Jesus Montero so much more fit, an M's beat writer didn't recognize him

[Fountain City Blues]

Wow...

Impressed even though he is paid to be in shape.

 

[dude82]

My best guess is that he was told after his season ended last year that if he didn't shape up, literally and figuratively, he wouldn't see the majors again. The Mariners' decision to sign Cruz, effectively taking away Montero's best option for playing time in the majors, probably helped keep him motivated to lose that weight and take learning first base seriously. If he shows the ability to play first adequately and starts to hit like he did when he first got here, first base might not be the potential issue some expect it to be with Morrison getting the bulk of the playing time.

 

[EVille3]

I read somewhere that he has "fallen in love with baseball again." this can only be good for him. hope he rakes in ST.

 

[cezero]

 

[johnfree63]

Damn, I'm going to have to change my Avatar now that he doesn't run funny anymore.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Good news guys, the fact that Montero lost so much weight indicates that he is roiding again.

I know that doesn't make sense, but humor me for a second. After he got caught, he likely stopped roiding, and he got fat. Also, a lot of substances that increase testosterone levels also burn fat. So he could've started juicing and dropped a lot of the fat.

He could actually be an impact player this year.

 

[cezero]

After he got caught, he likely stopped roiding, and he got fat. Also, a lot of substances that increase testosterone levels also burn fat. So he could've started juicing and dropped a lot of the fat.

The guy who worked with him on fitness said he was in every single day of the winter to work out like an animal, including Christmas and New Year's.

I think most players juice in some way since it's virtually impossible to get caught, though.

 

[NWinAZ]

Juicing adds muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. He lost 40 lbs. HUH? I have never heard of using roids as a weight loss method.

 

[cezero]

Well, one of the best ways to burn fat is by adding lean mass/muscle, which will force the body to burn more fat as fuel. It's why any decent trainer will put a fatty on a program that combines cardio and weights/resistance.

A huge part of losing fat that way revolves around diet, though.

Steroids aren't usually the way people will go if they want to do actual body re-composition. I look at Montero, and he's a big strong guy. If he had been roiding much, he would be muy gigantico. He isn't. He's fit and trim, which shows he was on a well-balanced program of cardio and resistance.

 

[NWinAZ]

Yes lifting burns fat via lean muscle building, but roids add bulk muscle. I understand what you are saying I have lifted for a few years...decades and research it pretty well. Though if you saw me now you wouldn't believe it since I have taken most of 3 years off excluding summers....lol.

 

[cezero]

Yeah, I was agreeing with you.

 

[NWinAZ]

Yeah, I was agreeing with you.

I got that. Was just expanding on it. Slow news day...lol.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Juicing adds muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. He lost 40 lbs. HUH? I have never heard of using roids as a weight loss method.

If you roid, you can drop muscle as well as fat. That's why bodybuilders have such ridiculously low BF levels.

 

[cezero]

If you roid, you can drop muscle as well as fat. That's why bodybuilders have such ridiculously low BF levels.

Incorrect.

To gain the huge muscle from roids, bodybuilders overeat significantly during that part of the cycle. They put on a lot of fat in the process, and then they cut roids completely and quite literally starve themselves during the weeks before competitions to cut as much of the fat they've gained as possible. The roiding/overeating phase make it so there's more muscle left at the end of the whole process.

 

[wazzu31]

I hate to agree with fan but I've seen tons of bigger guys and smaller guys who were on roids/ped's and it all depends on your work ethic on whether you want to get ripped like body builders or in shape like guys like Ryan Franklin and Morse. You can take any real PED to change your body to how you take it for. Some say PED's are morally bad, but knowing you are taking them can push you to work harder than you normally would to get to a goal which in Montero's case would be losing weight/getting physically fit. Sorry to say but with his history that isn't a best question to have.

 

[wazzu31]

Incorrect.

To gain the huge muscle from roids, bodybuilders overeat significantly during that part of the cycle. They put on a lot of fat in the process, and then they cut roids completely and quite literally starve themselves during the weeks before competitions to cut as much of the fat they've gained as possible. The roiding/overeating phase make it so there's more muscle left at the end of the whole process.

I actually think wrestling is a prime example, wrestlers/any sport of that type don't just quit the PED's which is what the huge SportsHoopla over the UFC is for. You use and train as much as you can up until a few days before weigh in's then you starve yourself while still using and it helps burn of the excess fat until weigh ins. With ped's or without no wrestler/boxer/MMA fighter comes into a match lighter than their weigh in weight. If they did they would have zero energy to last the match from cutting all the weight.

 

[cezero]

I hate to agree with fan but I've seen tons of bigger guys and smaller guys who were on roids/ped's and it all depends on your work ethic on whether you want to get ripped like body builders or in shape like guys like Ryan Franklin and Morse. You can take any real PED to change your body to how you take it for. Some say PED's are morally bad, but knowing you are taking them can push you to work harder than you normally would to get to a goal which in Montero's case would be losing weight/getting physically fit. Sorry to say but with his history that isn't a best question to have.

The only way to make muscle gains more significant than normal with roids is by gaining significant fat with it.

Roids just make it so you build more muscle than usual. Most baseball players who use don't have to worry about cutting like bodybuilders (or amateur wrestlers) do.

There's roiders in MLB who do it to bulk up which they think will give them extra power at the plate (Giambi, McGwire, Bonds, Sosa, Boone, etc) and there's guys who take them because they also speed up recovery time during 162 games of wear and tear (arod, fatolo colon, and a bunch of the guys who got caught in the biogen scandal).

Montero didn't want to bulk up, and he did this during the offseason so there was no reason to be juicing to improve recovery. You can believe who you want, but I'll go ahead and use reason and logic in Montero's case.

I'm glad he worked tirelessly with a trainer including on xmas and new years, and got fit the right way.

 

[cezero]

There are other PED besides steroids. If we're talking those, then it's a completely different conversation.

 

[NWinAZ]

Agree.

 

[Cyder]

Pretty amazing. Hopefully, this is a sign that he's ready to take his career seriously.

When he was coming up with the Yanks they made his bat sound like he was the 2nd coming of Cano. And he had some success for about 50 at bats when they brought him up. Maybe his head swelled and made his gut swell. Hopefully he's grown up. I'd like to see him and Pineda have good years and the trade work out for both sides