I was wanderinmg around the NBA homepage [lamenting the form of my beloved Utah Jazz] and I looked at one of the features which was focusing on what professional basketball players do in the gym. This time the spotlight was on the Mavs:
I must admit to some surprise, the workouts listed appear neither sports specific or indeed
anything else. Essentially it’s the typ[e of routine I might give to my stroke ridden amputee grandmother …if she was dead…
I think with the demands of a full season, the workout appears to be about right in terms of volume. I would probably do deadlifts and squat instead of the leg curls and leg extensions, though. Also, the 3X10-12 is so generic. I would think they’d want to periodize it a bit.
It’s not surprising. Professional athletes are gifted and sometimes succeed in spite of, not because of, their programs. I forget which strength coach said it, but I agree that “leg extensions won’t even prepare you for a seated butt-kicking contest.” Likewise, I have heard countless professional athletes lament that their hamstring problems linger despite doing leg curls religiously…
Hyok, I agree to a point, that with a full season and all they can’t go too hard out, however, what startled me was that it was soooo generic. I come back to my point about sport-specific training, basketball is both anaerobic and aerobic, it is also explosive.
I see no exercises, load patterns or, as you state, periodisation which would facilitate or even optimise performance.
And they have a professional strength adn conditioning coach giving them this???
Had to join this one because I am a Mavs fan (and sorry iscariot, I can’t stand the Jazz). The workout does seem a little lame, especially the leg sled thing that Finley is on - my gym has one of those, they look pretty cheesy. You basically lay on this sled and move just your body weight. You can up the weight by adding bands or something. Dumb. But I must agree that playing 48 minutes of bball 3 to 4 times a week is probably taxing enough. (and remember that Finely has led the league in minutes played and never misses a game - he is a work horse.) They don’t need a super hard workout during the season.
Back to the Jazz, I will give the Mailman some credit - he works out hard. Was it in a MM a few years ago that they talked about his workout? I seem to remember lots of hill runs, sled pulls, etc. That guy is a monster.
I would absolutely agree with you guys. We’ve all seen/known genetically gifted ball players that really have zero comprehension in regards to the weight room or training table. Can you imagine Shaq or Vince Carter under Coach Davies tutelage!?!..sweet fancy moses.
I know the majority of strength coaches for professional teams have to be aware of the safety factor in the gym. If players start getting hurt, then they will be fired. Though I don’t agree that leg extensions are safer than squats, in the mind of many they are. I’m sure this particular coach knows what he is doing, but can’t have them do a program he wants. IMHO this is also why so many use HIT at the professional leve.
I like the picture of their trainer “helping” Juwan Howard with his form on the curl. You can clearly see Howard leaning forward in order to cheat that baby up. How much do these trainers make to stand around and do nothing? And where do i apply for the job
Damn, since I want to be a strength and conditioning coach when I graduate, this kinda disappoints me on the workout. Like you guys said, the generic stuff is okay for recreational lifters, but for serious athletes, this just doesn’t make sense. I have read articles from PRO strength and conditioning coaches and it seems like they are scared of injury from these lifts, especially the Olympic lifts. There are much more injuries during aerobic classes than there is doing the O lifts. I’ve read that only 10% of athletes are injured during the O lifts. Hell, 10% could be injured from ANY lift for that matter. Maybe they wrote that because they don’t want to give up their secret weapon. Ok, maybe I’m stretching it there. It also seems like from my readings that its the collegiate athlete who seems to have the more advanced coaches, not the pro’s.
Micheal Finley could jump as high as he does now, all the way back in his high school years, he’s all genetics. Howard, though, he actually managed to gain a reputed 8-9 inches on his vert with the Wizards over one summer right after he got drafted.
DOSENT LOOK BAD! THESE ARE NOT BODYBUILDERS. THEY ALSO PLAY VERY CATABOLIC FULL COURT PICK UP BASKETBALL GAMES FOR HOURS AFTER THERE WORKOUTS. SO IT PROBALLY WOULDNT MATTER WHAT THEY DO, THERE BASICALLY TALL MARATHON RUNNERS WHO CAN DRIBBLE AND JUMP REAL HIGH.
