Basketball | What has happened to Lauri Markkanen? HS found out how the superstar trained for life in a private Finnish gym, hidden from view

One and a half years ago a basketball player Lauri Markkanella went well in many ways. Behind was the fourth season in the ranks of the fabled Chicago Bulls. A place in the world’s best basketball league, the NBA, was established.

However, Markkanen wanted more.

In the last two seasons, his role on the field had changed, and playing time had become less. The task of the 213-centimeter Finn was often just to stand in the corner of the field, waiting for a pass and creating a throwing threat.

The number of throws had decreased, the scoring average had dropped.

The low mood was partly due to the coaching, which played Markkas unilaterally and in a limited role.

In any case, looking in the mirror was a player who could be even faster, even more explosive and even better at moving.

Markkanen strength has always been throwing ability. For a big player, he is skilled and good at throwing. Baskets are produced in a variety of ways from near and far.

In the early years of his NBA career, movement was also counted as his strength, but gradually this changed. Physics developed, but not in a way that would have served gaming best.

Markkanen plays as a small winger. He has to do well against the opponents in his own position, so he doesn’t mess with the biggest men in the NBA.

“

Looking in the mirror was a player who could be even faster.

When Markkanen started his NBA career in Chicago in 2017 after one college season, he weighed a hundred pounds. It may sound like a lot, but for a professional basketball player of Markkanen’s height, it is not. The muscle mass was increased year by year.

In the 2020–21 season, the weight had risen to 112 kilograms. At the same time, the speed on the field had started to suffer. Playing became more difficult, and Markkanen’s role on the field narrowed.

So in the spring of 2021, Markkanen contacted Jyväskylä.

A former basketball player, current sports physiotherapist and physical trainer lives there Jani Parkkinen.

“He had the feeling that he should be faster, more explosive and better mobile,” Parkkinen says of his first conversations with Markkanen.

The duo’s collaboration began in a private gym in the center of Jyväskylä in the early summer of 2021. The gym, located on the street level of an apartment building, is not big, but it has everything you need – including privacy. Parkkinen has other basketball players as clients.

“We could train in any gym, but this one was deliberately chosen. Here you can be in peace with a small group, where everyone kicks each other forward.”

I’ll park in coaching, the main focus of physical training was directed away from gaining mass. The goal was explosiveness, maximum strength development and staying intact over a long season.

In the gym, they started adding weight to the bar.

“When talking about developing speed strength, a combination of maximum strength training and speed and explosiveness training is the best way,” says Parkkinen.

The right direction is more important than individual results.

Parking lot points out that an ordinary gym trainee should not compare his own training to a professional basketball player. Markkanen’s body proportions are different, and working with long lever arms is different.

The training also included a lot of jumps in different directions, squats, versatile strengthening of the middle body, sprints, pushing and pulling the weight sled. In addition, bench press and other movements that strengthen the upper body were performed.

In basketball, defenders have to move a lot laterally. It was trained separately. Different lateral jumps with and without resistance were part of the program.

“

The biggest work has been done in the weight room of an apartment building in Jyväskylä.

“In basketball, you have to run, jump, change direction, move sideways. You have to be able to do these things explosively and repeatedly,” says Parkkinen.

Pushing the sled is a useful exercise for a basketball player.

“It provides the kind of joint angles and positions that are needed for acceleration. There are a few sharp steps that need to be practiced.”

Markkanen the weight has dropped seven kilos under Parkkinen’s coaching, although there was no particular effort to do so, and the diet was not touched. The body is only “in a slightly better condition”.

“Already after the first summer, Lauri got feedback that it feels easier than ever to do the swinging from the vapari line.”

Parkkinen says he noticed a difference in Markkanen’s movement last season in Cleveland, when he compared it to the last years in Chicago.

In Chicago, Markkanen was a big winger in the fourth position, but last season in the Cleveland Cavaliers, he moved to the third position, i.e. a so-called small winger. In his new position, Markkanen had to defend against smaller, faster and more resilient players.

Parkkinen believes that the improved mobility influenced the change of playing position. Without physical improvement, a permanent place in the starting five could have remained a dream.

NBA season during the period, about three games are accumulated per week. There is no time for physical training, so it is maintenance rather than development. So it can be said that the biggest work has been done in two summers in the gymnasium of an apartment building in Jyväskylä.

Since the training period was short, it had to be planned and prioritized carefully. In Markkanen’s case, it meant that he was temporarily disqualified from the endurance side.

“If you do hard endurance training at the same time as you try to develop speed and strength characteristics, neither will develop optimally.”

Then is still to remain intact.

The number of games in his NBA career reveal that Markkanes has missed at least a dozen games every season due to injuries. Last season in January, a sprained ankle caused him to miss a good month.

Parkkinen emphasizes that everything he does has been guided by the idea of ​​staying healthy.

“The best performance is playing ability, i.e. not being injured on game day. Based on studies, a sufficient maximum strength level of the legs seems to be a factor that protects against injuries,” he says.

“Lauri is doing extra work with his ankle, foot and calf. Last summer there was something to do in the hip and hip area, this season not so much.”

Summer training has another meaning. In order to be able to jump into fast-paced sports training and games, training in the summer must be demanding enough. After “half-hearted spinning of the pounds”, a heavier load spike can cause unnecessary injuries, says Parkkinen.

“As the summer progresses, the level of requirements rises constantly. The numbers are increasing, the intensity is increasing.”

in the European Championships in August, Markkanen shone from the first moments. He scored the most points of all players in the tournament and ranked second in the match-specific point comparison (27.9 points) behind the Greek superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo after (29,3).

What was striking was Markkanen’s speed compared to opponents of the same size.

Finland’s number one star scored time and time again from close to the basket with his cheeky drives past slower opponents. He punished faster but smaller guards with his high throws.

The most sparkling performance was seen in the quarterfinals against Croatia. Markkanen seemed to do whatever he wanted on the field. He led Finland to victory in a playoff game for the first time with his record 43 points.

Lauri Markkanen is already Finland’s best basketball player of all time. However, that is not enough, he wants to be even better.

How much more can Markkanen improve his physique?

“It’s hard to say where the ceiling is. Not yet,” says Parkkinen.