Karl Malone’s Summertime Workout Regime Was Brutal
Karl Malone is a former NBA player, famously known as 'the Mailman'. Regarded as one of the best power forwards in NBA history, Malone (36.928 points) is the third-leading scorer, behind Kareem Abdul Jabbar and LeBron James.
Malone spent his first 18 seasons (1985–2003) with the Utah Jazz, where he and John Stockton created a deadly tandem. He was twice named NBA Most Valuable Player and is a 14-time NBA All-Star and a 11-time member of the All-NBA first team.
Malone holds the records for most free throws attempted and made and is tied with Kobe Bryant for the second-most first-team All-NBA honors, behind LeBron James.
Malone did a brutal workout to get in shape for a new season. Summer is here, which means most NBA players are either recovering from injury or working to improve their game. Players can use the summer time to improve various aspects of their game or simply prepare their body for the new season.
Some players want to gain more muscle if their position requires them to engage in paint battles. Meanwhile, others seek to lose weight to improve their speed and quickness.
On that note, here's a look at the summer workout Karl Malone had before a new season.
Karl Malone's Summer Workout Included Lot of Cardio
The reality is that everyone customizes their summer workouts based on their goals.
Some players are more dedicated than others to develop every area of their game and body. According to NBA star Karl Malone, he didn't focus on basketball-related workouts during the latter stage of his career. Instead, he spent a great deal of time into prepping his body.
In one of his interviews, Malone detailed his summer exercise routine, beginning with cardio, where he would spend more than two hours focusing on conditioning and stamina.
Karl Malone Stayed Away from Basketball During Summer
The most startling aspect of Karl Malone's summer workout regimen is that he didn't touch a basketball throughout the summer. He worked out at the gym six days each week, lifting weights and focusing mainly on completing as many repetitions as possible.
Malone liked to work out six days a week, with mostly free weight exercises he liked. He felt that they gave him a more cut-up appearance.
"On lighter days, I perform between 35 and 85 repetitions of the incline and decline press. I enjoy combining dumbbells with the resistance ball," he says.
Karl Malone had one of the most remarkable physiques in the NBA during his playing days. Some of his images from that period stand testimony to that.
As Malone has some of the most toned muscles in the NBA, he was unlike a quintessential basketball player. He resembled more of a football player or bodybuilder. He also says that he typically worked his biceps with 60-65-pound dumbbells and performed around 100 repetitions.
"On biceps, I never go above 60 or 65 pounds dumbells because I do so many reps. I might do 100 reps before I am done. I do sets of 10," he says.
Malone's dedication and hard work made him one of the most consistent NBA players. Even in the later stage of his career, he remained a force to be reckoned with, which is one of the reasons he's the third-leading scorer all time, with LeBron James surpassing him to second place last season.
Malone always kept his body in excellent condition. That was the primary reason he rarely missed games and was regarded as one of the hardest and strongest players on the floor.