Uggla looking to rip with more consistency

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The early word out of Braves camp was that Dan Uggla was more ripped than ever -- a seemingly comical claim, given Uggla's notoriously Popeye-like physique.

But Uggla did slim down some over the winter, and that has the effect of amplifying the look of his upper body.

"When your waist slims down a little bit, you look more jacked, I guess," Uggla said. "But I can't really tell the difference. I guess when I'm buttoning my pants, I can tell."

Where Uggla wants to see a difference is in his consistency from day to day, week to week, month to month. His 2012 month-by-month OPS counts -- .784 in April, .874 in May, .648 in June, .461 in July, .748 in August and .821 in September -- demonstrate just what a streaky season it was for him.

"As much as I felt great in the cage, felt great in BP and could hit homers to center field all day in BP, in the game, it just wasn't translating," Uggla said. "I made an adjustment at the end of the year and just concentrated on building off of that. I watched a lot of film from 2006, when I was more of a complete hitter and was using the ball foul line to foul line. Watched a lot of that and worked my butt off in the weight room."

He also reshaped his diet, leaning on some gluten-free input from Jayson Werth and eating more fruits, vegetables and lean meats.

"I went from 215 [pounds] to somewhere around 208, 206," he said. "Time will tell [if it has an effect]. I was playing at 205 and 210 in years past, normally fluctuating from 210 to 215. I hope I'll be quicker, faster stronger and have more energy."