I cam accross this video and I had to share it

When you play a pickup game, there are some personalities that show up no matter where you play and this video does exactly that. I don’t want to ruin it so just watch it.

I found it it pretty jokes because there are always the same people whining about not getting that foul called or you know they just aren’t feeling it today. I have to admit, I’m very close to number 3 and 7.

PS: So, my question to you is, which of the personalities are you like?

This is a quick, straight to the point interview with Jacob Hiller. Jacob has a proven system at http://www.dynamic-athletics.com/jacob where he has a short video on overcoming obstacles related to jump training.

Here is the interview:

I highly recommend you check out Jacob’s program at http://www.dynamic-athletics.com/jacob.

PS: I want to hear from you.

What did you think about the interview?
What questions could I have asked?
What could I have improved on?

Jacob has trained with Professional Athletes as well as Olympic Competitors which tells you that he knows what he’s doing. I really wanted to help the people who were looking for those tactics so, I asked him for an interview. But the reason I’m sharing this with you is because I want to know what questions you have for Jacob and about Jump Training.

Jacob Hiller’s Jump Training Video

There are many components that make up a strong, explosive vertical and I know you have questions about at least one them. It could be about the types of exercises, how long to do exercises, nutrition, resting periods, etc. I want to help you get that knowledge and get you over that plateau you might be going through. So comment below and look for that interview in your e-mail.

If you haven’t signed up for the newsletter, visit http://www.dynamic-athletics.com.

In the meantime, while you’re waiting for that interview, go to Jacob’s site and check out a video specially for helping you train more efficiently.

Jacob Hiller’s Jump Training Video

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?

Preparing for a game is an important factor to the success of the player during the game. There are many players on any level of play that simply can’t play at their optimum level because of stage fright or lack of confidence. The fact of the matter is the player must be confident and mentally picture himself to be able to shoot the ball, drive aggressively and be able to rip down the rebound. Michael Jordan said, “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” And I have to agree with Michael in the sense that fear can’t stop you and shouldn’t stop you.

In the NBA, players have clear rituals that are performed before, during and after a game. Most rituals are done before the game to hype them up and get them game ready. Lebron James is known for his powder ritual which he does before every game in front of the scorer’s table. Is a ritual the key to releasing your fear from performing? Possibly, but there are many different factors that work together that dictate how well you will perform. Let me break it down:

• Your state of mind

• Your nutrition (meals prior to the game)

• How well the body is rested

• Your strength training and conditioning

These are the main factors that affect your performance; If I missed one, comment on it and let me know. Anyways, you have to take these factors into account. I suggest working on the being rested well which means a solid 7-8 hours (Leno isn’t that funny, turn that TV off) and prepare proper, healthy meals that will help recover your body quicker.

I want to hear what you think of mental training. What do you do train and prepare yourself for games? What songs do you listen to or what’s your ritual?

The core, which is the abs and the lower back, is very important in the game of basketball and should definitely be implemented into your basketball training schedule. Think the core isn’t important during the game? Think again. You use your core every time you jump to block, jump to rebound, jump to shoot, when playing defense, when driving to the bucket with an explosive first step, etc. I know you get the idea.

Now, you might be thinking, “I already work on my abs.” That’s all fine but for basketball, defined abs doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to be able to do all the movements mentioned above to the best of your ability. When you’re working on your core, you need to focus on strength but also, mobility, flexibility and balance. All this can be done with the use of a stability ball or Swiss ball.

• The use of a Swiss ball incorporated into your workouts will allow you to:

• Develop strength and flexibility in the core.

• Decrease the likelihood of injuries by strengthening weakened muscles and improves posture.

• A variety of exercises can be performed with a pair of dumbbells and/or resistance bands.

An important advantage of strength ball training is that it allows strengthening of weak muscles that prevent injury. This is mainly because when your body has weak muscles and they are put through a rigorous test like an intense ball game, you are much more likely to get injured. Swiss ball exercises aid your weak muscles and prevent injuries.

In order to use Swiss balls to their potential, you need to educate yourself about the proper uses of the Swiss ball through an instructor or proper information from an authority such as Lorne Goldenberg. He explains the various exercises in depth.

Put It Into Action!

Here are a couple of exercises that you can do to start strengthening your core and sculpting your abs:

Superman

Start with laying your stomach on the ball and your body at a 45-degree angle. At this point, you can balance yourself with the tips of your toes. Lift your arms and stretch them out just like if you were flying and keep your arms straight while keeping your balance. This exercise works the whole back and the glutes.

Abdominal rolls

Start with lying on your back on the floor with the knees slightly bent and the feet flat on the floor. Take the Swiss ball and place it on your thighs and close to the knees. Lift your head and shoulder blades off the floor while rolling the ball away from your upper body with the hands moving laterally towards your knees, hold for 1 second, and come back to starting position.

Keep in mind that there are many exercises you can do to train your core. The Swiss ball is no the be all end all of core training. Did this help? Don’t understand the importance of the core? Let us know.

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:

• · Find a proven vertical training program

• · Have 5-6 nutritional meals a day

• · Sleep 1 hour early to get a full nights rest

• · Keep a water bottle on me at all times

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?

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.

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.

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?