PabloSandoval
6/30/11
11:15 AM
Page 6
“The before and after photos were quite dramatic, like looking at photos of someone in their high school days and 20 years later after a few too many beers and bratwursts, except the photos were in reverse.”
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40 AZSPORTS&LIFESTYLE
JULY/AUGUST 2011
him to generate lot of power into the baseball and move laterally in the field.” The 24-year-old Sandoval showed up to spring training in Scottsdale, Ariz., with a renewed attitude and a sleek body. The results paid off immediately. Sandoval has a huge spring, knocking in the team’s first home run of spring training and flashing the same quick bat that made him a rookie sensation. He improved his range at third base and overall looks like a new man in the field. Sandoval’s manager was impressed. “I’m proud of how hard he’s worked to get to this point,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “There comes a time when you have to take responsibility for yourself, whether it’s your actions or play. A lot has been done from the organization for Pablo. It was in Pablo’s hands and he took the bull by the horns, so to speak, and got himself in this kind of shape.” Sandoval’s diet underwent a complete overhaul as well. Gone were the excess carbs and empty calories, replaced by a nutrient-dense regimen that emphasized lean proteins and high-energy healthy fats in smaller individual meals spread throughout the day. He hired a personal chef to cook him three meals a day. He cut out the no-nos: ice cream, soda and chips. Sandoval’s hard work and clean diet paid off during the start of the 2011 season. He was smoking hot in April, crushing the baseball and racking up a .313 batting average with five homers. His incredible start to the season was derailed by a broken hand he sustained on April 30, which required him to miss six weeks. Now he’s back on the field and ready to prove that the 2010 season was an anomaly. The leaner and meaner Pablo Sandoval is here to stay. ▲
RESULTS IN THE GYM TRANSLATE TO RESULTS ON THE FIELD With a regular exercise schedule, and a diet carefully monitored by Banning, it didn’t take long for Sandoval to start shedding the pounds. By Jan. 1, Sandoval had dropped 16 pounds. By Jan. 15, he cut 22 pounds. At the Pepsi Home Run Derby in late January, the public got a glance at the new and improved Sandoval, who looked sleek at 247 pounds. But there was still work to be done before the start of Giants’ training camp. Banning and his staff — including Greg Oliver, one of Barry Bonds' longtime personal trainers, and Olympic decathlon champion Dan O'Brien — continued to press forward with Sandoval. Sandoval’s regiment began the progression: GPP/Isometric Strength/Structural Balance; Fat Loss/Relative Strength; Muscle Hypertrophy/Functional Mobility and, finally, Functional Strength/Power. “In his three months at Triple Threat Performance, Pablo did not touch a weight for at least the first month,” Banning said. “After laying an appropriate strength foundation, we began a more traditional strength training program. At this time, Pablo could barely squat 135 pounds. He now squats over 400 pounds. He could not do a single pull-up when we got him. Now he can do multiple sets of 10 pull ups.” By Feb. 18, Pablo was down to 241, an amazing 36-pound drop in 110 days. His body fat was down from 30 percent to 19 percent. The before and after photos were quite dramatic, like looking at photos of someone in their high school days and 20 years later after a few too many beers and bratwursts, except the photos were in reverse. Sandoval transformed his body, and now looked like a professional athlete. “He will benefit from a renewed sense of well being and confidence,” Banning said. “He is not carrying around an extra 40-plus pounds, so he moves much quicker. The bat feels like a toothpick in his hands and his new found hip mobility allows