Ok, so I was watching the 3-Point Competition, the Skills Challenge and the Dunk Competition and I began to think, has the all-star weekend become a joke or does it still have that zing and excitement in the air?
I’m not hating on them but the skills challenge was only a little better than last year’s because of the wicked dunk Derrick Rose did to finish it off. Other than that, all the point guards were chilling and going through the course like they were just in the gym as a warm up. I want to see Harris burst down the hardwood, cross over dribble all the obstacles and drive it home. That’s obviously not what happened.
The three point competition wasn’t that great either. I’m a Raptors fan and being from Toronto, I prayed and begged for Capono to be “three-pete” but he just came short. The first round, he limped in and just couldn’t find the flow in the second round. I have respect for Daequan Cook but next year, I’m hoping Ray Allen wil participate and show what a 3-point competition is supposed to be like.
The dunk competition this year was AMAZING! Dwight Howard forced everyone to step their game up a notch and shake the nature of the dunk competition up a little. The phone booth was really creative and I was just laughing But, Nate Robinson is a freak of nature and managed to jump over Dwight…..WOW! The thing tha surprised me most is how small of a margin Nate won by, 52-48%.
Overall, I think the All-Star Weekend is loosing its energy and hype because of the lost of effort but because of the creativity of dunk contest, people are still interested. The All-Star Game is on the horizon and I’m hoping its going to be a close one (cross your fingers)
PS: What did you think? You have probably watched other All-Star Weekends in the past. How did this one compare so far? Was it better or worse?
It’s now 10 days into the year 2009 but do you have any New Year’s resolutions for basketball training? If you haven’t, let me save you the remaining 355 days and help you get on track .
Each one of us has goals in life like becoming wealthy or getting a high paying job or even buying that new Kobe shoe (I don’t care what people say, I like it). Even though you can achieve all of the above if you work for it, you are getting $#%@ unless you set goals with deadlines. A goal without a deadline is simply a dream that ultimately leads to disappointment and I know you want to run faster or be able to dunk but you have to put deadlines to those goals to really help you get there.
I want you to stop right now. Go get a sheet of paper; from the printer, the scrap of paper lying in front of you, whatever. write down when you want to be able to accomplish this goal of yours. This is simple but effective. Write this down as big as you can:
I, ______(Name), will be able to ______(Your Goal) by __________(Date)
This piece of paper is dictating what you will accomplish. I didn’t say what you might accomplish, but what you will accomplish. I know I might be sounding more and more like a life coach but trust me, this will help you become a better player if you do this exercise. If you read by it and still haven’t wrote it down, do it now. So, now that you have your goal written, take another sheet of paper….I’m waiting….ok and write down what your next actionable steps are. This simply means, what do you have to do next in order to accomplish your goals? This is an example of a list:
This list might not look like your list because you might already have a vertical program you bought, you might already eat 5-6 meals a day and drink more than enough water, but what’s next? You have to ask yourself, what’s stopping me from achieving my goals for basketball training? Is it a lack of time? My health? Lack of a gym or access to weights? You have to dig and find the answers.
Now, this is what you have:
A concrete goal that you are more than willing to accomplish
The next steps you can take right now to accomplish those goals
Isn’t this a much better New Year’s resolution than “get healthy”? Anyways, at this point, the only thing stopping you from your goals is…you guessed it, YOU. I have guided you quickly through searching for your desired goal, making it concrete by writing it down and taking the next actionable steps. Take advantage of this and let me know if this helps you.
PS: You know what I think but what do you think?
Does writing your goals help you or do you think it’s a waste of time?
The year 2008 is winding down and it’s now time to reflect, make resolutions and just maybe follow the this year.
Let me ask you, did you do everything you wanted to do this year? Did you improve your vertical, get stronger or improve your game in general?
I know you’re probably getting a bit depressed because I sure am. I personally didn’t improve my game to the degree I wanted to and I know this is probably the case with you. The reason for this is pretty simple actually: You need guidance.
Michael Jordan didn’t go from a kid on the block to the Big Leagues without any guidance. He got advice, tips, techniques and blueprints to allow him to achieve his goal faster. Michael didn’t want to waste the time in trial and error and neither should you. So, to help you cut through all the crap and clutter out there on how to get a monstrous vertical, I would like to introduce you to Luke Lowery and his Double Your Vertical Program. Luke is best known for “The Verticle Jump Bible”.
To help basketball players all over the world, he is revealing the secrets behind his Double Your Vertical System over hours and hours of recorded teleseminars with his top clients answering their specific questions on how to get a “50-inch Vertical”.
Head over there and get a taste of what you have been missing and how to really jump with the best of them.
PS: If you think this is just another Jump 6 inches higher in 6 days’” vertical program, you are mistaken. Luke even makes his clients sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement so that his secret techniques aren’t stolen by imitators. Check it out: Double Your Vertical.
