OFF-SEASON AND PRESEASON STRENGTH/CONDITIONING FOR BASKETBALL.

Shortly after becoming the head basketball coach at Michigan State in 1995, Tom Izzo called on us to discuss his preparation for the upcoming season.

Tom had observed us implementing our strength-training program with the football team and had obviously liked what he saw.

"I want our basketball team to train like that," he told us, "and I want it done in the same (e.g., football) environment."

We were pleasantly surprised. Many basketball coaches distrust strength training because they believe "it produces a loss of flexibility, athleticism, and/or shooting touch." And here we had a coach who wanted his players to have thick shoulders, powerful legs and hips, calloused hands, and mental toughness.

Once we lifted our jaw off the floor, we went to work on formulating a strength-training regimen for the basketball team. Tom had set the tone. The hard work would soon follow.

The ultimate result was an intense, aggressive strength training and conditioning plan for the year-round. In fact, you will often find the basketball team sweating and grunting in unison with a contingent of football players at the 6:00 a.m. workouts!

Following are some of the specifics of their program:

Off-Season (April-Early August):

Basketball is one of the few sports in which most players work directly on their game skills year-round. Much of their conditioning in the spring and early summer is gleaned from the two or three intrasquad games they play every week.

Even though these pick-up games are played for fun and involve no coaching, they provide anaerobic conditioning and work on critical sport-specific skills. The players' competitive instincts eventually take over and produce a lot of high-spirited contests.

Except in special-needs situations, we do not conduct any supervised conditioning sessions during this phase of the program. If a player requires additional conditioning, it is performed exclusively with low-impact modalities (stationary bikes, stair-steppers, pool, etc.) that run 20 or 30 minutes in interval fashion.

Our heart-rate training zone for these sessions is between 65% and 80% of the predicted max. Since the players have just completed a long, grueling season, we don't want to begin our formalized running/agility program too soon. We want to avoid the danger of overuse problems just as we are ready to roll out the balls and get serious about practicing.

Strength training and injury rehabilitation are the major priority during the months of April through June.

We perform three total body strength workouts on non-consecutive days (e.g., M-W-F). The workouts are very demanding and every bit as intense as those performed by the football team.

Most of the sets are executed to the point of momentary muscular fatigue using the heaviest weight safely possible for the given rep range. (A noted exception to this rule is the barbell squat and any other lift that would place the trainee in a precarious position if performed in all-out fashion.)

All reps are performed in a smooth, controlled fashion with an emphasis on creating and maintaining tension in the target musculature. As the set increases in difficulty, the athletes are required to exert more effort and muscle force to move the weight.

Increments and progressive overload--2.5-5 lbs. for upper-body exercises and 5-10 lbs. for lower-body exercises--are built-in components once the end of the rep range is achieved.

The selection of exercises stems from our training philosophy workout and embraces all of the major muscle compartments (legs, hips, low back, chest, shoulders, upper back, upper arms, forearms, and abdominals) in various movement planes.

The exercises, sets, and reps will vary depending on the body parts we want to emphasize, the amount of variety we want to incorporate, and the particular additional physical stresses the athletes will face that day. The off-season and preseason workouts entail approximately 18-20 total sets.

Insofar as the equipment is concerned, we are always willing to take a look at anything that will safely get the job done. Our weight room offers a steely contrast of expensive high-tech machinery and equipment that you would expect to see in a medieval dungeon.

If you know how to train properly, it doesn't matter whether you're using a $2,500.00 machine or a $2.50 piece of wrought iron-you can get stronger!

Pre-Season (Late August-Mid-October):

During this phase, the strength-training work remains constant while much more physical activity is incorporated.

Basketball court agilities are now performed twice a week, and an interval workout on either stationary bikes or in the pool constitutes a third-conditioning session. These workouts are performed on non-consecutive days as often as possible.

A court agility session consists of mock 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 basketball games being played simultaneously at each end of the court.

The NCAA permits conditioning drills that simulate game activities provided no offensive or defensive alignments are pre-arranged and no equipment (the ball) is used.

Without any pre-planned strategy, the athletes play by "instinct" in utilizing basketball-specific movements (e.g. cuts, screens, slides, picks, coming off of picks, and blocking out). One team at each end is designated as the offensive team and those players simulate ball handling and passing with an imaginary ball.

Each court agility is set in motion at full-speed for 25 seconds. At the 25-second mark, the strength/conditioning coach yells "Shot!" This verbal cue sends the players at both ends of the court to their respective backboard for a jump and two-hands slap against the glass. Immediately after slapping the board, they sprint to the opposite end of the court.

