Basketball Weight Training:
Building Functional Strength

Are basketball weight training plans important? Basketball is a contact sport. Sure, it isn't boxing, or hockey, or rugby, where hard contact is not only allowed but an actual strategy and sometimes the sole aim of competition. But you can't put ten large people in a relatively small space, and ask them to run in the same direction and not run over each other. Contact will be made - and, of course, sometimes instigated, as is the case with rebounding.

So since we want players to box out well, to rebound with force, to finish their lay ups even after being hit hard on the drive, we want our players to be strong.

In players that have no previous strength training experience, the focus needs to be on exercises that work major muscle groups and not on exercises that focus on smaller muscle sets. This will help create functional strength - it will help strengthen muscles, ligaments and tendons so they are better able to perform the explosive movements that the sport demands of them. As well, stronger muscles, tendons and ligaments are less likely to get injured.

What follows is the basketball weight training workout I give my players if they are new to strength training in the off-season. I generally don't have players weight train until they are 16 years old, but some coaches and strength trainers now say that the players can be younger, so long as the training is supervised and appropriate to the players' ages. Still, I feel sixteen to be a safe enough age.

If you feel you want more information on basketball workouts after you read this page, The Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Basketball is an excellent book that outlines a much more extensive program for basketball players.

Basketball Weight Training Workout for the Off-Season
BASIC RULES

• The workout is designed as a circuit - this means that each exercise is performed once, for the allotted number of repetitions, and then the next exercise is performed, and then the next one, and so on, until one set of each exercise has been performed (e.g., perform the bench press for 12 repetitions, rest for 45-90 seconds, then perform 12-15 repetitions of squats, rest 45-90 seconds, and then move on to the next exercise.) When the athlete has completed all exercises once, this is considered one circuit.
  
  
• Rest for only 45-90 seconds in between exercises
  
  
• The athlete should begin by completing 2 circuits in each session, allowing 2-3 minutes to rest in between circuits
  
  
• Beginning in about the third or fourth week, the athlete should have gained enough strength and stamina that he can begin completing 3 circuits in each session
  
  
• This routine should be followed for 8-10 weeks
  
  
• The routine should be performed 2-3 times per week, with 48 hours rest in between sessions (i.e., work out every second day)
  
  
• The athlete should use enough weight so that he can perform the stated number of repetitions, but not much more than that. Once he finds it easy to perform the stated number of repetitions, he should increase the weight
  
  
• Try to complete each session in less than 30 minutes - but never rush the workout. Always maintain good control of the weights, and ALWAYS WORK OUT WITH A PARTNER
  

Basketball Weight Training Workout for the Off-Season
THE WARM-UP

The warm-up needs to be dynamic - i.e., not the static, "strike the pose and hold it for 10 seconds" stretches we used to do not so long ago. Warm-ups need to simulate to a less strenuous degree the movements the muscles will be doing during the workout.

Basketball Weight Training Workout for the Off-Season
THE WORKOUT

Basketball Weight Training Workout for the Off-Season
THE COOL DOWN

Athletes jog or bike or skip for about five minutes to cool down muscles, then perform Static Stretches (hold for 10 seconds then switch). Be sure to stretch all muscles, moving the muscle into the stretch slowly, holding the stretch for 10 seconds, before releasing it slowly.

This basketball weight training workout focuses on the big muscle groups - chest, back, legs and shoulders. Once the athlete completes this workout for 8-10 weeks, he should have gained noticeable strength that will help in all areas of his game.