And probably the most interesting thing you’ll read from OTAs this week will be about the new and improved 49ers players who have gained or lost weight. We’ve talked about Pita Taumoepenu putting on 10 pounds to compete at the SAM and LEO positions and we know Joshua Garnett has lost some weight for the upcoming guard competion, but that’s not all. The 49ers are rolling out new and improved physiques for the team. The Athletic’s David Lombardi has a numbers run down for you:
Notable 49ers body changes I’ve noticed so far:
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) May 30, 2018
- Josh Garnett (the obvious one, down to about 300 from 325)
- Arik Armstead (up to 292 from a low of 275 last training camp, move from LEO to big DE)
- Pita Taumoepenu (up to 254 from 245)
- George Kittle (def looks stronger)
So there’s a weight loss and a few weight gains. Kittle and Taumoepenu are not surprising, you see a larger physique of players when they go into year two of a professional career thanks to the training facilities and resources available (look up photos of Aldon Smith for a great example of how much larger he got between his first and second years).
That said, losing that much or gaining that much is a very incredible and dedicated feat and a testament to the players’ discipline. Players like Armstead have been with the team for a few years so making them turn around and deal with a massive weight change like that can be very disorienting. But I can’t help but just wonder if all these success stories with weight gain and weight loss could make the Kyle Shanahan and co. put together a Beachbody infomercial.
I’ve done Insanity several times (I even tried talking Fooch into doing it with me once and failed). As much as Shaun T (the head trainer) annoys me, I usually feel pretty proud with the physique change that happens in 60 days, provided I ate properly, which is usually my detriment—I just like food. After that I try to put back on some weight in muscle and fail miserably.
Regardless of my fitness failures, a good indicator the 49ers are really buying into this system is the fact they are willing to go through the physique changes and change in habits to maintain them for the new positions/roles coming out.