The coach then designates one player to take mid-court and lead the team in a defensive mirror drill for 20 seconds. The players will set in a good defensive stance (knees slightly bent, butt down, chest out, and hands up) as the leader performs defensive slides in all directions and occasionally dives for a "loose ball." These are full-speed drills and all of the players are expected to keep pace with the leader.

Immediately upon completion of the mirror drill, the mock games are resumed. This rotation of mock games and mirror drills continues for 4-5 minutes.

To complete a cycle, the team must perform one of the following "finishers":

Up-backs. Starting on the baseline, sprint and touch the near free-throw line with a designated foot, return to the baseline and touch with the same foot, and continue the sequence by touching the mid-court line and back, far free-throw line and back, and far baseline and back.

Down-Back-Down-Back in 22. Starting at a baseline, sprint four full lengths of the court in 22 seconds.

Width Sprints. Staring at a sideline, perform either nine width sprints in 30 seconds or 17 width sprints in 60 seconds. (Note: Once across equals one sprint).

Backboard Jumps. Standing on one side of the basket, the player jumps and slaps the backboard with both hands. Upon landing, he slides across to the other side of the basket and performs another two-hands slap. The drill continues back and forth for 15 seconds at full speed.

At the completion of a full cycle, the team takes a "TV timeout" (90 seconds) before another cycle is started. Our goal is to perform at least six full cycles within a 45 minute conditioning session.

Again, each cycle is 4-5 minutes in duration and includes the mock games, mirror drills, and a finisher.

Interval Bike Program. Interval sprint training on stationary bikes provides an excellent alternative in the conditioning process. Since it is a non-weight bearing mode of exercise, it reduces the stresses placed on the ankles, knees, hips, and low-back regions.

As previously mentioned, the basketball court can take its toll in these areas. We recommend that you find and use lower-impact methods for supplemental conditioning purposes.

When training on bikes, we utilize an interval-training protocol by interspersing bouts of easy, moderate, and hard work. The sessions run 30-40 minutes when performed alone, and 20-30 minutes when used in conjunction with another conditioning activity. Our target heart-rate training zone during this period of the year is 70% to 85% of the APHRM.

Pool Program. As with the stationary bikes, pool workouts provide the cardiovascular benefits we are seeking in a much more joint-friendly fashion. The cool water also soothes the muscles and plays an integral role in muscle rejuvenation.

The following activities provide an overview of a typical pool workout performed in waist-deep water:

Width Sprints. Run at full-speed across the pool and back.

High Knees. Run at full-speed across the pool and back trying to lift the knees out of the water.

Butt-Kicks. Run at full-speed across the pool and back bringing the heels to the butt in a rapid-fire manner.

Step-Slide. Assume a defensive stance, and step-slide at full speed across the pool and back, using a right-leg lead in one direction and a left-leg lead on the return.

Tuck Jumps. Jump continuously, trying to bring both knees out of the water at the same time (15 seconds for the jumps, 30 seconds recovery for a total of four sets).

Squat Jumps. Squat down until the head is below the water, then jump as high out of the water as possible (15 seconds for the jumps, 30 seconds recovery for a total of four sets).

Edge or Flutter Board Kicks. With arms and legs extended horizontally, while holding on to the pool edge or a flutter board, kick the legs as fast as possible (15 seconds for the kicks, 30 seconds recovery for a total of four sets).

In deep water, we have the players hold the flutter boards with both hands while treading water. On the coach's command, they raise the boards above their heads with the elbows out of the water and use just their leg kicks to stay afloat.

We time this drill to make it competitive, and see who can hold up the longest. It is usually performed for four reps.

Conditioning Test: "22 in 22"

The players are required to run a conditioning pre-test and post-test every year- the pre-test early in the pre-season period and the post-test at the end of the pre-season.

It is run as follows:

The team is divided into four groups, with each being required to run four lengths of the court in 22 seconds in alternating fashion for a total of 22 workouts. The relief interval for each group is made up of the time they spend watching the other three groups complete their workouts (approximately a 3:1 relief: work ratio).

If all four groups complete all of their workouts in the assigned time in the pre-test, the number of groups will be reduced to three for the post-test. They will be thus working with a 2:1 relief: work ratio, making for a much more challenging test.

We would like to thank Mickey Marotti, Strength/Conditioning Coach at Note Dame, for the "mock game" concept covered in our "Pre-Season" workouts.

SUGGESTED READING

M. Brzycki & S. Brown: Conditioning for Basketball. Masters Press, Indianapolis, IN, 1993