If you are serious about your sport, and want to play the best you are capable of, then off-season basketball workouts are not a choice – they are a necessity.
You need to maintain your fitness, strength and skills throughout the off-season, so that your game will continue to improve.
If you want to develop your game, then basketball workouts are for you.
It doesn’t matter what your age or level of play, your position or skill level, you must use good techniques in your basketball workouts in order to make the most of each workout to improve and become the best player you can be.
Your commitment to your workouts, the effort and time you put into them, will all work together to give you the best results.
Your individual basketball workout needs to have two different components. Firstly, you have the cardio and strength training part that is essential to your success.
You need to have the strength and endurance to play games effectively throughout the season. Secondly, you have the ball skills part of the workout because without these you won’t be a useful and successful member of your team.
Here are some tips for getting the most from your individual basketball workout:
- Understand that skills develop gradually over time, with consistent practice and effort. Don’t expect to see fast results; that is unrealistic.
- Be committed to your basketball workouts; be dependable to yourself and don’t skimp or miss a session. Consistency is the key to improvement and success with off-season basketball workouts.
- Plan your workouts – have a time limit, know what you are going to do at each basketball workout and stick to it. Having completed your goal for the day, you are free to go off and do other things, knowing you have done what you set out to do.
- Make your workout mimic a game with short bursts of activity. Basketball is not a marathon type of sport; it is more like interval training, so structure your workout skills training in the same way.
- Your individual basketball workout needs to focus on both your weaknesses and your strong points. Continue to develop your good moves while you work up the skills that are not your best.
- Keeping a training journal is a great idea. It keeps you focused, allows you to record results, what worked well and what didn’t, and gives you a way of keeping track of your progress.
- Keep in mind that skills development is gradual; very few people get straight to being able to do a skill. You need to go through the learning steps to acquiring any skill. Don’t get discouraged; hang in there and you will break through and succeed.
- Train your mind as well as your body. You need to be able to make smart decisions on the court by anticipating, seeing opportunities and making snap decisions. As you go through your individual basketball workout, keep your mind active, work with imaginary plays and train as if you were in a game.
Use these tips to develop your basketball workout and make your off-season training sessions the key to your on-going improvement on the court.
