The Bioenergetics of Strength Training for Basketball

When bioenergetics is discussed for sport-specific training, most of the discussion revolves around movement training, such as plyometrics; conditioning; and skill work performed on the field or court. However, very rarely do these streams of thought cross over into the strength-training realm. More often than not, strength-training programs are designed with specific strength goals in mind rather than specific sports goals. Even at the lower collegiate levels, many programs are written to produce stronger athletes with the hope that stronger athletes will produce better sportsmen. While strength is a determining factor in an athlete’s success on the court or field, it is hardly the only determining factor. So the question becomes, as it has been for decades, how to get the greatest possible transfer between what is achieved in the weight room to what is accomplished on the field or court during competition.

One solution is to train in the weight room according to the bioenergetics of the specific sport. For the purpose of this article, basketball will be discussed, but the concepts can be applied to any sport so long as you match the bioenergetics criteria.

The bioenergetics of basketball involve heavily upon the phosphagen system as well as glycolysis. Basketball is a game of short, maximum-intensity movements mixed with longer bouts of running and lateral movements. Due to the nature of the game, there is rarely a time where the game is in action for longer than two minutes without a stoppage in play, with stoppages happening as frequent as every few seconds, as well. Also, substitutions happen fairly frequently. Because of these factors, the oxidative system does not play a tremendous role in basketball conditioning, despite the beliefs of most coaches today. Furthermore, the oxidative system will be taxed to meet most players’ needs in practice and during extended bouts of off-season pick-up games, such that is does not warrant the use of precious time being trained in the weight room.

Now, breaking down the game a little more, it can be seen that most sequences in the defensive half court are comprised of sub-maximal to near-maximal movement for upwards of 35 seconds, followed by a near-maximal (depending on the position) isometric of 3 to 5 seconds, finishing with an explosive maximal movement lasting less than a second. Of course, if the rebound is not secured, the process can immediately start all over again. There also may be repeated attempts of maximal explosion in a very short time frame if players are having trouble timing out the rebound.

On the offensive side of things, the game is usually played with more sudden bursts of speed and quickness in between bouts of waiting for a screen or moving slower to set the defense up. There is also that all-out maximal effort when the shot goes up. This usually lasts for upwards of 35 seconds, depending if there is a shot clock or not.

One of the ways these sequences can be trained in the weight room is through circuit training, with circuits consisting of sets for time rather than for reps. An extended isometric contraction can be added in at the end of every set, as well, along with an explosive movement. For example, a circuit could be set up consisting of body weight squats, push-ups, pull-ups, and reverse lunges in place, with each exercise being done for 30 seconds. At the end of the 30 seconds, athletes would hold their position for an additional 5 seconds, followed by an explosive push, pull, or jump.

I would implement these types of circuits in the early fall of a training program, assuming a mid-October or early November start date for practice. Theses circuits would follow the heavy core lift for the day—squats, bench press, deadlift, etc. Up until that point, I would have the focus in the weight room on putting on size, if needed, as well as getting players stronger with more traditional lifts and other types of body weight circuits. I would dedicate the majority of the off-season strength-training program to these goals so athletes have a sufficient strength base to get through the season, when strength training is usually much more limited.

Another way to achieve these sequences that would be more appropriate for the earlier part of the off-season would be to add in weighted isometrics into the training program. Examples of this would be a dumbbell bench press for reps and, at the end of the set, having the athlete hold the dumbbells just off of his or her chest for up to five seconds. These exercises are safest to perform with dumbbells, although barbells can be used if the spotting is sufficient enough and the athletes feel comfortable doing so.

When it comes to training basketball players, you have to remember that, first and foremost, they are athletes, so you need to train them as such. Once they master the basic moves of athleticism—linear and lateral acceleration and deceleration, jumping and landing, proper running mechanics, basic strength, etc.—you can begin to build them up in a more basketball-specific manner. While the weight room is a tool to enhance movement, prevent injuries, and improve strength, it can also be used to train the bioenergetics of the sport.

Get big or die tryin’.

Charlie Cates

Self Made, Owner

Charlie Cates is a human performance specialist and the owner of Self Made (http://selfmadefitness.com/) in Chicago, IL. He is a Certified Personal Trainer and Performance Enhancement Specialist through NASM and has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP's. He can be reached via e-mail at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

This article may be reproduced with biographical information intact.

Strength Training Components of a National Title Contender

If you have been coherent for the past three weeks you have had to come across the Butler Bulldogs at one time or another. An undersized mid-major program, they payed in their second consecutive national championship game this past Monday. Here is an article by one of their assistant strength and conditioning coaches, Ross Bowsher, who sheds some light on the team's training philosophies.

The Top Five Components of Building a National Title Contender in the Physical Preparation of a Division 1 College Basketball Team by Ross Bowsher

Get big or die tryin'.

