Hocevar Performance

There have been some questions that have bundled up in my inbox and I thought it would be time to answer some of them. A quick answer to a popular question, yes I did stuff myself for thanksgiving…..or also known as carb loading!

What can I do with a group of basketball players (14 – 18 years) for strength training when I do not have any equipment or a facility other than a basketball court? I also need to point out that we have around an hour and a half where the majority of the time is going to be used for skill training and playing.

First of I’m glad that you realize the importance of a strength training program/implementation for basketball players as it seems that many players are constantly playing year round, working on their skills and not paying much attention to true strength, speed, power training and also working on fixing imbalances.

I know how it is to not have a strength training facility and no equipment but that definitely doesn’t mean we should just skip the strength training! Before I give the last alternative, I think that it would be great to invest into some kettlebells, weighted vests,  medicine balls, a jungle gym, bands and a chin up bar (most basketball gyms actually have some place where you can do chin ups).

 If none of this is available then bodyweight would be used for all the exercises whether static or dynamic. I am going to write an example of a training session that includes a dynamic warm up, mobility, rate of force development training, strength. It is really important that you pay attention to form on some of the movements so that the players develop good habits and train the right movements and activate the right muscles.     

Dynamic Mobilty

Dynamic Warm Up/Mobility: Leg Swings (forward/back, side/side), Static Lunges, Lateral Lunges, Low Skipping, High Skipping, Cariocas, Butt Kicks, Inchworms, Static Hip Flexor Stretch

The first three exercises do for a set of 10/each, while doing the rest for around 20 yards and jogging back.

This can be followed by animal movements which are great for improving relative strength, trunk stability and mobility: Bear Crawls, Crab Walks (with tabletop holds at the coaches whistle), Bunny Hops. Do these for a given distance (ex. 25 yards) and focus on quality rather than quantity.

Rate of Force Development:   Squat Jumps w/ 3 second pause  4 x 6-8 (in the pause position make sure that the thighs are parallel to the floor and the back isn’t rounded)

Strength Training: Do these exercises as supersets which means back to back. All of them are going to be done with a partner/team mate so one player works while the other one rests.

1A). Wheelbarrow Walks (to make it easier hold legs closer to the knee and hold closer to ankles to make it harder). The focus should be on the hips not moving and keeping a rigid trunk that is not sagging. 3 sets  x 20 yards

1B). Chin Ups or Partner Bodyweight Rows If the player cannot perform 5 or more chin ups then he can have help from the partner on the way up and lower himself slowly for 5 seconds every rep. 3 sets x max. reps (with good form)

2A). 360 degree lunges (forward lunge, lateral lunge, reverse lunge/each leg = 1 rep). 3 sets x 5 reps

2B). Push Ups (if the player is advanced they can do feet elevated push ups, dive bomber push ups, explosive push ups, etc..) 3 sets x 12-15 reps

3A). Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts (go as low as your hip mobility will allow and maintain a straight back) 3 sets x 8-10 reps/each leg

3B). Side Planks 3 sets x 20-30 seconds/each side (progress/regress the movement depending on the players ability)

Some of the bodyweight strength exercises

This training session would take around 30 minutes and it would definitely be very helpful in a program that has no equipment and no previous strength training implementation. There is also room for progressions in all the exercises which means that all the players can continue to improve for a while.

This is obviously a general program and you may have to make minor tweaks, but I wanted to outline an example that is similar to things I have done with groups of athletes before and gotten great results (and lowered injury rates).

I keep hearing about single leg training and even though I have started implementing some lunges and step ups, I would like to get a good exercise that strengthens the posterior chain and works on hip stability. I tend to have problems with keeping a straight back in many exercises. Any ideas?

It’s great that you have started realizing the importance of single leg strength and implementing some exercises. I see a lot of compensation with people using certain exercises though and its important that you have the proper form. A great exercise is the single leg romanian deadlift which can look ugly real quick. A great way of doing it is adjusting a box and lowering it to the box then pausing for a second or two before pushing up through the hips. This way you can adjust the box to your level of hip mobility and/or hamstring flexibility and maintain a neural spine (straight back) and it teaches you to fire a lot of muscle fibers since you are eliminating some of the stretch reflex (I have noticed that thebottom portion of the single leg RDL is where the form goes to waste). Here is an example:

The music in the background contributed to using a 20% lesser weight…

What are some cheap, easy to make foods that I can eat post workout apart from my regular post workout shake? I’m a college, 5′10” and 155 lbs, my goals are to get bigger while improving my performance. I’m definitely on a budget but I know I have to eat right to get to my goals.

As far as nutrition goes I’m just really a fan of the Precision Nutrition System and the Gourmet Nutrition Cook Book and while I think they are one of the best investments, I understand that it can be hard when you are on a tight budget with not much time to cook but trying to get big.

So rather than going on about meals that I prepare for myself I am going to ask a friend of mine to write a special post of power meals for after training that can be made quick and easy and on a low budget. In all honesty he was the one that helped me with creating good tasting, protein packing meals for my 12 hour workdays. I have read a ton of nutritional information, research, facts and also implemented it but in the real world you have to find some “real” solutions. This is some of the samerecipes and meals I will recommend to my athletes who love it and they actually do it (which is what matters at the end of the day). This means you are going to have to hold on for a little but I promise it will be worth its while! Check back soon…..