Lemieux's off season training regimen: "Not ordering the fries with my sandwich"

[majormajor]

Unless you are overweight, nutrition has probably a negligible effect on the performance.

That ... is false. I know exactly how I play if I eat bad food in the days before a game.

 

[authentic]

I think the Mario that came back in 2000 had no choice but to emphasize his training. It certainly looked like training was much more of a focus for him in those years, but it would be a good question to ask him.

It was. He said himself he was in the best shape of his life, even if not as fast and physically capable as his younger self.

 

[authentic]

Nobody worked out then like they do now hell I heard stories of Guy Lafleur smoking during games. It was a different era.

Contrary to popular belief you can actually smoke and still be fit. There are players today who smoke.

 

[82Ninety42011]

Contrary to popular belief you can actually smoke and still be fit. There are players today who smoke.

True but you can be fitter if you didn't smoke.

 

[authentic]

That ... is false. I know exactly how I play if I eat bad food in the days before a game.

Nutrition is a huge factor, no question about it. Lemieux was such a specimen that he evidently didn't need it though, but I refuse to believe he had an entirely unhealthy diet.

 

[authentic]

True but you can be fitter if you didn't smoke.

Absolutely.

 

[Jussi]

Petteri Lehto, Kakko's agent, has said that rookie Mario came to on-ice training sessions wearing jeans. And he was still the best player out there. Not sure if I'm mixthis one with Peter Ahola, but Mario told either one before an offensive zone faceoff during a game to go stand at the back post. The player did as ordered and moments later, Mario passed the puck right to tape. Of course since the player was not known for scoring, he was surprised and did not score.

 

[The Panther]

What we need to know is... Did Guy Lafleur inhale?

 

[psycat]

Well their careers did over lap more then 5 years so to me similiar era. Maybe your right about game changing in the late 80's however the conditioning now compared to then is world's apart. Mario's game was never about speed anyway but better conditioning would not of hurt him and maybe would have helped.

I mean Mario and Sid also overlapped.

 

[82Ninety42011]

I mean Mario and Sid also overlapped.

Yes they did however less then a season and 4 is a little different. If Lafleur doesn't retire for those 3 years it would parts of 7 seasons actually.

 

[Acallabeth]

Better preparedness results in better performance.
Maybe future talents could learn from the lackadaisical habits of Lemieux, Lindros, Tkachuk, Kessel, etc.

People love to say that, but usually fail to list players who improved dramatically due to great offseasons.

Kessel is nearing 800 consecutive games btw, while, say, Kris Letang is a known workout fan and misses a lot of games every year.

 

[sr edler]

There's this story about Diego Maradona how he performed worst on his team or something on endurance tests, and that's in football where you can't jump on the bench and catch your breath. And still schooled everyone. Maradona looked like a chubby dwarf though, Lemieux looked big & strong, and was big & strong.

Lemieux never looked unfit to me, although I will say I've never seen him without a shirt. He did look a bit lazy at times though, but these things can be a bit deceptive sometimes. Sometimes it's just conserving energy or positioning yourself in a tactical manner.

It's obvious though he could have taken care of himself better fitness wise, although I think these stories are probably still a bit exaggerated for folklore purposes. Probably even in the case with Maradona.

 

[Eisen]

That ... is false. I know exactly how I play if I eat bad food in the days before a game.

I don't feel any difference. Not smoking on sports day has a bigger effect on me. :shrug:

 

[Don'tcry4mejanhrdina]

What I find most impressive is late in his career he would often miss one of a back to back game because of his bad back, but he also rarely even practiced. He was in his 30's yet he was still winning Art Ross trophies and was the best player in the league. One of the things that makes Crosby so great is how hard he practices constantly on little parts of his game. Lemieux could just show up to a game and dominate by skill that he wasn't even sharpening.

 

[JackSlater]

What I find most impressive is late in his career he would often miss one of a back to back game because of his bad back, but he also rarely even practiced. He was in his 30's yet he was still winning Art Ross trophies and was the best player in the league. One of the things that makes Crosby so great is how hard he practices constantly on little parts of his game. Lemieux could just show up to a game and dominate by skill that he wasn't even sharpening.

This is part of the reason I find 2003 Lemieux somewhat underappreciated. He was among the slowest players in hockey and had probably the least mobility in general. He was still the best offensive player in hockey and looked like an adult fooling around against kids mainly with just size, hands, and brains.

 

[hitman9172]

Something tells me his parents made him eat his veggies as a kid but when he got on his own he took it upon himself to eat as he pleased.

Apparently his mom was notorious for feeding him junk food all the time. Mario lived off a diet of burgers, fries, and milkshakes as a kid (and NHL player, apparently).

