Weight training for basketball

Weight training is one of the most effective and time efficient ways to train for basketball.

Are you sick of being constantly outperformed? Are you sick of getting sore and tired halfway through the match? Are you frustrated with your performance and feel like your body is holding you back? If you answered yes; are you doing any weight training? If you ARE doing weight training then maybe its time to find a new program, and if you aren’t – then get ready for your performance to shoot through the roof.

What are the benefits of weight training?

1. You’re going to last longer on court

2. You’re going to be able to perform better

3. You’ll experience less injuries

4. You’re going to be able to jump higher

5. You’re going to look a lot better

When most people start out weight training, they do a lot of things wrong. There are a few basic guidelines to follow if you want success with weight training. Firstly, you don’t need to train every single day, 2 or 3 times per week is more than enough. Your body grows when you are resting, not when you are training. The training stresses your muscle fibers, then in reaction the next day – your body begins to build more muscle fibers. This is how you gain mass. Gaining strength is another story  – you can gain no muscle but double your strength in some lifts just by neuro-muscular efficiency. What this means is that your nerves, brain and spine get better at coordinating themselves with your muscles so that you can lift an increased amount. Think of it like a bike, you might peddle really hard but if the chain is loose and it needs oil – you’re losing power, having an efficient neuro-muscular system is like having a well lubricated, tight chain – everything is working as it should.

What you gain, depends on what you eat. A wise man once said “Train like a madman, eat like a horse, sleep like a baby”, this is very true if you want to gain mass, if you are after mass then you need to eat a lot. If you weigh 165lb at 5’10 then you typically will be eating 2500 calories a day to maintain that weight. If you want to GAIN mass, you need to double your caloric intake.

What does that mean? It means that when you are full – you’re only at the half way mark. Keep eating.

A lot of the time though, strength gains come with increased mass. You don’t often see a linear increase in strength without an increase in mass. What we are after as basketball players (or volleyball, or any sport really) is an increase in lean body mass. We want muscle but we want it to be functional to our sports. This is achieved by following a program that targets your entire body and doesn’t focus on specific muscles like your biceps or calves, you are simply training your big muscles with squats, deadlifts, rows and bench presses. Your nutrition has you eating more than you usually do, but don’t go crazy – just eat when you are hungry and eat a bit more than you normally would. You’ll find that you’re a lot more hungry when you’re weight training regardless so just listen to your body.

A strength training program I recommend to my clients is as follows

Monday

Squat 3×5

Deadlift 3×5

Weighted dips 3×5

Bench press 3×5

Wednesday

Squat 3×5

Powerclean 1×5

Overhead press 3×8

Bent-over rows 3×8

Friday

Same as Monday

The goal of this program is to target as much of your body as possible, while staying as easy and straight-forward to perform as possible. Squats on both days are important because as basketball players we want high verticals, and squats are absolutely key to having a high vertical jump. Deadlifts and rows will develop your back, and to a lesser extent, so will overhead pressing. Your upper body will be targeted by bench pressing, overhead pressing and dips. Power-cleans are also in there as they are one of the most important exercises you can possibly do as a basketball player interested in strength training. This program targets your entire body and you will see overall functional gains in your everyday life and in your chosen sports.

I recommend that when on this program you eat 5 large meals a day as make sure you are eating more than you normally are. This program is good for 12 weeks as you will more than likely be seeing good gains for that period of time. Its tailored for beginners and people who want something easy to follow. Pick yourself up some protein powder and drink it after your workouts and make sure you get enough sleep.

Every week, try and add 2.5% or 5% to each of your lifts, if you fail a lift (fail to complete the entire 3×5 or 1×5) then take 10% of the weight off and work back up to it (this is called deloading). To find out how much you should be initially lifting, just experiment. Try squatting 100lb and see how you feel after 3×5, if its easy move up to 150lb, etc. It is important to take a week or so to find out where you stand.

For a complete program with proven results and a scientific training approach, I highly recommend Vince DelMonte’s training guide. I myself have a copy and I cannot give it any higher compliment to his approach. Take one look at his website and you will not be disappointed if you are looking to gain mass.

Take a look at the foremost muscle building guide available on the internet.

Good luck If you have any questions or issues or want something clarified with this program, post a comment and I will get back to it within a day.

-Will