One of the first images that comes to mind when we talk about basketball are jumps. For this reason, without a doubt, any increase in vertical jump achieves notable improvements in a basketball player. While it is true that jumping very high does not make you an elite player, however, it will improve your performance on the court and allow you to perform more complex technical movements.
What is a basketball player looking for in strength training? Improve your vertical jump and for this you need to train your power. Thus, a player who wants to see his performance increased will mainly look for these improvements:
- Increased power in the legs.
- Greater recruitment of muscle fibers when jumping. The more motor units that are recruited, the higher the jump will be.
- Central nervous system improvements. Increased coordination and speed of reaction.
- Improvements in endurance and speed in the race.
- Strengthening the stabilizing muscles: the core.
Each and every one of these points can be achieved with the performance of squats. This undoubtedly makes them the foundation of any strength training for basketball players. However, it is also possible to replace them with a more intense power training, such as the Olympic lifts (snatch and two times).
Specialty Principle for Basketball
One of the basic principles of any task or human practice is the Principle of Specialty, according to which, if a person wants to improve in a task, they must practice a task as similar as possible. For example, making passes from the chest does not improve running speed, since both exercises are not similar. However, when there are similarities between the two movements, there is a transmission of technique.
The movement patterns of the squat and vertical jump are almost identical, and therefore the improvements experienced by squatting are noticeable in the vertical jump itself. But why squat when you can only train with jumps, which is much more specific?
The answer is simple: the squat allows for much easier and more comfortable progression and overload. The simple fact that adding small weights to the bar increases the power and force required for the movement makes it an excellent exercise in this regard. On the contrary, increasing the difficulty of the jumps is more complicated and not always positive, since in many cases it is not advisable to perform vertical jumps with extra weight, since no extra improvements are obtained.
Designing a Squat Program for Basketball
The question is, what is the best squat variant for a basketball player? Front or rear, but always deep squat. Why?
Basketball players are “quadriceps-dominant” people , there is a notable decompensation between the strength of the quadriceps and that of the hamstrings that usually leads to knee pain and the possibility of suffering from patellar tendonitis or “jumper’s knee. ”. The deep squat reduces these decompensations and improves the strength of the VMO (vastus medialis oblique), the muscle responsible for maintaining the stability of the knee. The importance of the VMO is critical, it serves as a point of stability for the patella and, therefore, will avoid loss of force in the jump.
Training frequency
While each player has their own recovery abilities, it is usually recommended to squat twice a week . The inclusion in two different days (with at least 2 days of rest between both) allows us to work two different points of the force-velocity curve.
Force or speed?
Why train two different strength-speed points? Easy. Our body does not react in the same way to a high-speed workout as it does to a high-strength workout, and of course the improvements obtained from both workouts are different. By training in a part of the curve where speed is dominant (explosive repetitions) we obtain much higher nervous and power improvements. However, by training in a part of the curve where strength is dominant (heavy repetitions) we obtain motor improvements in the muscle fibers. In short, by combining both workouts, we are able to enhance the effect of the squats.
While some coaches only prescribe plyometric squats and explosive squats for their players, I don’t think this is the most optimal way to improve player performance. It is known to all that maximum strength training produces a decrease in speed (for example, in the case of powerlifters) since the training focuses on developing the part of the curve where strength dominates. However, when training is focused on developing the part of the curve where speed dominates, strength decreases. The ability to jump is the result of force and speed, focusing on only one of these characteristics our force-velocity curve would change as indicated in the graph. In basketball , changing our curve to a speed-centered curve (represented by a green line) is not optimal, so strength training should never be forgotten.
Training intensity
For heavy training days, 85% of rep max. For power training days, 40% of rep max. However, both workouts agree on one thing: the repetition has to be as explosive as possible, that is, the speed must be maximum for that load.
It is obvious that with loads of 85% the speed will be lower, since with 40% almost (although it is never done) we will be able to get off the ground in each repetition. Even so, we will always perform the repetitions at maximum speed.
Training volume
The training volume must be low, except in pre-season. Supplementary training, such as squats in the gym in this case, should never negatively interfere with main technical training or matches. Therefore, the fatigue load produced by training must be low.
How do we get this? Mainly in two ways:
- The number of repetitions must be low. 3-5 reps per set on heavy training day and 3 reps on power training day. The number of series in both cases will be the necessary to reach 20 repetitions each day (that is, if we perform series of 5 repetitions, 4 series would be enough).
- Rest between sets should never be low. Power work is very demanding, without resting enough between sets you will never be able to perform the repetitions at maximum speed and you will end up burning. For this reason, 2 to 5 minutes are normally prescribed between series.
Heating and load progression
Before each workout there should be a specific warm-up of the movement. Therefore, 2 to 3 series with 20 – 60% of the 1RM will always be performed after a dynamic warm-up.
Of course, for any training to be effective it must also comply with the Overload Principle , according to which if we do not increase the difficulty of the movement, it will end up producing a null effect since we will get used to it. However, a player or any athlete should never progress in the same way as a person focused on bodybuilding.
You must always understand that strength training is not the main one and, therefore, the progression must be small so as not to interfere with other more important progressions such as techniques. Therefore, the following guidelines will be followed:
- In players who have never squatted before, they will gain 3-4 kg in each heavy training session and 2 kg in each power training session.
- In players whose maximum repetition is less than their body weight , they will increase 3 kg in each heavy training session and 1-2 kg in each power training session.
- In players whose maximum repetition is greater than their body weight , it will increase 1-2 kg in each heavy training session and 1-2 kg every 2 power training sessions.
The lower the player’s starting squat condition, the more progression he can make. Increasing weights excessively in squat-proficient players can lead to excessive stress loads.
How do I choose front squat or back squat?
Not all players have to do the same variation. There is a series of particular cases in which one of the variants is not recommended:
- Players with previous back injuries : Only perform back squats with a belt. In these particular cases, the training program (not only strength, but technical) must be supervised by the doctor who treated the previous injury and a physiotherapist. If the injury has chronic sequelae with a risk of relapse into the injury, this player should not perform squats.
- Players with oversized femurs : preferably front squats.
- Players with knee ailments : there is a possibility that they are developing decompensations in the legs, therefore only perform back squats. In addition, the use of knee pads is recommended to keep the joint warm.
Other considerations
If you want to know more about what training allows you to improve your vertical jump, I recommend reading this article where other methods are discussed in addition to squats: Improve vertical jump.
In addition, when designing a training plan for basketball players, you must bear in mind that many players fail to raise their mark in the back or front squat due to a lack of strength in the torso. Therefore, you should never forget your torso when training.
