Basketball Strength Training

We have come a long way from the days when coaches would not let basketball strength training be a part of their program for fear of ruining their player's shooting ability. As more coaches have become aware of the benefits of building strength for their basketball players, the myths have been erased and basketball strength training has become an important aspect of building a competitive athlete.

Today's athlete needs to be able to sustain their high performance level as the game becomes more and more physical. Strength training can help increase your durability, self- confidence, and athletic performance. Stronger player are more aggressive players. They rebound more, attack the basket more, and play tougher defense.

A good strength program should be specific to your sport, with exercises that will improve the skills you need for basketball. You will become a strong, lean and flexible player. Strength training for basketball can also significantly reduce your risk of joint and tendon injuries.

To get the best results from your basketball strength training program the workouts should be intense, short, and infrequent.

Lift to failure. For the greatest results, lift the weights until your muscles are unable to lift any more weight.

Increase weight. Attempt to lift more next week than you did this week. Always train explosively to maintain a high level of intensity.

Use proper technique. You are only cheating yourself if you are able to lift more weigh because your technique is bad. Also you are risking injury.

Limit your time in the gym. Keep the workout session to an hour or less to avoid over training.

Allow recovery time. Recover between sets and between workouts. This can be accomplished by using a total body program done over two or three days in one week. This will allow time for your body to recover enough to have a high level of intensity for the next workout. Also allow at least a minutes rest between sets.

Log workouts. Keep a workout log to monitor progress.

The game of basketball requires repeated bouts of high intensity jumps and sprints. Explosive movements like these are performed by fast twitch muscle fibers. Meanwhile most of your power supply is coming from your anaerobic energy system. The best way to develop these areas is a multiple set approach using heavy resistance.

Choose a resistance that you can only lift for 3-8 repetitions.

Using a heavy resistance with 3-8 repetitions will stimulate the fast twitch muscle fibers.

There will be some injury prevention exercises and some isolation exercises that won't follow this same rule.

Depending on the exercise give a recovery time so that you can lift the next set with the same intensity (90 seconds - 4 minutes).

If you follow a basketball-specific strength training program you will improve in every area of your game...

Your acceleration and speed running up and down the court

Your passing and shooting distance

Your vertical jump and explosive power

There are three categories of strength that you as a basketball player must understand. There is absolute or maximal strength, muscular power, and muscular endurance. Let me briefly explain the importance of each one.

Maximal Strength

A player who can bench press 300 lbs has a greater absolute strength than a player who bench presses 250 lbs. Your maximal strength is the maximum force a muscle group can exert in a single contraction.

Because maximal strength serves as a foundation for muscular power and speed it is important that you, as a basketball player, devote some time to developing it.

Developing your maximal strength should only be a means to an end. The end result needs to be increasing your explosive speed and muscular power. Ground contacts in most explosive movements like jumping and sprinting occur in less than a second.

Working on your maximal strength does not take allowances for time. So you need to incorporate some training into your program that will increase your speed.

Muscular Power

Muscular power is a combination of maximal strength and speed of movement. If you increase your speed of movement without reducing the resistance you will increase your explosive power.

Because there are different phases of basketball strength training depending on where you are in the season, you can fist build your maximal strength, then convert some of that strength into explosive power.

There are jump training techniques called plyometrics, which are great for basketball players. They combine speed and strength in single movement patterns. It is important to build your strength base first before working with plyometrics.

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Muscular Endurance

If you are able to perform repeated, high-intensity movements without getting fatigued then your muscular endurance is high. For basketball, the act of sprinting up and down the court over and over will become easier once you improve your muscular endurance. Jumping several times in a row with minimal loss of power is another result of training for muscular endurance.

It would be ideal if one type of exercise could improve your maximal strength, muscular power and muscular endurance all at the same time, but in actuality you need to train them separately.

Divide your basketball strength training into 4 phases.

During the off-season you should build functional strength by preparing your body. Focus on core stability to restore balance to your body.

During the early pre-season start building your maximal strength with three strength training sessions a week.

In the late pre-season convert this strength to muscular power. Use plyometric exercises to build power. Correct form is critical in plyometrics. They may seem too easy because you don't feel winded. They are not meant to hurt so don't overdo it. Focus on your lower body with rebounding exercises like depth jumps and train your upper body with medicine balls.

During the in-season maintain your muscular power. You may lose some maximal strength as the season continues but that is normal. Your basketball playing will improve if you can maintain your muscular power. Spend one session in the weight room and one session on plyometric training.

Remember to take a break. Give your body a rest from basketball strength training every 6-8 weeks.