With most teams playing 30 games over the course of two and a half months you need to be in good physical shape to stay and one piece. One of the most important parts is cardiovascular fitness and being able to keep up with the rigors of a 40 minute game. Here are some different training methods that help keep those top notch division I athletes in shape.
Interval Training
- short to moderate work bouts alternating with short to moderate rest periods
- Example: Set of 10 suicides with 1 minute to complete the exercise. Each rep will begin on the minute allowing only the time remaining for rest.
Continuous Training
- No Rest
- High Intensity Continuous Training 85-95% of Max Heart Rate
- It is important to train the body to adapt to the high levels of stress such as would be seen continuously running up and down the court.
- Going slow willl give an athlete a break from the high intensity.
Long Slow Distance
- Used mainly in the offseason
- Main object is distance rather than speed
- 60-80% of Max Heart Rate
Farlek Training
- Probably one of the best training methods for a college basketball athlete who will be running up and down the court then setting up for plays which is a much lower intensity.
- Speed Play, Continuous running with a mix of interval training
- Switching from aerobic activities to anaerobic and back again
Good luck to all the college athlets in the tournament and hopefully your in better condition than your opponent.
Thanks to Dave Laing and the Physiology of Exercise Class for assistance with this data.
Allen, I liked your post about conditioning and basketball. All of your training methods are very helpful and definately can be used to help a basketball player be on top of there game. Playing 40 minutes or even 30 minutes in a game can be tough and the right training..like the stuff you provided could definately help a player be able to play those minutes and not be tired when the game is on the line.
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