Villain On The Mound [EN]: Chapter 95

Villain of the Mound – Episode 95

Before Regression.

Ha-sung had formed relationships with many people in the United States during his time as a leader.

Some of them were memorable.

John Leonard, who had gained global authority in nutrition, was one of them.

He researched the close relationship between sports and nutrition, and as a result, he gained fame by publishing various papers.

After the 2020s, John Leonard’s research results were actually used in sports, and it could be said that the nutritional status of athletes was further developed.

“I’m John Leonard.”

John Leonard was right in front of him.

Looking much younger than when they met before the regression, he was looking at Ha-sung with somewhat distrustful eyes.

“I’m Jung Ha-sung.”

“Excuse me for asking so bluntly, but I’m curious how you knew me and called me all the way here. Could you explain your reasons?”

John Leonard was the type of person who was difficult to get close to.

This didn’t really change in the future either. Perhaps because he lived a life devoted only to research, he lacked communication skills.

However, once you were inside his circle, you could strongly feel that you were his person.

“I was impressed by one of your papers, a study on the nutritional intake of professional athletes. In particular, I agree with the idea that professional athletes should maintain a thorough diet even in their daily lives to extend their careers.”

John Leonard’s expression softened.

He had published that paper three years ago.

The content contained the core of his research. In other words, agreeing with that paper meant agreeing with his entire body of work.

“Ahem, so what’s the reason you called me?”

John Leonard was an easy person to understand.

He was somewhat prickly and immersed in his own world, but once his guard was down, he was quick to become friendly.

“I played as a closer last season. But from this season, I’m planning to play as a starting pitcher.”

“Oh ho… Then we’ll have to create a program that’s almost like remodeling the body. And the diet has to go along with it.”

“That’s right. That’s why I need your help.”

An interesting expression appeared on John Leonard’s face.

“The difference between a closer and a starting pitcher is very big. But there hasn’t been a case where we could get practical data. Even if there was, it was just a setup man who had mediocre results moving to a starter, or a starter moving to a setup man.”

‘Was John Leonard always this talkative?’ Ha-sung wondered.

“It would be rare to get data from a closer in the top position like Jung Ha-sung moving to a starter.”

“Would you like to seize that opportunity?”

“Of course.”

The slight resistance even after coming this far was John Leonard’s unique, eccentric temperament.

The other three experts didn’t do that.

“This is Raymon, who will be in charge of weight training.”

“I’m Sam, majoring in sports science.”

“I’ll make sure to relax your muscles as much as possible after training. I’m Barton.”

Raymon, Sam, and Barton.

All three of these people are not highly renowned now, but in the near future, they will become top-notch experts boasting enormous salaries.

‘You could say they are reclusive hermits hiding in the shadows right now.’

The papers and theories they put out are difficult for people of this era to accept.

However, as science and technology develop, the world will realize that their theories are correct, and their reputation will naturally increase.

All three of them will be teaching prospective leaders in the major league curriculum when he is a leader.

Recruiting those three as his trainers was something that was impossible unless it was now.

“I look forward to working with you.”

It was the moment when a dream team that was not yet known to the world was created.

* * *

Ha-sung’s training began the next day.

“The extremely different point between a closer and a starting pitcher is endurance. Closers expend explosive energy in a short period of time, but starting pitchers must expend lower energy for a long time.”

Sam, who is in charge of sports science, continued his explanation, but Ha-sung couldn’t answer.

“Huff! Huff!”

Because he was wearing an oxygen respirator and running on a treadmill.

“The training you are doing now is to precisely measure Jung Ha-sung’s cardiorespiratory endurance. It is a method to collect respiratory gases and produce precise data, so I hope you will do your best until the end, even if it is painful.”

Again, there was no answer.

Because all he had in his head right now was the single thought that he had to run.

Treadmills are often thought of as aerobic exercise.

However, when the running speed increases and the pressure applied to the cardiopulmonary system increases, it eventually becomes close to anaerobic.

And the moment you cross that limit, the brain releases endorphins to reduce the body’s pain.

This is the phenomenon known as runner’s high.

‘More! More! More!!’

Ha-sung ran as hard as he could.

Sam’s eyes widened as he looked at Ha-sung’s data.

‘Cardiorespiratory endurance at this age is this high? Almost at the level of players playing in the EPL [English Premier League]?’

Soccer is a sport where you run more than 10 km in an average game.

You need to have good running ability as well as cardiorespiratory endurance to play the game.

Players belonging to the EPL, which is at the pinnacle of that, naturally have good cardiorespiratory endurance.

However, Ha-sung’s cardiorespiratory endurance was comparable to them.

‘Cardiorespiratory endurance doesn’t just mean you have good running ability. It allows you to send more oxygen and blood to every corner of your body with one breath.’

