Offseason NBA facility is gym-dandy

CHICAGO - Juwan Howard has a favorite feature at the Attack Athletics Training Center on the Near West Side. It is neither the four specially constructed basketball courts, the video game room, nor the luxuriant sofas before the 110-inch flat-screen television.

Howard, who plays for the Dallas Mavericks, would trade it all for a chance to soak in the facility's ice-cold whirlpool bath. Yes, the bone-chilling one that most athletes, holding their breath, dip into reluctantly, only on orders from a merciless physical therapist.

Howard might be among the few human beings who find happiness lounging around in Arctic conditions, but it should be noted that he also likes to plunge his 6-foot-9-inch, 253-pound frame into the warm whirlpool or take a walk on the underwater treadmill. And he will gladly utilize the facility's massage services, sit back for a manicure, pedicure, even a regular haircut, work up an appetite in the 10,000-square-foot weight room, then replenish himself with a catered meal in the dining room and a rest on a king-sized bed in a soundproof room.

"The cold and hot whirlpools give me more years," said Howard, who has been working with gym founder Tim Grover since signing his first NBA contract 15 years ago. "There is nothing like the feeling of your body bouncing back after a tough workout, the whirlpools, and a shower. It's a blessing.

"As for getting proper rest, I'm like a little kid - I need my power naps every day."

This is all part of a cutting-edge training regimen for NBA players. The days of playing a few pickup games on local courts and riding a stationary bicycle in the offseason are long gone.

Now, there are fully-staffed practice games, NBA referees, clocks monitored by staff with NBA experience - everything but the crowds, the hype, and the high-decibel scoreboards.

There is state-of-the-art rehabilitation, with anti-gravity equipment, fiber-regeneration technology, hydrotherapy. There are separate diets for starters and five-minute-a-game subs, different nutritional supplements for fast- and slow-twitch muscle groups. And, of course, personal trainers.

Grover broke ground as a trainer for Michael Jordan in the 1980s, becoming something of a superstar in his own field. Grover leveraged his achievements and contacts into Attack Athletics, the superstar of basketball gymnasia.

There are other facilities for NBA offseason training, the most well-known in Bradenton, Fla., Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. But the Attack gym is "raising the bar," according to Grover.

"No one had trainers 15-20 years ago," said former Celtics scout Mike Procopio, now director of basketball operations for Attack. "Now, there are training facilities all over the country. A lot of people are doing it right, but the market is saturated right now.

"The problem with facilities is a lot of them pop up, but you need a revenue stream. Our business model is different from most because we have professionals paying to come here, so you don't have to run little kids' tournaments and other stuff every weekend.

"Doing something like this is very costly. Just for Gatorade and water, we go through 50 cases a month. Instead of trying to do something like this, you would probably be better off getting one or two guys as clients, and take them to a gym."

All the comforts

The Attack gym is located on West Harrison Avenue, a short ride from downtown, and covers 65,000 square feet. Bordering on the south is a vacant lot, to the east the Chicago and Northwestern railroad line. Across the street is Altgeld Park. On a warm summer day early this month, homeless people camped on the edge of the park.

The high-tech, bright and shiny gym contrasts with the rundown surrounding area, but also symbolizes the city's intent to improve the West Side, partly in view of a bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. The $16 million building includes a $1 million security system with gated parking, fingerprint identification for admission, and 110 cameras. The gym equipment alone is worth more than many basketball facilities, according to Grover.

The mainstays of the gym are Chicago residents such as Howard, Celtic Tony Allen, Michael Finley, Andre Iguodala, and former Celtic Antoine Walker. Jordan has a locker space adjacent to that of the Lakers' Kobe Bryant. About 30 pro players pay about $50,000 annually for membership. Others join up for predraft workouts, the Celtics' Bill Walker among them.

The rehab success story of the gym is Dwyane Wade, who recovered from a knee injury to star for the US Olympic team, partly thanks to a $150,000 Alter G machine, which works on the principles of anti-gravity. Shaun Livingston and the Celtics' Darius Miles, also knee injury victims, could be the next advertisements for the recuperative powers of the setup.

Grover conceived the setup to have country club exclusivity and first-class amenities, with a range of activities throughout the day. He even had a golf simulator room at one point, but scrapped it because "none of our guys play golf anymore."

Though comfort zones and pampering are priorities, there is also a boot camp mentality when it comes to working out.

"A little while ago, one of our guys said he wanted to try another place," Procopio recalled. "When he came back, he said that place was like a country club and this is 'Shawshank Redemption.'

"This isn't for everyone. We work them hard but it's a place where they can do their thing and they don't have to worry about anything else."

Grover has basically taken personal training to its ultimate with an all-services building.

"I've had the idea for a long time, but it was a matter of trying to put the pieces together," Grover said. "I've been thinking back and forth about it for 10 or 11 years. Before, we were always renting space, outsourcing some services, and we felt we weren't getting what we wanted out of it.

"Talking to the athletes, we knew what they needed to enhance their abilities and their careers, and that's how we put this together. Not only can you train here, you can get physical therapy, massages, and you can get away. If you don't want anyone to know you're here, you can do that. Rehab, longevity training, we can extend an athlete's career pretty easily here.

"We have a group of individuals and staff and we feel like, if you touch everything in there three or four times a week, it all works together. Our PTs do things different than normal PTs do; we have massage therapists, muscle activation, we rejuvenate muscles.

"We feel we can take any athlete in any sport and rehab them better, quicker, faster than anybody else and also extend an athlete's career. We put together a formula so that, through nutrition, sleep, massage, muscle balance, we can regenerate muscle fibers so a 35-year-old can be playing like a 30-year-old, a 30-year-old like a 25-year-old."

Sleep for success

Most of the morning activity occurs behind the scenes, in the massive weight room, on massage tables, in pools. In the afternoon, the basketballs come out.

There is seating for 1,000 in the bleachers, restricted mostly to NBA coaches and scouts checking on the progress of rehabbing veterans and untested prospects. During the predraft games in June, players such as O.J. Mayo and Walker were closely scrutinized.

"We had seven guys drafted," Procopio said. "We set up the games and do our best to make the best matchups possible. We simulate game situations, but the guys will stop the game and correct things for the younger players. [NBA official] Dan Crawford refs a lot of games, and he'll stop the action to explain things to them."

But all the hard work and technology are wasted without some down time. Grover prescribed a lot of rest for Jordan when he was deciding the outcome of the Eastern Conference, a practice once adopted by Winston Churchill, who would take afternoon naps while contemplating the fate of the Western world.

"Here's the thing people have a tendency to forget," Grover said. "All of your results don't come inside the gym, they come when you go out and go to sleep. When you go into the gym, all you are doing is tearing down the body. Without proper rest, it's not going to work.

"The gym is for tearing down and sleep is for building up. Getting an individual to nap during the day is extremely important. There is a reason Michael Jordan has done what he has done.

"Kids think their body is invincible, and they can go on two hours sleep a night and not eat right. There might not be a study that says it, but if you implement everything we do, you will see positive results."

Howard has had no problem buying into Grover's program.

"Tim is providing what a lot of NBA teams are trying to do," Howard said. "I can spend the entire day here; I come in at 9 a.m. and I'm the last to leave at 5:30. Training physically to endure an 82-game schedule, getting your body in top shape, this place definitely gets you ready. This is a no-brainer, the best of the best."

Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at dellapa@globe.com