I'm surprised he wasn't fatter to be honest. One of the Penguins staff noted how skinny and slight his upper body was and how wide and muscular his legs were when he first joined the Pens as a rookie. He called the disparity between Lemieux's upper and lower body "freakish".

 

[scott clam]

Apparently his mom was notorious for feeding him junk food all the time. Mario lived off a diet of burgers, fries, and milkshakes as a kid (and NHL player, apparently).

I'm surprised he wasn't fatter to be honest. One of the Penguins staff noted how skinny and slight his upper body was and how wide and muscular his legs were when he first joined the Pens as a rookie. He called the disparity between Lemieux's upper and lower body "freakish".

Maybe muscle inbalance played a factor into his back problems?

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

True but he was only 33 when retired first time. He was still a top 6 player retired not because of skill I believe was money or something with Canadians.

he played only the first 19 games of that year then not again until four years later. he scored two goals and three assists in that final season in montreal.

 

[82Ninety42011]

he played only the first 19 games of that year then not again until four years later. he scored two goals and three assists in that final season in montreal.

He also requested a trade wasn't given one hence retired. Season before put up 30 goals and 70 points. 4 years later almost put up 18 goals in around 60-65 games?

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

gretzky, first game of his 137 pt season: 18 yo + 257 days

mario, first game of his rookie year (100 pts): 19 yo + 6 days

really putting a lot of stress on the word “similar” there.

That’s not even a year apart lmfao what’s your point?

 

[edog37]

It is actually a hard quote to track down and pin down a time frame that he said it. If memory serves me right it was the early 1990s. But what is your opinion of this quote? Is it just vintage Lemieux by trolling the media?

When he was asked what his off season training program is Lemieux said that about a month before training camp he wouldn't order the fries with his sandwich. I found it hilarious to be honest, and still do. It just goes to show you that Lemieux was just simply that good. However, it makes you wonder just how much better he may have been had he applied himself a bit more in the off season. Sort of like if Babe Ruth hadn't ate like a bull and drank like a fish his whole career.

It is scary to think how much better Lemieux would have been had he worked out seriously in the off season.

It was the late 80s I believe. But to be fair, a lot of players back then were the same way. They got into shape at camp. They didn't train year round like they do now. Hell, Lemieux even smoked back in those days.

 

[edog37]

Lemieux and Lindros, 6'4 big guys who dominated juniors and arrogantly cakewalked into the NHL, both getting their clocks cleaned by 5'11 guys who bring the fire in the big league.

They both are partially responsible for their underachieving professional careers. It was a bloody embarrassment to watch a 6'4 230 lbs Mario get owned repeatedly by a 5'11 198 lbs. Lithuanian with the heart and grit of a tiger in battle (similarly 6'4 Lindros being constantly slammed by 5'11 Peca).

They are poster boys of overconfident ill-adapted stars who as great as they were, could have been greater if they had the heart, work ethic, grit and willingness to adapt that the opponents they faced had.

Imagine if they had trained in the offseason with Gary Roberts, Rod Brind'amour or Duncan Keith.

Instead, they are more like Keith Tkachuk, Jason Spezza and Phil Kessel.

Sad, really.

While I agree with you wholeheartedly about Lindros, the words "underachieving" & "Lemieux" should never be uttered in any remote part of this universe. You are talking about the Greatest Player to ever live. The guy who came back from cancer & won a scoring title going away. Guy who scored the game winning goal against the Soviets. The guy who won 2 Cups, the guys who saved a franchise on his own.

No one back in those days worked out in the off-season. No one, so you are completely uniformed. It just wasn't done. They got into shape during camp.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

That’s not even a year apart lmfao what’s your point?

it is...

 

[Goalie_Bob]

It isn't. It's a difference of four months.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

It isn't. It's a difference of four months.

if you look at the original post i was responding to, it's a difference of 16 months.

he said

If you read up on it Mario’s health problems were unavoidable. He was born with the spine condition and cancer is cancer. Lemieux went 141> 168> 199. Gretzky around a similar age went 137>164>212

Very similar and then Lemieux was never healthy again. That’s the what if.

but really it's

juniors > 100 > 141 > 168 > 199 > injuries

vs

WHA > 137 > 164 > 212 > 196 > 205

and gretzky was four months younger than mario even in this more accurate comp of timelines. that "what if" implies that mario might have kept improving because gretzky made that year three jump, which to me seems to rely on a definition of "similar" that really means less than honest accounting. in actuality, the 199 in mario's career comes exactly at the point where gretzky's production leveled off.