Basketball Conditioning Workout 1

Each of the following exercises can be performed on a basketball court as the paint/lines help for distance guidance, however as long as you have enough space (a turf strip in your gym or outside in a field/open area) you can perform the following exercises (but you may need to estimate distances for some).

These exercises are meant to improve conditioning, foot speed, lateral quickness and explosiveness. You don’t need a basketball for any of them - not to worry, there will be plenty of skill-work to be done as well!

1)   Warm up with a stretch (glutes, hamtrings, groin, quads, calves) for 15 minutes

a.     Jog the full length of the court for four trips up and back consecutively

b.     Then perform backboard touches (4 sets of 12 jumps)

                                               i.     Note: Each backboard ‘touch’ requires rapid-fire jumping action from a standstill directly underneath the backboard

                                              ii.     If you can’t touch the backboard from this position, that’s O.K., just jump as high as you can, reaching up as high as you can

2)   Forward Lunges Up the Court, Backwards Lunges Back (each the full length of the court)

a.     Alternate legs as you lunge (i.e. right foot forward, then bring the left foot up and the next lunge is the left foot forward)

b.     With each lunge, step as far out with your foot as possible which helps improve mobility and strength

c.      Repeat 3X with 30 seconds rest between each set.

3)   Diagonal Defensive Slides all the way up and back down the court

a.     Three slides each direction before changing direction. i.e. sliding diagonally-forward leading with the right leg for three slides, then pivoting and sliding toward the left for 3 slides

b.     Repeat 3X with 30 seconds rest between each set

4)   Suicide Sprints!!

a.     These are sprints, involving sprinting from the baseline to the closer free throw line, touching the line with your hand, then sprinting back to the baseline and touching the baseline. Then you will immediately sprint out to half-court in the same fashion (touching the line and sprinting back to the baseline). Then sprint out to the opposite free-throw line, then back. Then, finally, out to the opposite baseline and back

b.     There is no resting at any point until you’ve reached the opposite baseline and sprinted back to the start

c.      Time yourself to improve your speed as you progress through these workouts. 30 seconds is a good benchmark.

d.     Repeat this 3x with 1 minute of rest between suicide sprints.

5)   Backboard touches into Push-Ups (4 sets of 20)

a.     These will resemble “burpies”

b.     Jump up and touch the backboard (or as close as you can) and then immediately drop down into a push-up, this is 1 repetition. Immediately hop back up and repeat this 20 times before resting.

c.      Repeat for four sets with 30 seconds of rest between sets.

6)   Finisher: Foot-fires (3 sets of 30 seconds)

a.     In a defensive stance (athletic stance on the balls of your feet, feet just over shoulder-width apart, and knees bent slightly), staying in a stationary position, alternate tapping your toes on the ground as quickly as possible

b.     If you are at a court, this should sound like a drum roll as your toes alternate tapping against the gym floor

c.      Rest for 20 seconds in between each set of foot-fires

7)   Then go home and eat some brown rice, veggies and grilled chicken and get ready for tomorrow’s workout!!!