Not Enough

Hello Everyone!

I believe that most athletes do not train their speed, strength, and power enough and that is why most athletes look the same year after year. These athletes claim they want to get quicker, stronger, and more explosive, yet, when you look at their training plan you don’t see enough action that will allow them to achieve those results.

These same athletes will put up 500 shots a day, but think lifting two times a week is enough. They will also dedicate quality minutes everyday to improving their ball-handling, but think practicing their speed and agility once or twice a week is plenty. Let me say it straight, you have to train your physical skills more often if you are actually going to get the speed, strength, and power that will get you off the bench and into the game. And let’s face it, you can have the best jump-shot on the team, but if you don’t have the speed to get open, you’ll never get a shot off. Not to mention that less than 10% of your on-court playing time is with the basketball in your hands. (Have you ever thought about that? Most of your playing time is spent without the basketball in your hands.)

Stephen Curry holding a bodyweight split squat. (Photo Credit: USA Basketball)

So right now you might be asking, “but Coach, don’t I have to rest my muscles?” Sure, you have to rest your muscles, just like you rest your fingers from dribbling or your wrists from shooting. You get rest at home doing homework, or you’ll get rest while sitting in the classroom. Trust me, the world’s best don’t lift on Monday and then do nothing (that’s the rest you are referring to correct?) until Wednesday when their next lift is scheduled.

And now you might be asking, “but Coach, I go really hard when I lift and am really sore and tired afterwards. How can I go hard again the very next day, day after day?” And there in lies the problem. You think you have to go all out in a weight room, slugging around big 45 pound plates, grunting out extra reps under the barbell, and leaving with your shirt a soggy mess. That is not the type of day-in, day-out training the world’s best do. They’re human too, and training like that all the time would eventually break them.

NBA Guard Mo Williams working out on-court. (Photo Credit: Adventure Sports Weekly)

The world's best focus on quality training, often on-court speed and strength training, that challenges them and can be done often. (They also get after it in the weight room, but that is not the only thing they are doing to get stronger and more powerful). The world's best know that strength and speed training is like any physical skill, if you don’t do it enough you don’t get better.

It is similar to only practicing dribbling with your weak hand once a week. Are you really going to see improvement? Training any physical skill is like brushing your teeth. You could have the best brushing, flossing, mouth-washing session ever, leaving your teeth smooth, pearly whites, but how are your teeth going to look and feel after three days? Just like your teeth require daily effort, so does your speed, strength, shooting, dribbling…any physical skill quickly deteriorates without regular maintenance. 

Speed training on-court (acceleration/linear). (Photo Credit: Boston Magazine)

Athletes at PGC’s Athlete Performance College learn how to create speed and strength workouts that only require their basketball. These workouts allow them to be able to train their speed and strength every time they step out onto the court. That way they won’t show up next year looking the same as last year.

Next post I will share some examples of how you can create an on-court speed, strength and power workout.

Keep Training! 
Coach Amanda Kephart