Basketball Strength Training – Effects Of Dehydration

December 22, 2008 at 11:56 pm · Filed under Conditioning

As a basketball player, the worst opponent is fatigue. In general, fatigue can result from many sources but the main source is dehydration. Dehydration is simply when there aren’t enough fluids being consumed to replenish the body’s nutrients and thus the effects of dehydration. What we’re going to talk about today are ways to consume fluids that will allows peak performance and the little things you can do daily to keep yourself in the optimal condition.

Dehydration causes fatigue and that’s a fact but the effects of that fatigue can destroy your shooting percentage, prevent you to run up and down the court and trying to guard a guy whose hands are moving so fast it’s a blur, yeah right; throw in the towel. At that point in the game, there is not much you can do. So instead of going to the game feeling defeated, you can learn how to stay active and awake by hydrating your body. Throughout the day, you should keep yourself hydrated. I recommend drinking at least 64 ounces per day or for my Canadian friends, that’s 2litres. So what exactly does that mean? Simple, just get a bottle that has an index on the side that lets you measure how much fluid is in the bottle. You can these bottles from a nutritional store or a sports shop such as GNC, Sportschek, Dick’s Sporting Goods, etc. Keep that bottle near you while at work, school, playing PS3…whatever and keep drinking it.

One game days, if you don’t keep yourself hydrated, you’re a dead man. Here is what you do:

Pre-Game

Two (2) hours before a game, drink 16oz or 0.5L. Like I said, it’s better to keep a bottle with you so it doesn’t feel like a chore. Then, 30 minutes before a game, drink 4 oz or 0.2 L. This isn’t a lot but keeps your body fresh and ready to kill the opposition. Let me hear you: Rrrrrr! (That’s a growling sound by the way)

During The Game

During the game, it’s important to keep yourself well hydrated so you can give that extra effort and hustle to jump on a loose ball. Sport drinks were created for use during a game because of the salt intake; take advantage of this. It has been proven in a study where a runner was tested to drink water and the next test was with a sports drink to get hydrated. The sports drink outperformed the water. So, during a game, you should be consuming anywhere from 32 – 62 oz or 1-1.8L of water but preferably sports drinks. If you are playing a lot of minutes or just aren’t feeling it that day, try a small snack during halftime such as nutrition bar, figs or my favourite, oranges. We’ll leave the nutritional information out of this article but keep a look out for that one. Nonetheless, keep yourself hydrated and make it a habit to drink a specific bottle or cup during the game.

Post-Game

This is the recovery period and don’t take this part lightly. There is a good chance that games are back-to-back during tournaments and there are practices…with suicides that are going to leave you huffing and puffing. After games, drink another 4oz or 0.2L to get yourself back to normal.

Action Tips:

* Buy a bottle that is not plastic that has measuring index on the side.

* Keep that bottle with you at all times and aim to drink 64oz or 2L a day.

* Have a quick nutritional snack during the game with high carbohydrates and low protein.

Ex: Nutrition Bar

PS: Do you keep a water bottle on you? And if you do, do you think it helps you or it’s just whatever? If you don’t have a water bottle, David Stern isn’t going to hand you one of a silver platter. Go Get One!

Let me know what you think.

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Basketball Speed Introduction

November 16, 2008 at 4:43 am · Filed under Speed

Basketball Speed is king in the sport of basketball. Basketball requires player to have a very good multi- directional speed. Speed on the basketball court is essential. You need to develop muscles and instincts for moving side to side, backwards and forwards and in circles to get around your opponent.

Basketball speed can give you an edge over your opponent, because you need to beat the opponent to the rebound or to the ball. By researching all the potential techniques and tools that are available to you, you will find out how to develop the best speed training technique.

If you are a player who is always sucking wind to keep up with the natural speed demon athletes, you can improve your speed with drills and training. Basketball drills for speed training are varied and many, so to start you off, try a cone drill.

Take 2 cones or if you don’t have cones, take any 2 objects and place them about 5-7 feet apart. Perform side steps, so only move right and left and as soon as you get close to a cone, thrust off the leg closest to the cone and shuffle as fast as you can to the opposite cone. The point of this drill is to increase you change in direction and balance into your game. Once you perform 6 repetitions, rest for 1 minute and do it all over again. You should do 3 sets which means 6 reps, 1minute rest, 6 reps, 1minute rest, 6 reps, 1minute rest.

Go and try it out!

PS: So did you feel it during the workout? Was it too easy? I want to hear what you thought of it. Go ahead and let us know.

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Interval Training For Basketball

November 6, 2008 at 6:06 pm · Filed under Conditioning, Endurance

When training for basketball, you should be aware of a method of training known as interval training. If you haven’t heard of interval training, either you are already doing it and don’t know it or you haven’t even tapped into your potential of being the best basketball player you can be.

Interval training is performing high energy movements and activities for a short period with a rests in between repetitions. The intervals between repetitions are based on the intensity of the activity and how long that specific activity was done for. Short and high intensity movements require more rest. There is a chemical in your body called lactic acid. When there is a build up of lactic acid, this is the chemical that creates pain in the muscles that are engaged in the activity. So you can blame lactic acid for all the days your abs hurt so much that you couldn’t stand straight.

The goal of training is to get maximum results by working most efficiently and resting appropriately. So to train effectively for basketball, you have decrease the length of the activity and make that activity more intense.

Here is a drill that you can start using today:

Tempo Runs:

Instead of running a 400 meter round, break that up into four 100 meter dashes (you really need to understand that you must break up longer sessions of intense activity and break them down). Now, when doing the 100 meter dashes, try to get as close as 10 seconds, but 15-16 seconds is ideal.

I hope you understand by now how interval training works, at least the basics of it and I want you to go and use it…TODAY!

Go.

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