I got a chance to see some of the Lakers train at the gym i was working in a few years ago when they were getting ready during summer. I live in Palm Desert/Palm Springs and their workouts wern’t that impressive. I saw their strength coach wasn’t paying attention to most of the players, he was just working with 1 or 2 guys doing shoulder presses. Most of the guys had sloppy form. I was almost tempted to try and spot a guy or 2 and give them some lesson in technique. What i saw gave me confirmation in what Ian King wrote in one of his books, that a lot of strength coaches get their jobs thru politics. I’m sure there are some good coaches out there, but a lot of coaches at the high school level i’ve approached to help their athletes out with programs were met with attitude.
Maybe one day, there will be enough of us to take the industry by storm and change the masses thinking and routines.
ok, i just have to add my two cents here…first of all, that “leg slide thing” is actually a combination leg press/plyometric trainer (bands are used for their elastic quality and for smooth motion). A lot of pro teams have these machines (called shuttles), and they are useful for everything from rehab to high intensity plyos. Second, I don’t think that Juwan’s form is all that bad. I mean come on, who doesn’t cheat even a little on bicep curls - especially on the last rep or two? And don’t tell me that if cameras were around, you’d stick with a light weight and “perfect” form. Other than that, the workout seems a bit basic, but the volume is set to what the athletes can handle with hectic game and practice schedules. They are great athletes, and using the machines will simply help them maintain muscle mass while not overtaxing their nervous systems. Just my two cents…
Strength training for sports is way overrated. It is silly to think that some routine will make you an athlete you are not. If you are on the cusp, and really need to be strong, then lifting can be good, but snatches and cleans will not make you a better football or basketball player. If you are a team’s trainer, and you have them perform Oly lifts, someone will get hurt. The head coach will lose his mind when the team loses players who did your Oly lifting. It is risky to do that stuff and if a player is injured it does not matter if he can lift the world.
Talk about irony- nba.com runs this story on the Mavs lame training regime, and then the newest Muscle and Fitness (I’m ashamed to admit that my mother bought me a subscription last X-mas) does a “Complete Guide to Calf Training” that quotes “Darvin MacBrayer, chief physiologist for the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars” as if he was some bodybuilding guru. It’s too bad they didn’t run his crap programs for Finley and Howard, as it would have been a nice addition to all the ineffective training advice they already give. By the way, you wanna talk about genetically gifted athletes, you ought to take a look at some pro soccer players. I just transferred from Babson College (just outside of Boston), where the New England Revolution have practice and lift. They train like absolute sissies, yet their quads, hams, and calves are incredible. You would think that non-stop running for 90+ minutes three or so times a week would be very catabolic, but they got monster wheels nonetheless. Pretty nice guys too- really down to earth and friendly.
When I see pro athletes doing these types of programs, it pisses me off. Can you imagine the things that most of us t-mag readers could accomplish with those types of genetics? I hate it when people don’t use all their potential. I have a few friends who have so much athletic talent, to the point where they could be star collegiate athletes, but those bastards don’t even use it. Here I am busting my ass with squats and sprints all the time, but I’ll probably never be as fast as my friend who doesn’t even work out and can run a 4.5 forty. But it’s not like I’m bitter or anything…
This article might be misleading. For another reference of training programs used in the NBA, you may want to search the extraordinary work of Al Vermeil of The Chicago Bulls. The athlete’s noted train a great deal in the off-season in Chicago at a gym of North Michigan Ave as well as playing in an unbelievable quality summer league. In addition for Mav fans, Juwan Howards work ethic is known as tremendous. In faith, Coach Davies
You’re a jazz fan. Which means you’re a Karl Malone fan. The mailman benches over 400 lbs. With his long arms. I assure you that the mailman, the strongest player in the NBA does not train 3*10-12.
I read something a week or so ago on ESPN.com (the magazine side, I think) about Dirk Nowitzki. He goes back to Germany each summer to train with his long time strength coach. It seemed that he was doing a Renegade type of training routine - I was impressed. If I can find the article again, I will post it.