Certainly not ideal - as i have seen many times, Imagine if he did not - imagine what he could have achieved? Why be pretty darn good, when you can be a legend?
Those that skip training, and excel, its more of a Bad coaching design that forces that said person to Skip practice to get the required Rest and Recovery needed. Those that dont skip, wonder why those that do perform better at comps. Its cause the training PLan sucks eggs. And that guys said “lazyness” is an inbuilt safety mec to ensure continued progress.
Smoking IS a KILLER, it should NEVER be endorsed, ever.