The fact that blood circulates quickly means that it is also easy to recover stamina.

‘At this level, you can recharge quickly even if you consume energy. Even if you pitch a complete game, you can recover enough if you rest for 4 days.’

Cardiorespiratory endurance was already at a passing level.

‘What’s even more amazing is that Ha-sung is now 20 years old. His body is still growing, and because he is young, his body recovers quickly. If you push your cardiopulmonary system harder in this state?’

The body is born with it.

Because it is determined at the genetic level, the position you can reach is determined no matter how hard you try.

Of course, even if you have a natural body, you cannot go up unless you work hard.

But Ha-sung had both.

‘He was already the best closer in the major leagues at the age of 19. That means he worked that hard. But he was born with the physical gifts too.’

It was data that made you admire it.

‘This guy can grow more.’

Sam praised himself for accepting this request and collected data while thinking about how to train Ha-sung in his head.

* * *

Ha-sung, who finished the cardiorespiratory endurance test in the morning, moved to eat lunch.

Lunch was eaten at the resort where he was staying, and all the food was cooked directly by Leonard.

Because it was a residence-type resort, all cooking facilities as well as cooking utensils were provided.

Leonard could go to the mart and market to buy the necessary ingredients and deliver them fresh.

Of course, the cost comes out of Ha-sung’s card.

“It is best to do weight training 3 hours after lunch. I have already informed Raymon about this, so please refer to it.”

“I see. But that’s quite a lot [of food].”

“The most important things for building a body are sufficient nutrition and rest. Training that does not combine these two is useless.”

Ha-sung also agreed.

“Eating is also training. It will be difficult at first, but you will gradually get used to it.”

While Leonard was explaining, Ha-sung was already eating.

The protein sources were chicken breast, beef, salmon, etc.

It was filled with not just one thing but several things, and fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as vegetable fat and carbohydrates.

Everything was properly mixed so that you could eat without getting tired of it.

Leonard was slightly surprised to see Ha-sung eating non-stop.

‘Eating is also a talent. Even though I made it easy to eat, being able to eat this much without stopping… It means that his chewing power and stomach are strong.’

Ha-sung is in his early 20s, when Koreans often say that he can chew even iron [a Korean idiom for someone with a strong digestive system].

Naturally, his ability to consume and digest food was excellent.

‘Depending on how much of the food he eats now can be absorbed, we can get more data.’

What is more important than eating food is how much nutrients the body absorbs.

No matter how evenly you consume nutrients, it was all for naught if your body couldn’t accept it.

‘I’m looking forward to it.’

Leonard was looking forward to the future when data would be accumulated.

* * *

3 hours later.

Ha-sung digested his food and moved back to the center.

It was about a 10-minute drive from the resort to the center, so it didn’t take long to get there.

As soon as he entered the center, the muscular Raymon approached.

“Is it my turn now?”

“Please take care of me.”

“Of course. I’ve prepared a lot for you, so look forward to it.”

Weight training was the most difficult and challenging area for professional athletes.

In particular, pitchers had to be more careful about increasing muscle.

“As you know, the pitcher’s pitching mechanism is very precise. If you increase your muscles excessively, this pitching mechanism may collapse.”

Raymon continued to explain while looking around the training area with Ha-sung.

“In order to prevent the pitching mechanism from collapsing, you have to increase your muscles while maintaining overall balance.”

“I agree. The reason why the mechanism collapses is ultimately because there is an imbalance in the muscles.”

“That’s very accurate! That’s why training is important, but you need to know exactly the distribution of muscles in your body. To do that, I’ll check your muscle condition every day.”

There was one machine in the center.

It was a body composition analyzer, where the company name InBody has become a proper noun in Korea [InBody is a popular brand of body composition analyzers].

“Since you have to measure it on an empty stomach every morning, I’ll prepare it so you can measure it at the resort from tomorrow morning.”

“So today we’re just securing data?”

“Yeah. I’ll measure the approximate data and measure it again tomorrow morning. Anyway, today’s training is to measure your RM [Repetition Maximum], so it’s not a full-fledged training.”

“I see.”

Ha-sung, who nodded, went up on the body composition analyzer.

After a little time, his analysis chart came out through the printer.

“Did it come out well?”

“Huh? Uh… very good. At this level, you could almost say it’s at the level of players playing in the NFL [National Football League]?”

“That’s a compliment.”

NFL.

It’s not famous in Korea, but it’s the most popular sport in the United States.

American football is one of the professional sports with the most money, and the players belonging to this sport all have superhuman physiques.

Being at a similar level to the players there was a very big compliment.

‘It’s really amazing. To have this level of muscle mass… It’s not the level of an Asian. Is he even taking drugs?’

He shook his head.