How Dwight Howard Built His ‘Superman’ Physique

2 min readMORE THAN OTHER pro athletes, NBA players tend to enter their professional careers as skinny kids, still developing out of high school. To a degree, that’s exactly what happened with Dwight Howard, the first pick of the 2004 NBA draft. “My first year in the league, I got kind of pushed around,” Howard said on MH’s Strong Talk. “I didn’t like it.” Howard spent that offseason “eating weights” and became on the most muscular (and dominant) players ever. He earned the nickname “Superman” and went on to a Hall of Fame career. For almost two decades, Howard played for multiple teams and won an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.Howard’s superhero physique came from more than shooting hoops. The center began building a disciplined training regimen as a high schooler, waking up at 4 a.m. to run track and hit the weight room.“I told my dad at 10 I wanted to go to the NBA, and he said, ‘Well, you got to learn how to sacrifice now. You know your time and your effort. You have to learn how to be disciplined,’” Howard says in the latest Strong Talk episode.Howard took his dad’s words to heart, already having the foresight that establishing a routine now would be easier than breaking bad training habits upon entering the NBA. His training over the years has evolved into different fitness challenges: from training in high-altitude terrains in Aspen to taking on Pilates and yoga.Speaking with MH fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. and exercise physiologist and strength coach Dr. Pat Davidson, Howard goes into detail about the strength exercises he did to stay fit during the season, what he’s learned from trying to play through injuries, and the upcoming launch of the Rize Above with Dwight app next month that will offer fitness guidance to individuals of any age starting a fitness journey.Want more deep-dive fitness wisdom from Samuel and other celebs and experts who've been on our Strong Talk podcast? Check out all our episodes here.Watch the Latest EpisodesGetty ImagesCory VanderploegGetty Images; Gillian MacLeod/MH IllustrationMichael Scott SlosarGetty Images; Gillian MacLeod/MH IllustrationFlorence SullivanGillian MacLeod/MH IllustrationPhotograph by Cory VanderploegGetty ImagesGetty ImagesGetty ImagesGillian MacLeod/MH IllustrationGillian MacLeod/MH IllustrationGillian MacLeod/MH IllustrationCourtesy of Subject/MH IllustrationGetty ImagesMen's HealthGillian MacLeod/MH IllustrationCourtesy of Sadik HadzovicGillian MacLeod/MH IllustrationGillian MacLeod/MH IllustrationJocelyn Solis-Moreira, MS is the associate health & fitness for Men's Health and has previously written for CNN, Scientific American, Popular Science, and National Geographic before joining the brand. When she's not working, she's doing circus arts or working towards the perfect pull-up.