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Okay, you schlubs. I'm sure you've seen the picture circulating this off-season. First posted on New York Knicks guard Kyle O'Quinn's Instagram, it shows a merry bunch of NBA players with a very notable, very skinny Kyle Lowry in the middle.
So what's the man's secret? In an interview with Stack, Lowry shares his secrets so we, the lazy watchers, can get in on the action.
How'd you go about doing it? Did you switch up your normal routine at all?
I still lift with my trainers. I don’t play as much pick-up basketball during the summer as I used to when I was younger. I implemented bike riding and extreme Pilates. There's not too much running and sprinting. Instead of doing five days of lifting, I do three days of lifting and two days of cardio. Before, I would lift five days a week and take a day off. Now, there’s no days off, but there’s a conditioning day and a recovery day and there’s always work being done.
What are extreme Pilates?
I do private classes. It's 45 minutes to an hour straight of just work. It’s not as much stretching, but a lot of strengthening. We keep the room hot. I tell them to turn the air conditioning off, and we just go in there and work. We’re focused and I have a good teachers. It’s fun. It’s something completely different from what I do every day.
That's right, folks. Extreme pilates in a hot room - learn it, know it, love it. Lowry also addressed the reasoning behind his change in routine.
What made you decide to drop weight?
It started during [last] season, and even before that. I was talking to my wife, and she said "You were always your best at your college weight." The saying is, the older you get, the lighter you've got to be. I thought Ray Allen did a great job of that, and Chauncey Billups too. I’m getting to the point where I’m a little bit older. I’m still young, but I’m a little bit older, and I can pick and choose how I want my body to look and feel. It’s good to understand your body. I want to be special. At the end of the day it's all about me and how I feel and what I can provide for my team and my family.
So, as one could expect, Lowry is focusing on his health after wearing down significantly down the stretch last season with various injuries. Good for him. It's something small, but it's just another positive sign in a string of them for Lowry in a Raptors uniform; once labeled a head case and a coach's nightmare, it seems Lowry continues his devotion to getting the best out of himself and his team.
You can read the entire interview on Stack now. Now who's up for some extreme pilates?