Training your legs for an increased vertical is a necessity for your basketball strength training system. I haven’t heard from one basketball player who doesn’t want to jump higher, faster and explode quicker. Today, I want to explain what muscles to train for a higher vertical and how you can jump higher with the use of proper plyometric systems.
Before engaging in ANY sort of activity, such as strength training or playing basketball, you should always warm up. Stretching and warming up is absolutely necessary because if the body is not warmed up for the activity, there is a high chance that the player will get injured. This article isn’t about stretching and warming up in general but I want to tell you that there are two types of stretches: ballistic and static. Static stretches are the stretches where there is little movement of the muscle being stretch where ballistic stretches are done where there is a lot of movement to ease the muscle and get it warmed up.
Now, once you are warmed up, you can begin your plyometric workout. There are 4 (four) main body parts active when doing plyometrics or when jumping in a basketball game:
1)Quadriceps (Thighs)
2) Hamstrings
3) Calves
4) Abs
Many people will disagree that abs don’t affect the results of plyometric workouts but I beg to differ. When an athlete goes from an athletic stance, knees bend with back straight and ready to move, to jumping up to block an opponent, there is a lot of energy used to move the player and allow him/her to explode quickly.
I will give you exercises that you can use for each muscle and get them stronger but remember, you must cool down after the workout. I want to engrain this in to your head, the importance of warm-up and cool down sessions when participating in any activity.
Here are some exercises for each muscle:
1)Quads: Jump Squats - Get into a squat position with or without weights in your hands and jump up in squat position. It’s important to keep stability and balance when doing this exercise or you will injure yourself. Start out with no weights and work your way up. I suggest doing three(3) sets with 10, then 8, then 6 repetition.
2)Hamstrings: Hamstring Curl - Lie Down on a Hamstring Curl Machine and choose the weights that will allow you to perform 6 repetitions. Once you have chosen the weight, place your legs under the leg pads and curl your legs up while having control. Then slowly bring your legs down with control. I would suggest to perform three (3) sets with sic (6) repetitions.
3)Calves:Calve Raises – Stand on the Calve Raise machine with the balls of your feet and adjust the height of the shoulder rests until you feel a stretch in your calves. Choose a weight that suits your strength level. Using the balls of your feet, lift yourself up and slowly bring yourself down to starting position. Three (3) sets of 15, then 13, then 11 is what I suggest. This is best done at a gym with the machines available but can also be done at home.
4)Abs:Lying Leg Raises – Lie down on the ground, preferably on a mat. Keeping your hands on the straight on sides, raise your legs straight up using the abs only. It is hard the first couple of times but after your abs begin to strengthen; it will be easier to lift your legs.
I have given you some simple yet powerful exercises to help build-up the main muscles that will allow you to have an explosive vertical. Remember, these are just outlines. There are many programs out there and I highly suggest you try Athletic Advantage . I have personally used this program and saw great results. But keep in mind, you only see results if you stick with the program. As soon as you stop training, working out or playing basketball, you will lose some skill, no-duh, but you must stick with the program to get the results.
PS:What part of your lower body have you been having difficulties training? Is it your calves, hamstrings or quads?
Basketball training isn’t much different from other forms of sports training except some tweaks here and there. But, before jumping into high octane basketball training, you must understand the benefits of basketball training.
There are many benefits of basketball training but the two that stand out are athletic performance and injury prevention.
Strengthening your core, quads, calves, biceps, back and chest allow you to jump higher, take it to the hole stronger and provides more stability when taking more contact. Vince Carter is a great example in this situation. Imagine if Carter didn’t workout in any way shape or form. You have to realize that guys his size would be eating him up like sweet potato pie. But, with the extensive training that NBA professionals do allows him to jump and stay in the air for longer than his opponents and still manage to dunk OVER them; Sorry Alonzo Mourning. As a person who resides in Toronto, Ontario, home of the Raptors and as much as I hate Carter (as a player), that kind of performance is jaw dropping.
As you can see basketball training can add to your game instantly and as you progress in the training by lifting more, the benefits of basketball training will become more apparent.
Something that many basketball players don’t care is the importance of injury prevention. As a player, it is critical to realize that if your hand is broken, you cannot play basketball! It sounds stupid that way but if you’re training long and hard for something, you should do everything in your power to prevent that effort going to waste.
Basketball is a contact sport and it gets under the boards for a rebound, setting picks and screens and sometimes, the game just gets physical in the heat of moment. Basketball training allows you to take some of the damage due to the new muscle on your body. It is a good practice to stretch for 5 minutes before and after your workouts and especially if you’re playing ball.
PS: Strength Training does wonders for your game. What was something you experienced when you started training for basketball?
But, Nate Robinson is a freak of nature and managed to jump over Dwight…..WOW! The thing tha surprised me most is how small of a margin Nate won by, 52-48%.
