Physically, Stephen Curry isn’t exactly the most imposing players on the Warriors. Based on appearances alone, he’s probably at the top of the list (or tied with Leandro Barbosa) for the player you think you could take in a weightlifting competition. Here’s the thing: If you did challenge Curry to that competition, you’d lose – badly.
To overcome ankle issues that plagued the beginning of his stellar NBA career, Curry worked not on those troubling joints, but his hips instead. One exercise he and the team employed to strengthen that region was the deadlift, according to ESPN‘s Tom Haberstroh.
Exhibit A: Curry can deadlift 400 pounds.
The exercise the Warriors prefer is the trapbar deadlift, which is basically a safer way to mimic lifting a giant boulder off the ground. One of the primary muscles that it works? Yup, the gluteus maximus.
“Steph’s the second strongest on our team pulling that one,” Lyles says with a straight face. “For his size, Steph is ridiculous strong.”
The first strongest? The 6’11, 270-pound back-up center Festus Ezeli. Yes, when it comes to deadlift, Curry beats out noted physical beasts like Andre Iguodala, Andrew Bogut and Draymond Green. As ever, appearances can be deceiving.
(ESPN)
