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ESPN has released the sexy bodies in this year’s Body Issue so we’ve rounded up the hottest YBF athletes for some eye candy. Peep the barely there pics inside…
It's that time of year again when ESPN unveils several barely there flicks of professional athletes killing it in their respective sports. And our round up of YBFers making the cut for the Body Issue's 10th anniversary will surely get you hot.
New York Giants running back Saquan Barkley is heating things up with his titillating spread. To achieve a body like his, it definitely takes a lot of effort and hard work in the gym.
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The No.2 draft pick, who was drafted in April, isn't a stranger to tough, intensive workouts and said his favorite part of his body to train is his lower body. And we can tell! The 21-year-old athlete also offered up some advice to aspiring football stars.
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"I'd say more lower body," Saquan told ESPN about his favorite body part to train. "My favorite part is max-out days because everything just comes together, you know? You can throw some weight around and challenge yourself and beat yourself. But right now, I've been taking more of a different approach [to lifting], working on more explosive stuff. Not a crazy amount of weight but more firing up and working on jumps and exploding off the ground and efficient movement that translates to the football field. That's the big thing that I've been focusing on. If I ever have to tell a kid who is training what could be a main thing he should focus on, it would be that -- efficient movement that translates to the football field. Not putting 600 pounds on his back, maybe 400 or 500, 355, or whatever's reasonable for you, and then controlling the weight down but exploding up with jumping out of your shoes. Those are the new things that I've been really packing in."
We'll see what he brings to the Giants organization when the NFL's preseason kicks off in Auust.
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Melanin magic!
Sprinter/Long Jumper Tori Bowie is a force to be reckoned with as she burst on the scene at the Rio Olympics, winning three medals. Soon after, she copped the title of the World's Fastest Woman when she finished in first place in the 100 meter run at the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London. She did it in 10.85 seconds. Not only that, she's also making a splash in the fashion world as she was featured in a Valentino campaign last year.
The 27-year-old is doing it all and looking damn good while doing so.
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"I train my entire body to be strong," she told ESPN. "To be a professional athlete, we need every part to be strong -- the core, the legs, arms. If I could pick one body part, I'd probably pick my thighs, my quads. I feel they're the strongest part my body."
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Growing up, she had issues accepting her body even though she was always lean.
"It has taken some time to be able to adapt to being so lean and strong and looking really manly. I have had some insecurities there, but over time I'm starting to accept it and embrace it, because this is the figure I have to have and the strength I have to have in order to be able to do my job. It has taken me some time to grow out of it. The older I get, the more comfortable I get."
Loves it!
Another YBF chick killing it in sports...
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Soccer superstar Crystal Dunn is shining bright in the ESPN Body issue. She's only 25-years-old and has already amasses a long resume of accomplishments, which include being the NCAA national champion (with the University of North Carolina in 2012), FIFA Under-20 World Cup champion (2012), and the youngest player to win the National Women's Soccer League MVP and Golden Boot (in 2015, at age 23), just to name a few.
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Standing at only 5 feet, 2 inches, Crystal once feared she was too short for the game. However, she was able to find an advantage with her short stature.
"People are so surprised about how small I am compared to other players," she shared with ESPN. "They hear I'm not tall, but when they see me in person, they're like, "How are you competing at a top level?" The funniest thing I hear now while taking photos [with fans] is "Wow, you look so much taller on TV." At first, it wasn't easy. In the early stages, when I realized I was going to be probably the shortest player on the teams I was on, it was hard. I felt like girls were getting recruited over me strictly because of their height, and it made me self-conscious. I had doubts about my height and size on the pitch."
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She continued,
"But I grew -- I mean, I matured -- and understood you can't have it all. I know tall people who want to be shorter. You want what you don't have. Once I understood that, I learned to take advantage of my body. Lucky for me, the ball is only in the air a handful of times a game and that doesn't define success. At 25, I accept who I am. I am not the biggest, but that doesn't mean I can't be the quickest or the smartest and find other ways of being successful."
So motivational! #BlackGirlMagic
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Yasiel Puig, right fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is looking like a whole meal! Forget those peanuts. This is STEAK and potatoes.
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As amazing as his body looks, the 27-year-old isn't one who likes to go to the gym too often.
"I don't like to go to the gym or anything like that," the Cuban-born player said. "Everything that I have is because God gave it to me. But I have to try to take care of my body a bit more. I am still young, so I can still abuse my body, but not that much."
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Yasiel said he sometimes feels like he's from another planet because the hits he endures would certainly knock out some of his teammates.
"I don't consider myself from this world. Sometimes I think I come from Mars because some of the knocks I take on the field that would leave some of my teammates, or any other person, in pain don't hurt me. I can take it and keep playing. When my trainer gives me a massage, I tell him, 'Hey, I don't feel anything.' He says, 'Look, I've treated many clients, and all I have to do is just touch them and they are screaming. With you I have to keep going.' Even he realizes and says, 'You must not be from here.'"
Ha! We'd like to give him a massage just to see something real quick.
For those of you who like their men tall...
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Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns loves to work out and he loves the grind of his job. That's evident in his career leading up to the pros. He graduated high school early to join John Calipari at Kentucky, where he played his way into the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NBA draft.
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Now, he's flossing his skills on the court and he credits his body for helping him to get to where he is today. At one point in time, he was told his body would get in the way of dreams, but he proved them all wrong.
"Growing up, I'd always been told that my biggest weakness was my body and how that was probably going to hold me back from accomplishing my dreams," he told ESPN.
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"It's funny -- full circle now ... I got the chance to prove everyone from college, high school, middle school wrong. I was that chubby kid with not the flashiest body, and now I'm able to represent myself and my family and all the journeys and the trials and tribulations that I went through to get to this body."
Proves you can do anything you set your mind to, despite what everyone around you says.
And last but not least...
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We had to add Jerry Rice, retired NFL wide receiver, to the list. The 55-year-old is a 3-time Super Bowl champion, a 13-time Pro Boweler and he has been inducted into the Pro-Football Hall of Fame. Even at his age, he's still got IT.
"I think I'm more muscular now than when I played football. I'm working hard on it. So many athletes just let themselves go after they stop competing. That was something I didn't want to do," he shared.
Gotta love it.
Photos: ESPN
