Why you should be strength training.

Most basketball players will develop the aerobic fitness necessary to compete at a high level simply through years of playing the sport day in day out. In my experience however, most basketball players lack the strength, speed, and power necessary to excel at the highest levels.

Although there are huge demands placed on the aerobic system during a game most actions actually require short bursts of high intensity effort and rely heavily on explosive, powerful movements. Accelerating, decelerating, changing direction, dunking, rebounding, shot blocking, blocking out, and playing through contact are all crucial to successful performance and are all underpinned by strength. Yet many players do not place any focus on developing strength.

One of the most important physical traits a basketball player can possess is the ability to jump high. To jump high we need to be able to produce high levels of force and we need to be able to produce that force as quickly as possible. So if you want to increase your vertical jump height you need to either get stronger, get faster, or both.

You need to be able to stop on a dime and change direction with lightening speed. This requires the ability to slow down, come to a stop, redirect force, and accelerate all within the blink of an eye. These are all improved with a well designed strength training programme.

Blocking out against a bigger, more physical player is almost impossible. There is a reason Shaq was so dominant. Being stronger gives you the ability to fight for position and keep the offensive player away from the ball.

Being strong can take you from being a great player to an elite player. At all levels of the game skill is overwhelmed by athleticism. It’s no coincidence that the higher you go through the levels of basketball, the stronger and more athletic the players become.

So if you aren’t currently strength training to improve your basketball performance get into the weight room.