Okay, so everyone’s been talking about Shohei Ohtani, right? Not just the playing, but jeez, the guy is built. Seeing pictures, you notice the arms, the shoulders. It got me thinking, not gonna lie.
So, I decided, right then, I’d try and get a bit more serious myself. Not Ohtani-level serious, obviously, that’s crazy talk. But, you know, add some muscle, feel a bit stronger. My own little project, my “practice” if you will.
Getting Started – The Plan (Sort Of)
First thing I did was look up what guys like him actually do. Not specifics, ’cause good luck finding that secret sauce, but the general idea. It seemed like a ton of weightlifting, obviously, but also weird flexibility stuff and core work. Okay, I thought, I can try some of that.
My routine kicked off pretty simple:
- More protein. Started chugging these chalky protein shakes. My kitchen counter always had powder on it.
- Hitting the gym more often. Went from like, twice a week maybe, to aiming for four times. Big jump for me.
- Tried lifting heavier. Focused on compound lifts, you know, bench press, squats, deadlifts. Stuff that works big muscle groups.
The Actual Grind
Man, the first couple of weeks were rough. Everything hurt. Getting out of bed felt like a major achievement. I remember trying to lift what I thought was a reasonable weight on the bench press and barely getting it up. Felt pretty dumb, honestly, especially when you see these videos online of guys lifting small cars.
I kept track of things in a beat-up notebook. Scrawled down the weights, reps, sets. Felt official, even if the numbers weren’t that impressive. Tried adding push-ups and pull-ups at home too, just sneaking them in whenever I could. My form probably looked terrible, but I was doing it.
The diet part was tricky too. Cutting back on junk food, trying to eat cleaner. It’s harder than it sounds when pizza exists. Those protein shakes got old fast, let me tell you. Tasted like sadness after a while.
What Happened? The Reality Check
So, did I end up looking like Ohtani? Ha! Of course not. Not even close. After a few months of sticking to it pretty consistently, I did see some changes, though. Clothes fit a bit tighter around the shoulders, could lift more than when I started. That felt good, definitely.
But the biggest thing I realised? The level guys like Ohtani are at is just… different. It’s not just lifting weights a few times a week and drinking shakes. It’s their entire life. Genetics play a huge part, sure, but the sheer amount of work, the precision in their training, the diet, the recovery… it’s a full-time job, and then some.
My little “practice” showed me that. You can definitely improve yourself, get stronger, build some muscle. I did that. Put in the work, saw some results. Felt proud of that progress. But comparing it to a world-class, two-way phenomenon? Apples and oranges. Or maybe, like, apples and rocket ships.
So yeah, I look at Shohei Ohtani’s muscles now with even more respect. Not just ’cause they look impressive, but because I got a tiny glimpse into the kind of insane dedication it takes to build and maintain something like that while also being ridiculously good at baseball. My own little experiment was humbling, you know?
