entered the gymnasium, he was a different animal; he was often seen running around excitedly, clapping hands and shouting loudly to Yao Ming on the bicycle/running machine: “Faster !! Much faster !!”
Once he was in the gymnasium, it would be 2 and 1/2 hours before Yao Ming left; it took turns to train his upper limbs on one day, then the abdomen/waist on the next day, and the thighs/legs on the third. And this feeling of getting fully exhausted and wanted to die just repeated every day. (So on this day), a hotel’s resident entered to inspect the facilities of the gymnasium, pushing a baby carriage; and there was this sweet cute little doll in her sleep, still nipping a baby nipple in her mouth. Yao Ming took a look at the sleeping baby, sighed and said with envy: “I just want to swap places with her.” And just then, Anthony Falsone was again shouting loud to him: “It’s training time now, and it is not chatting time.” As far as Yao Ming was concerned, at such time, to be able to take a break and chat for a while would already be considered some kind of a rest. Sometime when he could no longer persist (in his training), Yao Ming would deliberately quip a few exchanges with Anthony Falsone, so as to take the opportunity for a short breather.
When he got really tired and exhausted that he could no longer persist in his training, he would go up to the windows, and take a look outside; in front of him was the Shanghai Jinan Stadium which was once so familiar with him. The time clock for the 28-year-old Yao Ming just flashed back to 11 years ago; he was a 17-year-old; and (it was in Jinan Stadium that) he became an instant overnight hero of his city.
It was China’s national games (between the various provinces/cities); Shanghai played versus Shandong in their first game; at that time, Shandong had the twin tower of Gong Xiaobin and Ji Minshang; and right from the kick-off, Shandong was battering Shanghai and a 17 ~ 2 run seemed to have set the tone of the end result of the game: defeat. Head Coach Li Qiuping of Shanghai just ran out of sorts; and desperately, and with the intention to try out to see what the young kid could do, he sent out the 17-year-old Yao Ming (who was then a rookie), thin like a big bamboo pole, onto court. At that time, even though Yao Ming was light and weak in terms of his weight and strength, he was tall and fast; he went all out to block shots down under the basket, threw passes/assists to team mates for fast breaks, or sprinting forward to grab offensive rebounds for put-backs. In that battle, Yao Ming scored 9 points, and Shanghai came from behind to nip Shandong 50 ~ 48. Henceforth from that night on, a new hero and star was born in Chinese basketball. And now, with Jinan Stadium just so near at hand, Yao Ming is working his head off and preparing for his 7th NBA season.
Anthony Falsone Yao's Trainer
Anthony Falsone said: “We have not stopped working hard; during the Olympics, his condition was no good; it was not because he had insufficient training, but because he just had recovered from such a severe injury. And the Olympics was just like a preseason camp before the real preseason camp; it just stimulated his body and helped him to fasten his rehabilitation. I anticipate he will retrieve his best condition before the new season begins.”
The shooting practice ended generally around 13:30 pm. And by that time, Yao Ming would have 3 of his training jerseys all fully soaked with his perspiration. But the training did not stop there; waiting for him outside under the blazing sun would be the track and field ground. With the hot and humid air of Shanghai blowing against his face, Yao Ming would take off his T-shirt, yelled out loud: “Let’s enjoy the sunshine….” And he would start his sprints with his head held up high.
Yao Ming said: “When I felt I’m fully exhausted and about to collapse during those training, I just kept telling myself, I had to persist and hang on. The reason why I can become the player that I am today is due to my persistence, and I must continue and persist like this.” He had no way to be lazy because once he slowed down on his pace, the muscular Anthony Falsone, who had also taken off his T-shirt, showing his strong biceps and muscles, would again start roaring at his ears: “Don’t try to cheat yourself. Think about the NBA championship. I know you can complete this lap.” (Upon hearing this) Yao Ming would shake his head reluctantly, but fasten up his pace and keep on running, while mumbling: “One of these days, when he will not be my personal trainer, I’m gonna find a chance to beat this guy up.”
Yao will be staying in Shanghai for another week before he departs for Houston on September 28th (Sunday) to report back to the Rockets on the 29th. He is staying behind because Liu Wei, his best buddy for the past 14-15 years and teammate on the Shanghai Sharks and Chinese National Team, is getting married on the 27th (Saturday).
http://i2.sinaimg.cn/ty/k/p/2008-09-21/U2035P6T12D3964811F44DT20080921185143.jpg
Reporter Wang Meng of Titan Sports reports from Shanghai
So after finishing his breakfast and having a short break, it’s time for Yao Ming to leave home. He had to pass through the early rush-hour bustling traffic of the Shanghai streets to arrive at the gymnasium located on the 7th floor of Shanghai Portman Ritz Carlton Hotel before 09:00 am, because his personal trainer, Anthony Falsone, would be there waiting for him. This professional trainer would wake up every morning at 05:00 am, finish his breakfast before 06:00 am, wait after the food in his stomach almost got digested, and then arrive at the gymnasium; he would start some weight-lifting and then jog to wait for the arrival of Yao Ming. By the time Yao Ming arrived, Anthony Falsone was already perspiring like a fish just got caught out of water.
