Boston's Trainer Says WR Shouldn't Lose Weight

[Tom Kessenich]

Trainer: Boston in shape

By Joe Schad, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 18, 2004

David Boston's personal trainer said Monday that the Dolphins' contention the wide receiver should lose about 11 pounds is "counterproductive" and that the training and testing methods NFL teams use are "moronic."

The Dolphins believe Boston plays his best at 229 pounds, but in two months, Boston hasn't shed a pound and still is around 240. Coach Dave Wannstedt believes weight was an issue for Boston in San Diego and doesn't want it to be here.

But Charles Poliquin who has helped build Boston's muscular physique, doesn't see the rationale, considering Boston carries about only 5 percent body fat.

"When you get below 4 percent, you start to encounter sleep disorders," Poliquin said. "So they want him to lose muscle mass and to lose quite a bit of it. The problem is that if he loses weight, he will be more prone to injury and not as fast. That would be taking two cylinders out of a car. The thing about this NFL science is that it's about five or six Olympic medals behind in the times."

The Dolphins believe excess weight may have contributed to lower leg bleeding that kept Boston out of the first three days of quarterback school. Boston expects to return to practice today. Poliquin disputed the notion that Boston's "armor" makes him more susceptible to injury.

"If you have internal bleeding, you've got to realize what happened was the muscle mass protected the bone," Poliquin said. "So would you prefer internal bleeding or a broken tibia? As far as this talk about David's tolerance of pain, smart athletes know good pain and bad pain. He's being called a (wimp) but he's actually smart."

Poliquin criticizes the training methodology of all teams, not just the Dolphins.

"Consider: Why do they test everybody in the 40?" Poliquin said. "How many times do you see a lineman take more than two steps? And how many times have you seen any player run 40 yards in a straight line?

"Then they test the maximum reps in a 225-pound bench press. How many times do you competitively push weight on a play? All I want is a guy that can rip the other guy all the way across the field, with explosion. They're using a bad selection of tests. If I'm sending a soldier to Iraq, why teach him German? The NFL is moronic in the way they test people and the things they ask their people to do."