March Madness Strength and Conditioning Program

The strength and conditioning program of any athlete plays an important role in injury prevention and performance enhancement, which is no different in basketball.

Commonly, there are three phases of training in the collegiate setting: 1) off-season (Phase I); 2) pre-season (Phase II); and 3) in-season (Phase III)1. The strength and conditioning program of a basketball player can be split into three full-body workouts per week in Phase I and Phase II, designed in a heavy, light, medium scheme1. The primary focus of the program during these two phases is to improve anaerobic capacity, speed, agility, explosive power and strength.

During Phase III, the training program is split into two weekly full-body workouts, which are performed in between competitions.

Each training session will begin with a general 5-10 minute cardio warm-up. The purpose of the warm-up is to increase your core body and muscle temperature, lubricate your joints and improve your nervous system efficiency.

Following the general warm-up, you’ll perform prehabilitation exercises, which consist of self-massage with a foam roller, muscle activation exercises and dynamic flexibility drills. Prehabilitation is a fancy term used to describe injury prevention.

The meat and potatoes of the strength and conditioning program will focus on improving speed, agility, explosive power, strength and anaerobic capacity. Training speed and agility will improve your footwork and coordination. Developing explosive power and strength will enhance the recruitment of your fast twitch muscle fibers, essential for a powerful vertical and for holding your ground in the key. Also, the stronger and fitter you are, the more resilient you’ll be from sustaining an injury, and the better you’ll recover between games.

Here’s a breakdown of the three phases1:

Phase I – Off Season

Phase II – Pre Season

Phase III – In Season

A Sample Pre-Season (Phase II) Training Week

Training component: Prehabilitation (to be performed before every workout)

Exercise: Foam Rolling
Target: Tight muscles (e.g. quadriceps, lateral thigh, calves, latissimus dorsi and upper back)
How to: Gently roll from one end of the muscle to the other, pausing on “hot-spots.” Do not contract the muscle you’re rolling – keep the muscle as relaxed as possible. Breath through the painful areas and spend 1-2-minutes per tight, painful muscle.

Exercise: Glute Bridge with Leg Lift
Target: Hip muscle recruitment and core stability
How to: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat. Slightly tighten your abs and lift your hips off the ground, forming a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. Maintain a stable torso and lift one leg into the air. Hold for a count of 5-seconds. Switch legs and alternate for 60-seconds. Perform 2-sets.

Exercise: Band External Rotation
Target: Rotator Cuff
How to: Hold a band in front of your stomach with your palms up and elbows bent at 90-degrees. Keep your elbows tight with your sides and pull the band apart by rotating your upper arms outward. Feel the back of your shoulder working to move your hands apart while stretching the band. Hold the peak contraction for 2-seconds. Perform 12-15 repetitions for 2-sets.

Exercise: Walking Lunge with thoracic spine rotation
Target: Hip and thoracic spine mobility
How to: Take a lunge forward. Bring your rear knee toward the ground and your front knee to 90-degrees. Bend over at your hips, placing your opposite hand (to your front leg) on the ground. Rotate your torso bringing your other arm upward. Follow your hand with your eyes and look upward. Hold this end position for 2-seconds. Stand and repeat on the opposite side. Perform 2-sets of 20-lunges per set, alternating legs.

Monday’s Training Session

Training component: Speed/Plyometric

Exercise: Sprints
Target: Accelerative power
How to: Lie on your stomach just behind baseline with your hands flat on the ground, just beneath your shoulders. On your coach’s whistle, rise as quickly as possible and accelerate toward the centerline, moving as fast as possible. Walk back for your recovery and repeat 6-8 reps for 2-sets.

Exercise: Hurdle Hops
Target: Plyometric ability development
How to: Set up 8 hurdles spaced out in a row, at a moderate height (~36-48” depending on your height and ability). Consecutively jump over each hurdle, landing as soft and as short as possible. Think light explosive feet. Walk back to the start slowly and perform 4-6 total sets.

Training component: Metabolic Conditioning

Exercise: Suicides
Target: Anaerobic capacity development tying together speed and agility training
How to: Stand behind baseline. On your coach’s whistle, sprint to the first free-throw line. Touch it with your hand and sprint back to baseline. Now sprint to the centerline, touch it and sprint back. Next, sprint to the further foul line, touch it and sprint back. Lastly, sprint to the opposite baseline, touch it, and sprint back. Take adequate rest and perform 2-3 total sets.

Training component: Power/Strength Training

Wednesday’s Training Session

Training component: Agility

Exercise: Lateral Agility Ladder Drill to Forward Sprint
Target: quick feet and accelerative power
How to: Set up an agility ladder on the ground. As fast as possible, lateral shuffle to the end of the ladder, stepping into each box once with both feet. Once reaching the end of the ladder, turn slightly to sprint 15 yards facing forward. Walk back and repeat facing the opposite direction. Perform 3 reps per side for a total of 6 sets.

Training component: Plyometric

Exercise: Backboard Vertical Jumps
Target: Explosive power
How to: Stand just beneath a backboard. Jump and reach as high as possible. Upon landing, immediately prepare for another jump. Perform 10 jumps in a row. Take a short rest and perform 3-5 total sets.

Training Component: Power/Strength Training

Friday’s Training Session

Training component: Agility

Exercise: T-Drill
Target: quick feet, coordination, accelerative power and decelerative efficiency
How to: Set up four cones in the shape of the capital letter “T.” The length of the “T” should be 10-yards with the length of the cross also equal to 10-yards. Upon your coach’s whistle, sprint to the end of the length of the “T” (10-yards). Touch the cone and lateral shuffle as quickly as possible to the left cone (5-yards) without crossing your feet. Tap the cone and lateral shuffle 10-yards to the right. Tap the cone, lateral shuffle back to the middle cone and back pedal to the start. Time yourself and record your times.

Training component: Metabolic Conditioning

Exercise: Interval Training
Target: Anaerobic power development
How to: On a treadmill or running track, follow this interval training protocol: sprint 30-seconds, jog 30-seconds, sprint 20-seconds, jog 20-seconds, sprint 10-seconds, and jog 90-seconds. That is one set. Perform 3-5 sets.

Training component: Power/Strength Training

Wrap Up

Playing amazing ball can be enhanced with an appropriate and well planned out strength and conditioning program. Remember, your primary focus is winning games, not how much you can clean. Be safe in the gym and focus on perfectly executed exercises. The risk-to-benefit ratio can be easy skewed if you’re over doing it in the gym and most times, more doesn’t equal better. Feel fresh and rejuvenated after practice, eat and sleep well and make sure to optimize your recovery for what really matters: kicking ass on the court. Good luck.