Basketball players,
Your strength training should be a top priority for both injury prevention and maximizing performance. However, how many players do their strength training doesn’t accomplish either goal.
I have written about the first two of four big mistakes I see basketball players make when doing their strength training. You can check out Part 1 here. You can check out Part 2 here.
Today, I am diving into the third big mistake I see, and it all has to do with speed.
MISTAKE #3: MOVING TOO FAST
One of the biggest mistakes I see when basketball players are doing strength training is they move too fast during each exercise.
I know the intention of some training programs is to increase speed and explosive power, but there is a tremendous misunderstanding of what needs to be done in order to do this, especially when you are considering the entirety of a player’s career.
If you look strictly at the research, there is some evidence to suggest that moving faster when lifting weights can lead to improvements in speed, vertical jump, and explosive power.
Here’s the problem–you only get those adaptations, and only get to keep using those adaptations, if you can stay injury-free.
And one of the biggest things I have seen that causes more injuries when strength training than anything else is moving too fast when lifting the weight.
So, to me, the risk/reward profile is heavily skewed towards some potential short-term reward with a very high probability of long-term risk.
As a trainer, coach, and practitioner, I cannot recommend that players move fast when lifting weights. In my experience, there is no surer way to guarantee injury than to have a player do this consistently.
So what is the alternative?
Move slowly when you lift weights.
It is that simple.
You can create a TON of strength and positive neuromuscular adaptations while dramatically cutting your risk for injury–both during the exercise and during competitions–simply by slowing WAY down when you do an exercise.
This isn’t to say you shouldn’t have some of your training be fast. You should still practice jumping hard and fast. You should still sprint. You should still cut. All of your court work can be as fast as you want it to be.
But with lifting weights, slow way, way, way down.
Not only will moving slowly help you maintain the correct range of motion for your body (what I discussed a couple weeks back), it will also help you keep the non-moving parts of your body still (what I discussed last week).
But more than that, you will see faster improvements in your strength, mobility, and resilience to injury while spending less time feeling achy and sore after you workout simply by moving slowly when you lift weights.
Now, the question I often get is, “How slow is slow?”
The easiest answer I have found is you should only move as fast as you can stop at a moment’s notice.
I call this the school zone analogy, because when you are driving through a school zone with kids and parents darting around everywhere, you drive only as fast as you can stop at a moment’s notice in case someone darts out in front of your car.
The same idea applies here. Only move as fast as you can stop a moment’s notice; that way, if, and when, your body starts telling you to change something about how you are doing the exercise, you can perceive that quickly and immediately implement the change.
So, when you go to do your strength training this coming week and every week going forward, make sure you move slowly to not only more effectively increase your strength and mobility but also to help you stay feeling strong and injury-free long term.
Charlie
Charlie Cates is the leading consultant to high-level professional, college, and high school basketball players in the Chicagoland area for injury prevention, recovery, and muscle performance.
As one of Chicago’s most sought-after Muscle Activation Techniques® practitioners, he is certified in the highest levels of MAT®, including MATRx, MATRx Stim, and MAT® Athlete.
A former college basketball player, he uses his personal experience and understanding of the game and player demands to create customized exercise options for his clients to recover faster and perform their best.
He sees clients in-studio at Muscle Activation Schaumburg as well as in-home.You can schedule your MAT® assessment with him by clicking here, and be sure to follow him on Instagram at @CharlieCates!