strength 101
"For a youngster or novice athlete, increasing the absolute levels of strength has a direct positive effect on the execution of the sports skills and on speed and explosiveness."
- Dr. Michael Yessis
Strength Training works in Phases where one phase prepares you to tackle the subsequent phase. The ultimate goal is to take all of those phases and transfer them to the sport. This is called periodization. The overall goal in strength is to help execute the skills that are involved in basketball. Being the strongest on the court is useless if you can't beat your opponent to grab a rebound.
The following guidelines are used for athletes that have been in the weight room for 2-3 years and are familiar with exercises and have developed strength. Prior to this, the athletes should be using the 1x20RM to get familiar in the weight room or the Body Workout for Beginners .
Phase 1: General Physical Preparation (GPP) [3-4 weeks]: Prepares your body for maximal work capacity and intense training in the next phases. We focus on total body exercises in an effort to maximize gains and minimize injuries in the future phases. 80% of our exercise selection is generic, which focuses on full joint movements. Only 20% of it is sport-specific in this phase.
Phase 2: Specialized Physical Preparation (Triphasic Training) [6-9 weeks]: This phase prepares your body for "maximal strength" in the eccentric, isometric and concentric phases. We utilize heavy loads of 80%+ of your 1 Rep Max at high force/load at low velocity. Exercise selection changes here to be 80% sport-specific and 20% generic.
Phase 3: Speed-Strength Phase [3-4 weeks]: The workouts and exercises serve dual purposes of increasing strength and moving weights at a closer speed to the sport, hence the term "speed-strength". We utilize loads of 55-80% of your 1 Rep Max at high force and high velocity.
Phase 4: Sport-specific Peaking (Competitive Phase) [3-5 weeks]: This phase is used for peaking prior to competitions. We utilize loads below 55% of your 1 Rep Max at high velocities that mimic the sport. Using Antagonistically Facilitated Shock Training (AFSM) is the main focal point in this phase. In addition, this is the Phase that is used throughout the season approximately 2 times per week.
Phase 5: Post-peaking Competitive Phase [2-4 weeks]. This is after the season is over and focuses on physical and mental recovery, a relaxation period per se. You can continue to perform other activities to help bring about a come down from the very intense training in the previous phases. You need to stay fit and do some yoga or mental restoration. The nervous system will regenerate and we do it all over again, except bigger, faster, stronger this time.
With all of these phases mentioned, we have to keep in mind that, for the most part, they live within the macrocycle (1 full-year) of the sport. The macrocycle focuses on a bird's eye-view of the four parameters:
To read a more detailed explanation read about Strength Training for Athletes and Training to Get A Faster You