Mjcpr
3/25/2006, 10:02 AM
Good article from the Tulsa World. Goes along with that pic of Duke Robinson (to be known as 'Bix Sexy' going forward :) ) that was floating around the other day...
Baked chicken outweighs pizza
At least it does for these four Sooners who have lost 162 pounds.
NORMAN -- Don't call them the Flab Four any more. Oklahoma football players Branndon Braxton, DeMarcus Granger, Cordero Moore and Duke Robinson all came in from high school last season significantly overweight. But when the Sooners began spring practice this week, they had dropped more than 150 pounds between them.
"When you get up in the morning, you see yourself in the mirror, you see you've really changed," said Granger. "You go home and your family, not really seeing you for a while, says, 'Oh, you lost a whole bunch of weight.' That really makes you feel good inside."
Robinson had the most to lose, and he and Granger have lost the most, 61 pounds. Robinson dropped from 390 to 329. Granger went from 352 pounds to 291 Monday. Braxton, the tallest at 6-foot-6, has shed 30 pounds, from 350 to 320. Moore went from 325 to 305.
That's 172 pounds -- roughly one kicker and half an equipment manager.
Robinson said his body fat last year was 47 percent, but now it's down to 24.5. Granger said his plummeted from 32 to 23. Braxton and Moore had similar changes.
Half the success can be attributed to strength and conditioning coach
http://adserver.tulsaworld.com/?SIT=SportsStory336x280
Jerry Schmidt and his program of exercise and proper nutrition. The other half goes to the players themselves and the dedication they've had.
"We'll go out and you see all them receivers and (defensive backs) loading their plates up with french fries or pizza," said Granger, "and you're sitting over there with a salad and a baked chicken, saying, 'Dang, that pizza sure does look good.' You just have to learn how to say no."
Said head coach Bob Stoops, "They've worked hard, coach Schmidt and his staff have worked with them in a great way, and they've committed to watching their diets and the way they're working and what they're doing. They all can run, they're quicker and their endurance is better. So it's really helped them."
It should really help the team, too. Robinson and Braxton, part-time players on the offensive line as freshmen, will probably be starters next fall.
Granger, ranked as the top high school defensive tackle in the nation, redshirted last season but could be a starter in 2006. And Moore, who also redshirted in '05, could get into the rotation on the defensive line.
Granger said that freshman season was filled with setbacks -- hitting the target weight of 320, then coming back from a weekend at home seven pounds over the limit. That meant endless hours on Schmidt's stair climber machines.
Robinson said sometimes the foursome would get a late-night craving, "but either DeMarcus or Cordero is like, 'No man, don't do it, you know we got that weigh-in tomorrow.' "
"You don't want to do that," Braxton said. "Because you know, come that Monday practice, you're going to be weighing in with Smitty, and if you don't make it, you're right back on that Stairmaster."
Not only are the players slimmer and faster, but their self-esteem has never been better. Robinson, for instance, used to finish dead last -- way back in the pack -- on every conditioning run. And it never felt good to finish last.
"Yeah, well, it don't happen like that any more," Robinson said. "I haven't come in last in a long time. That matters to me," Robinson said. "I can really feel it. . . . And the players, they keep me going. They call me Big Sexy. I like that."
That's another positive.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/SportsStory.asp?ID=060325_Sp_B8_Baked26337
Baked chicken outweighs pizza
At least it does for these four Sooners who have lost 162 pounds.
NORMAN -- Don't call them the Flab Four any more. Oklahoma football players Branndon Braxton, DeMarcus Granger, Cordero Moore and Duke Robinson all came in from high school last season significantly overweight. But when the Sooners began spring practice this week, they had dropped more than 150 pounds between them.
"When you get up in the morning, you see yourself in the mirror, you see you've really changed," said Granger. "You go home and your family, not really seeing you for a while, says, 'Oh, you lost a whole bunch of weight.' That really makes you feel good inside."
Robinson had the most to lose, and he and Granger have lost the most, 61 pounds. Robinson dropped from 390 to 329. Granger went from 352 pounds to 291 Monday. Braxton, the tallest at 6-foot-6, has shed 30 pounds, from 350 to 320. Moore went from 325 to 305.
That's 172 pounds -- roughly one kicker and half an equipment manager.
Robinson said his body fat last year was 47 percent, but now it's down to 24.5. Granger said his plummeted from 32 to 23. Braxton and Moore had similar changes.
Half the success can be attributed to strength and conditioning coach
http://adserver.tulsaworld.com/?SIT=SportsStory336x280
Jerry Schmidt and his program of exercise and proper nutrition. The other half goes to the players themselves and the dedication they've had.
"We'll go out and you see all them receivers and (defensive backs) loading their plates up with french fries or pizza," said Granger, "and you're sitting over there with a salad and a baked chicken, saying, 'Dang, that pizza sure does look good.' You just have to learn how to say no."
Said head coach Bob Stoops, "They've worked hard, coach Schmidt and his staff have worked with them in a great way, and they've committed to watching their diets and the way they're working and what they're doing. They all can run, they're quicker and their endurance is better. So it's really helped them."
It should really help the team, too. Robinson and Braxton, part-time players on the offensive line as freshmen, will probably be starters next fall.
Granger, ranked as the top high school defensive tackle in the nation, redshirted last season but could be a starter in 2006. And Moore, who also redshirted in '05, could get into the rotation on the defensive line.
Granger said that freshman season was filled with setbacks -- hitting the target weight of 320, then coming back from a weekend at home seven pounds over the limit. That meant endless hours on Schmidt's stair climber machines.
Robinson said sometimes the foursome would get a late-night craving, "but either DeMarcus or Cordero is like, 'No man, don't do it, you know we got that weigh-in tomorrow.' "
"You don't want to do that," Braxton said. "Because you know, come that Monday practice, you're going to be weighing in with Smitty, and if you don't make it, you're right back on that Stairmaster."
Not only are the players slimmer and faster, but their self-esteem has never been better. Robinson, for instance, used to finish dead last -- way back in the pack -- on every conditioning run. And it never felt good to finish last.
"Yeah, well, it don't happen like that any more," Robinson said. "I haven't come in last in a long time. That matters to me," Robinson said. "I can really feel it. . . . And the players, they keep me going. They call me Big Sexy. I like that."
That's another positive.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/SportsStory.asp?ID=060325_Sp_B8_Baked26337