Training Grip Strength For Basketball Players

Among high school and college basketball players there seem to be two mindsets when it comes to strength training in the weight room. For one group, lifting is something they partake in because they want to get stronger so they are able to perform better. For the other group, they either don’t lift at all or they do just enough so as not to get called out. However, regardless of which group an athlete falls into, there is one thing that is often overlooked but must be prioritized if true increases in basketball performance are going to be developed in the weight room. Just as it is vital for athletes to have strong feet for ground-based sports, basketball players, too, must have strong hands in order to get the highest transfer between the weight room and the court.

In basketball the point of contact between the ball and the player is the hand, specifically the fingertips. Rarely is the whole palm applied to the ball, and even when the ball is being held with both hands the majority of the contact between the skin and leather is through the fingertips and fingers. This is important to understand due to the fact that this will alter how a basketball player should go about training his or her grip. To put it simply, the grip used when holding a basketball is more along the lines of a pinch grip than a crushing grip. Reason being, when an athlete holds a basketball the thumb is heavily involved, which is not the case at all when squeezing a hand gripper or when gripping a smaller object such as a tennis ball. Instead of using those two common techniques for increasing grip strength among basketball players, I would look to be using wider objects that open the hand more and force the thumb to play a crucial role in the exercise.

After reading Mastery of Hand Strength, Revised Edition by John Brookfield (Amazon.com) I have realized that there are literally an infinite number of ways to train grip strength, however, not all of them are right for basketball players. In my opinion, some of the best exercises from this book that would be suitable for basketball players are lifts using thick-handled dumbbells and coin bag work. Lifts with thick-handled dumbbells are pretty self-explanatory; just find dumbbells with handles that are between 2” and 3” thick (Brookfield, 52). Coin bag work was a completely new concept to me, but I love the potential of it. In his book, Brookfield calls this exercise bag catching and has it in his “Crushing Grip” section (Brookfield, 18). However, with just a slight modification to the exercise I can see this being a very effective tool for basketball players.

To start, you will need to attain a coin bag from a bank if you don’t already have one. Then you’ll need to fill it with some type of weighted substance, such as steel shot like Brookfield suggests. Then you tape the bag completely shut to make sure the contents will stay sealed. Now, Brookfield suggests throwing the bag up to yourself and catching it by the little flap on the top. However, I am going to modify that and say to catch the bag with only one hand on the thick part of the bag. You can grip it so your thumb is pointing up, i.e., palm medial, or so your thumb is pointing laterally, i.e., palm down. Either way, taking a full grip into this bag on every catch is definitely a sure-fire way to strengthen your grip in a basketball-appropriate manner.

If you don’t have a coin bag or don’t want to go get one something else you could do is to weigh down a coffee can and hold on to it one hand at a time. I wouldn’t suggest catching and throwing this, but simply performing static holds should work wonders. Also, take your current hand size and strength into consideration when choosing what size can to use. Make sure to tape the lid securely shut before performing any exercises with it so as not to lose the contents of the can.

Finally, the absolute best thing a basketball player can do strengthen his or her grip for the sport is, in my opinion, medicine ball work. Medicine balls are incredibly versatile tools that can bounce, be thrown, caught, and come in varying weights and sizes. Throwing and catching medicine balls will not only strengthen the entire hand, including the joints, ligaments, and tendons, in a sport-specific manner, but it will also train the specific muscle synergies that are developed in basketball while passing and catching the ball in a variety of ways. From catching in the low post to rebounding to driving the lane, having an incredibly strong grip on the ball is absolutely vital, and using medicine balls is a must when trying to develop this.

These are just a few tactics that can be used when trying to train your grip strength for basketball. For more information on grip strength training and for more ideas on how to go about grip strength training read Mastery of Hand Strength, Revised Edition by John Brookfield, available on Amazon.com.

Get big or die tryin’.

Charlie Cates

Self Made, Owner

Charlie Cates is a human performance specialist and the owner of Self Made (http://selfmadefitness.com/). He is a Certified Personal Trainer and Performance Enhancement Specialist through NASM and has worked with competitive and everyday athletes of all ages and ability levels, from 9-year-old kids to NFL MVP's. He can be reached via e-mail atcharlie@selfmadefitness.com.

This article may be reproduced with biographical information intact.

Re-thinking Basketball Training

It is very common for the fitness industry and sports performance industry to follow trends for long periods of time. There is nothing wrong with relying on tried and true methods, so long as these methods are actually the best way to go about achieving the desired goals. One thing that is incredibly common today is for performance coaches to implement plyometric programs that focus heavily on jump training into a basketball player's training regimen. Specifically, this jump training usually consists of multiple sets of single box jumps where the athlete has time to load for each jump while on the ground. Does this really make sense? Check out this article by Jeff King, the director of basketball at Fitness Quest 10, to see why this really is not the best option in terms player development and what better options would be.

As a side note, be ready for the Self Made Plyometrics Program, set to launch in early to mid 2011.

"Plyometric Training for Basketball Players" by Jeff King

Get big or die tryin'.