After a half-hour warm-up, Anthony Falsone would usher Yao Ming to the weight-lifting zone. If Yao Ming delayed for just seconds, Anthony Falsone would roar at him with loud decibel: “Hurry up ! You’re wasting time, yours and mine.” He would then pass those gigantic dumb bells into the hands of Yao Ming. Anthony Falsone is just like any other professional physical trainer, who understands profoundly his own responsibility, and i.e. supervision is their work. Even though Anthony Falsone often praised Yao Ming for his work ethic and hard work, once he entered the gymnasium, he was a different animal; he was often seen running around excitedly, clapping hands and shouting loudly to Yao Ming on the bicycle/running machine: “Faster !! Much faster !!”
Once he was in the gymnasium, it would be 2 and 1/2 hours before Yao Ming left; it took turns to train his upper limbs on one day, then the abdomen/waist on the next day, and the thighs/legs on the third. And this feeling of getting fully exhausted and wanted to die just repeated every day. (So on this day), a hotel’s resident entered to inspect the facilities of the gymnasium, pushing a baby carriage; and there was this sweet cute little doll in her sleep, still nipping a baby nipple in her mouth. Yao Ming took a look at the sleeping baby, sighed and said with envy: “I just want to swap places with her.” And just then, Anthony Falsone was again shouting loud to him: “It’s training time now, and it is not chatting time.” As far as Yao Ming was concerned, at such time, to be able to take a break and chat for a while would already be considered some kind of a rest. Sometime when he could no longer persist (in his training), Yao Ming would deliberately quip a few exchanges with Anthony Falsone, so as to take the opportunity for a short breather.
When he got really tired and exhausted that he could no longer persist in his training, he would go up to the windows, and take a look outside; in front of him was the Shanghai Jinan Stadium which was once so familiar with him. The time clock for the 28-year-old Yao Ming just flashed back to 11 years ago; he was a 17-year-old; and (it was in Jinan Stadium that) he became an instant overnight hero of his city.
It was China’s national games (between the various provinces/cities); Shanghai played versus Shandong in their first game; at that time, Shandong had the twin tower of Gong Xiaobin and Ji Minshang; and right from the kick-off, Shandong was battering Shanghai and a 17 ~ 2 run seemed to have set the tone of the end result of the game: defeat. Head Coach Li Qiuping of Shanghai just ran out of sorts; and desperately, and with the intention to try out to see what the young kid could do, he sent out the 17-year-old Yao Ming (who was then a rookie), thin like a big bamboo pole, onto court. At that time, even though Yao Ming was light and weak in terms of his weight and strength, he was tall and fast; he went all out to block shots down under the basket, threw passes/assists to team mates for fast breaks, or sprinting forward to grab offensive rebounds for put-backs. In that battle, Yao Ming scored 9 points, and Shanghai came from behind to nip Shandong 50 ~ 48. Henceforth from that night on, a new hero and star was born in Chinese basketball. And now, with Jinan Stadium just so near at hand, Yao Ming is working his head off and preparing for his 7th NBA season.
Anthony Falsone Yao's Trainer
Anthony Falsone said: “We have not stopped working hard; during the Olympics, his condition was no good; it was not because he had insufficient training, but because he just had recovered from such a severe injury. And the Olympics was just like a preseason camp before the real preseason camp; it just stimulated his body and helped him to fasten his rehabilitation. I anticipate he will retrieve his best condition before the new season begins.”
The shooting practice ended generally around 13:30 pm. And by that time, Yao Ming would have 3 of his training jerseys all fully soaked with his perspiration. But the training did not stop there; waiting for him outside under the blazing sun would be the track and field ground. With the hot and humid air of Shanghai blowing against his face, Yao Ming would take off his T-shirt, yelled out loud: “Let’s enjoy the sunshine….” And he would start his sprints with his head held up high.
Yao Ming said: “When I felt I’m fully exhausted and about to collapse during those training, I just kept telling myself, I had to persist and hang on. The reason why I can become the player that I am today is due to my persistence, and I must continue and persist like this.” He had no way to be lazy because once he slowed down on his pace, the muscular Anthony Falsone, who had also taken off his T-shirt, showing his strong biceps and muscles, would again start roaring at his ears: “Don’t try to cheat yourself. Think about the NBA championship. I know you can complete this lap.” (Upon hearing this) Yao Ming would shake his head reluctantly, but fasten up his pace and keep on running, while mumbling: “One of these days, when he will not be my personal trainer, I’m gonna find a chance to beat this guy up.”