Dirk Nowitzki's Training

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
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Hello Friends,
I have heard a tad of what Dirk Nowitzki has done in terms of his training. Does anyoneknow what his trainers philosophy or approach is? I recall his trainer forgetting about strength and concentrating balance first, hensce his slim build able to act as a #2 man.

Q: What?s the best way to practice 3-point shooting?

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Holger’s unorthodox training methods have helped Nowitzki become one of the world’s best shooters.
Glenn James
NBAE/Getty Images
Holger Geschwindner: Push-ups on your fingertips - that?s the most important thing to do. It?s just because many players commit a mistake during the shot process. They start pushing the ball. Since nobody can grab the ball during the shot, you need to accelerate it continuously – until the final acceleration at the end. That?s when most of the players lack strength, and that?s why they push the ball too quickly at the beginning. At the end, the ball leaves the hand at a sub-optimal velocity. And then you get a wild range on your shots.

Q: How many special push-ups does it take?

HG: Start out slowly. Begin with push-ups on your knees before doing normal push-ups. Ten or 15 after every practice should be enough.
http://www.nba.com/germany/sharpshooters/holger_040831.html

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I’m sorry, but I’ve got to throw this out there: A lot of that is BS! Finger tip push-ups? Something tells me Dirk was an extraordinary talent before this guy ever looked at him. Plus, he’s not saying anything new with regards to shooting; anyone who has played hoops for any amount of time knows that your elbow placement is probably the most critical factor in shooting excellence. Improving the arc on your shot gives you a better chance of making more shots as well.

As far as training balance, that’s all fine and dandy, but please don’t tell me that you made Dirk the way he is. You might have improved his skills slightly, but the fact that he moves like a 2 is because he’s nautrally talented and an amazing athlete.

Stay strong
MR

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yeah some of that may be BS, but they say Dirk was an average player before he met that guy, so don’t jump to conclusions. Dirk’s body was never his strong side, and now he’s got NBA trainers to worry about that.

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What do you guys think about these NBA players’ routines? Which ones are best/worst??

http://www.coachmarian.de/Spezials/Workouts/Workoutentrance.htm

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Check out Mateen Cleaves’ routine. I can’t rip a professional athlete in a very physically demanding sport, but GODDAMN.

3 sets of 10, 3 sets of 10, 3 sets of 10.

All the pics of Mateen were of him on a machine. Look at the poundages he uses.

Can a superbly conditioned 205 pound professional athlete really benefit from this set/rep/weight protocol?

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Don’t know what type of program he follows, I’m sure it’s a great one though!

Not only is Dirk a GREAT shooter, he’s a GREAT scorer! Shooting is all in the wrist. Fingertip pushups I’m sure would help with ones snap of the wrist. Any type of lifting builds the wrist & forearms. Also triceps help too!

To be a great shooter you have to practice proper technique. You cannot shoot w/ the elbow out, that will be pushing the ball. Do not take the ball past your head, that will be throwing the ball & that’s a two motion shot. You want a one motion shot so you can have a quick release!

Some players can bring the ball back a little past their head, like Larry Bird. But remember! He was 6’9’‘. The taller players can get away with that. 6’6’’ & under can not.

Also, here’s the difference between a good shooter & an outstanding shooter. When you bring the ball up ready to shoot, do you see the rim w/ 1 eye or 2 eyes? The good shooters are 1 eyed shooters & the outstanding ones are 2 eyed shooters!

Here’s how to test yourself to see which one you are. Your going up for your shot, stop before releasing the ball & hold that position! If your rt. handed close your left eye & if you see your wrist or ball in the way your a 1 eyed shooter. To become a 2 eyed shooter move the ball instead of in front of you to more on the rt. side of your body. Your depth perception is MUCH better when you have 2 eyes on the rim than one eye.

My dad taught me how to shoot & he’s the best shooter I’ve ever seen! It’s a God given gift & that one can improve on. He grew up in KY on a farm & he would play basketball all damn day. If you want to become an outatanding shooter you must practice all the time. Larry Bird use to practice in the rain! No wonder he became so good. If you can shoot in the rain & do well you can shoot really well when it’s not raining.

Also, if you want to become an outstanding long range bomber practice the NBA 3’s. Then when you go to the high school or college three it’s a piece of cake! But you must use proper form.

You know your shooting is improving when you can go out & hit 12-20 in a row. You have to build it up. Pete Maravich would go out & drill 20-25 shots in a row from 25 feet.

So don’t just do fingertip pushups, work your whole body, you get alot of your power from your legs when doing a jump shot, so build up your legs & upper body!

And when anyone wants a challenge come look me up in Naples Fl. Bring your wallet, cause I like to bet when I’m challenged. You can take your pick, me or my dad. Anyone?

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You can choose to believe what you want, but he stated he started working with Dirk at age 16. Chances are he was still growing, did not have great coordination, and was still maturing in almost all physical senses. Just because he was average at 16 doesn’t mean this guy did anything that anyone else coudn’t do; Dirk was probably just beginning to blossom as a player at that age.

I’m pretty convinced Dirk would be an NBA All-Star with or without this guys finger tip push-ups and balance training. It’s just a shame that a trainer tries to take so much credit for a players game.

Stay strong
MR

[quote]adifoyle wrote:
yeah some of that may be BS, but they say Dirk was an average player before he met that guy, so don’t jump to conclusions. Dirk’s body was never his strong side, and now he’s got NBA trainers to worry about that.[/quote]

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Yeah, re: Mateen Cleave’s workout, I guess that’s why hes only a fringe type NBA player!! I agree 3 x 10 for everyhting??? where did the SC get his ideas from???

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Not a single one of those basketball players squats or deadlifts! I wanted to rip the hair out of my head while reading those. The only “money” exercise I saw in any of those players’ programs were Harping’s power cleans.

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Amazing quotes:

Biancani: “We use less weight and more repetitions to keep him from getting too bulky. If you want to get him bigger, then you go on heavier weights, lower reps.”

Lloyd: “The kind of lifts that Matt can do, the kind of lifts that I can do ? I would never have a basketball player do those lifts. Matt can do that because he’s trained for years.” (about a power clean)

These workouts are horrible. I can’t believe these strength coaches get paid. Don’t their teams realise how poor they are? Why is the pro sports world riddled with such bad strength coaches?

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I think I’m going to be a strength coach. I mean, if those guys can get paid for that, then I could get rich considering all the knowledge I’ve gained here on T-Nation.

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[quote]Bulldawgcountry wrote:
Not a single one of those basketball players squats or deadlifts! I wanted to rip the hair out of my head while reading those. The only “money” exercise I saw in any of those players’ programs were Harping’s power cleans.[/quote]

I think their S & C coaches are afraid what would happen if they had these guys get hurt doing squats or deadlifting.

That could get a S & C coach fired due to the negative perceptions of these exercises.