Fitness Requirements for Basketball The game of basketball requires many different aspects of fitness which I will outline below. Aerobic Endurance- A good level of cardio-vascular fitness is needed because of the continuous nature of the game. Speed – Needed to move into position quickly both in attack and defence Strength – Leg power is probably more important than upper body strength although this is required for shooting. Explosive leg power is needed for rebounding, jump shots and jump-ball situations. Muscular endurance is also needed because of the repetitive nature of the game. Flexibility – Needed for all aspects of the game to reduce the risk of injury and to allow movement to the ball in a variety of situations.
As well as the health related aspects of fitness, several skill-related components are important. Agility, balance, co-ordination and reaction time are needed for all aspects of the game. As the game has so many different requirements I have decided to use circuit training to develop my current levels of fitness as this develops most of the aspects I need. It also will allow me to be specific and adapt the exercises and work intensities easily as the programme develops.
As well as doing the circuits I will also attend two basketball practices, one in school and one which I will do on my own at the weekend, I will also try to play matches when arranged. I will arrange the time of the circuits to ensure I have either an ample recovery period after a match or rest before a match. I was generally pleased with the session. I found the exercises quite easy with the amount of recovery time allowed, but my hamstrings and calf muscles did tighten a little in the last circuit. I did recover quickly between the circuits, so maybe need to alter this next time. The order of the exercises seemed fine and didn’t overload one part of the body too much.
The warm-up was fine and completed in the time I had allocated myself. However I possibly need to spend more time on my lower back and hamstrings next session. Considerations for next session Warm-up/Cool-down-spend more time on the hamstrings and calf muscles. To help with passive stretching exercises, pair up with another person. In order to overload myself, I think the work time should be increased by 5 seconds per station and as I found the time between circuits quite easy, I will carryout a slow jog recovery instead of walking. The exercises at each station should remain the same.
Personal Exercise Plan Training Session: Number Two Type of Training: Circuit Session Outline (including intensities & recovery) The warm-up was good and I felt the passive stretching really helped. I coped well with the increase in work time and was pleased with the level of intensity I sustained. But I did lose my concentration on a few exercises during the last circuit and didn’t complete a full range of movement on some of the upper body exercises. After the first session I did feel sore around the shoulders and hopefully the extra time spent stretching during the cool-down will help the DOMS.
Considerations for next session the intensity of work load should remain the same, as well as the exercises on each station. However I feel the recovery between the stations could be reduced slightly, but between the circuits the activity should not be altered, as too many changes may be too much for me to cope with and produce poor quality exercises. I also need to focus and concentrate on completing a full range of movement on the few upper body exercises I struggled with on the final circuit.