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?
November 24, 2008 at 4:31 pm · Filed under Stretching
Yoga for Athletes. Before you read any further, I need to tell you something that can make a drastic effect on your results from training and the perfromance on the court: This one secret can help you come over many obstacles on the court and in life. Take the five words and run with them:
Let go of your ego!
There are athletes that simply have too big of an ego to do something that may hurt their “rep” or whatever. Check the ego at the door and go do your business.
Now that you are focused, let’s get to today’s topic: Yoga for Athletes.
The importance for yoga is hidden behind silly society norms like “only women do yoga” or my favourite, “what a loser, he does yoga??” Yoga is known for making the body flexible and the mind calm but it has some benefits that athletes aren’t aware of. Injury prevention is the one that strikes me because the fact you athletes spend hours on end training and competing for sport but don’t take the necessary steps to take care of that body the rough up.
Today, I want to share an yoga exercise with you. Remember, you should always warm up and warm down while doing yoga. This exercise is called Leg Pulls and it works the glutes and the hamstrings. Here’s the step-by-step:
1) Lie down on the mat with the right knee bend.
*Note: Never do yoga on hardwood floor.
2) Raise your left leg so it is straight above your body and it is completely straight.
3) Grab the left foot with both hands and slowly pull the foot towards your face. If you can’t grab your foot, you can hold on to your ankle, thigh or your calves.
*Note: Round your chest as you relax into the stretch.
4)Keep this position and slowly bring your foot as close as to the ground without jerking or putting too much pressure on the leg.
Hold this position for 60 seconds each leg. You shouldn’ be looking at the timer when doing this, instead, hold the position until you feel it.
In the meantime, after a warm up, try out this simple but effective stretch and let us know what you think.
PS: Have you done yoga before?
What program did you use and what were your experiences?
I should mention that this is only one exercise. There are many different exercises, systems and programs that you can follow. I’m in the process of finding the perfect program for athletes, but until then, check out this book:
PS: Have you done yoga before?
What program did you use and what were your experiences?
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.
When trainingforbasketball, 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!
Core training is one of the most important factors of a basketball player’s body. Don’t get me wrong, you need quickness, agility, strength and overall skill in the sport but the core is what gives you that competitive advantage or “umph” into it.
For basketball training, you must train the whole core area which consists of the abdominals and lower back. The core is the area that connects your upper body and lower body and this is what brings momentum into any part of your game. When you’re in a game, your body does the following actions:
1. Jump to rip down rebounds
2. Elevate to dunk or lay-up
3. Elevate to rebound
4. Push body forward to pass
If you didn’t notice yet, the most important factor to the intensity of those actions may not be the core but it does have an effect. Here is an example: When you are jumping to get a rebound, most of the time, you don’t jump directly up. You bend your legs, pull back your hands and then jump. If your core is weak, there is a good chance that you will not be able to get the highest you can and there may be a kink in your movement. Most of the movements in the game of basketball have a lot of to do with the core being active and this is why you must train it properly and effectively. Once you have a strong core, your body is balanced and it moves in one smooth movement.
Today, I will be giving you two exercises that will strengthen the core and give you more stability in your movements:
1) Plank: This exercise is a very popular core exercises because it absolutely provides hard-hitting results. To do this exercise, in a push-up position and instead of balancing on your hands, balance your body with the forearms also in a line with your body.
a. Stay in this position for as long as you can. Your goal should be 2 minutes at least on each reptition. Rest 60 seconds and redo the plank position again.
b. The point is to keep your body in a straight line throughout the 2 minutes interval
2) Superman: Lie down on your chest with your hands and legs straightened out. Raise your hands and legs straight up as if you were to put your arms and legs together. Hold up for 10 seconds at each repetition. Rest for 5 seconds and hold the superman position for another 10 seconds.
I have just given you two basketball training exercises. Now, I can give you 500 exercises and you still won’t have a strong core unless you get up and do it!
