ACTIVE REST: MAXIMIZE YOUR DOWN TIME

THE IMPORTANCE OF ACTIVE REST

In order to be at my best this pre-season, I need to rest the month of August. My blog will be back, better than ever, after Labor Day.

With that said, I am not the only one who needs to rest. Most players have been going just as hard as I have with individual workouts, AAU tournaments, summer league games, and elite camps. I know of several players who haven't slept in their bed at home for more than a dozen times the entire summer!

With such a rigorous schedule, your body is banged up, fatigued, and broken down. You need to get in some quality active rest between now and when school starts. Honestly, scheduling an adequate period of active rest may be the most important thing you do all summer.

You need to get away from the game, mentally and physically, to re-charge your battery and be refreshed and ready to start the school year and your team’s pre-season workouts.

I recommend you take anywhere from a few days, to two full weeks, and do nothing physically active except for the 5 recovery exercises listed below. You need to evaluate your current state. If your summer wasn’t too exhausting, then take a few days off. If your summer was packed tighter than an airplane bathroom… then you should probably take an entire week or two off.

And when I say “off”… I mean off. That means no lifting, no conditioning, no shooting, no ball handling and no pick-up games. Trust me, it will do you good.

Perform the following exercises every day during your active rest period:

Lacrosse Ball Foot Massage

Why it’s important: Basketball players’ feet are constantly confined to rigid, stiff basketball shoes and ankle braces 20-25 hours a week. If your feet are constantly in basketball shoes, your ankles and feet get weaker and less mobile. Performing a “self massage” on a lacrosse ball helps loosen up the muscles, tendons, and ligaments of your feet.

How it’s done: In just your socks, balance on one foot and roll your other foot on top of the lacrosse ball. The more weight you put on the ball, the more pressure and the deeper the massage.

How many reps: Do two sets of 30 seconds for each foot.

Foam Roller

Why it’s important: It has a similar premise to the lacrosse ball. It’s a self-massage that helps elongate your muscles and rid your body of lactic acid and “knots.”

How it’s done: Start with your lower calf. Roll back and forth on top of the foam roller as if you were kneading dough. Follow the same protocol for your hamstrings, butt, outside of your hip, lower back, upper back, and your shoulder.

How many reps: Roll over each body part for 30 seconds.

Variation: You can substitute the foam roller with an over-inflated basketball.

Lunge and Reach Stretch

Why it’s important: Great stretch for the entire body!

How it’s done: Step out as far as you can into a forward lunge. Keep your ankles, knees, hips and shoulders facing forward. Put your palms on the floor in front of you (inside of your front leg). Straighten you back leg. If your left leg is forward, keep your right palm on the ground and raise your left palm toward the ceiling (by rotating your core). Look up as you reach up. Then perform the same movement with your other hand (left leg forward, raise your right hand). Then switch legs and repeat.

How many reps: Perform 5 reps for each hand on each leg.

Assisted Hamstring Stretch

Why it’s important: Tight hamstrings can cause numerous problems.

How it’s done: Lay on your back with both legs flat. Wrap a towel or elastic band or jump rope around the middle part of one foot. Keeping both legs straight (one stays on the ground), slowly pull your foot towards your nose. Make sure your ankle stays dorsi-flexed (“toes to your nose”). Hold for 15 seconds. Then, keeping your torso and hips flat on the ground, drop your leg laterally (if you are stretching your left leg, drop your leg down to the left). For a more intense stretch, continue to pull your foot towards the top of your head. This is a great groin stretch. Hold for 15 seconds. Lastly, cross over and drop your leg to the opposite side. For a more intense stretch, continue to pull your foot towards the top of your head. This will give a stretch to your low back and IT band. Hold for 15 seconds.

How many reps: Perform 3 rounds of all 3 phases (straight, lateral, crossover… each round takes 45 seconds).

Bodyweight Hangs

Why it’s important: Helps decompress your spine.

How it’s done: Find a sturdy pull-up bar that is high enough that you can hang from it without your feet touching the ground. Then simply grab the bar and hang. Let every muscle relax and let gravity decompress your spine.

How many reps: Hang for 3 sets of 15 seconds.

If you need additional info, or a visual on how to perform these exercises, please check out the initial episodes of the Can He Dunk? Project at www.CanHeDunk.com. We performed these movements with the participants before every workout.

We will post a new episode each week for the next 3 weeks… so make sure you stay tuned to see who ends up dunking!

In addition to the Can He Dunk? videos, I just posted the remaining two videos from the Nike Basketball Skills Academies. These will be my last two YouTube videos of the summer (videos will return after Labor Day, along with the blog).

Kevin Durant Nike Basketball Skills Academy: http://TinyUrl.com/DurantAcademy

Amar’e Stoudemire Nike Basketball Skills Academy: http://TinyUrl.com/AmareAcademy

Please enjoy your last few weeks of August and get the rest you deserve.

But then get back to work. Your pre-season workouts will lay the foundation for your season.

We will be offering a very comprehensive 8 Week Pre-Season Strength & Conditioning Program download at http://Shop.StrongerTeam.com in early September. It will include everything you need to get stronger, more explosive, and in great basketball shape.

Remember… the best players and the best teams are in the best shape!

In the meantime, please let me know if I can be a resource to you for your program. You can email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com.

NBA Top 100 Camp - Separating Good from Great

NBA Top 100 Camp - Separating Good from Great

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein

The past 6 weeks have been an exciting whirlwind. I have worked the Chris Paul Elite Guard Camp, the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp, all of the Nike Skills Academies (Deron Williams, Kevin Durant, Paul Pierce, Amar’e Stoudemire, & LeBron James), and the Nike Peach Jam EYBL Championships.

Having had the opportunity to be around the most talented players in the country, I noticed there is a key factor that separates the good from the great.

That is the ability to compete.

Mediocre players rarely compete. Good players compete when they want to. Great players compete all of the time… every drill, every workout, every day. Their competitive fire never stops burning.

And competing doesn’t always have to be against another player. Great players compete against themselves. Great players compete against the clock. Great players compete against the drill. They are never satisfied with what they have already accomplished and are constantly competing to improve. They aim to raise the bar every single workout. No matter how much success they have had, they are always looking to go to another level.

Kevin Durant doesn’t pick and choose when to compete, he competes all of the time. KD just won the NBA scoring title, was an All-Star, and led the Thunder to the playoffs. Yet he competed as hard as any high school or college player at his Skills Academy (in both drills and scrimmages). KD played with the hunger and urgency of someone who still needed to prove himself, even though he obviously doesn’t.

I can tell within 5 minutes whether or not a player is a true competitor. I can tell in their preparation. All I have to do is watch what they do the 15 minutes before the workout begins.

Are they waiting for the workout or are they preparing for it? There is a difference.

Players who are waiting to work out are usually lounging around in their flip flops and headphones or just casually shooting. They are literally killing time until the workout begins. That’s when they plan to “turn it on.”

Players who are preparing to work out, are dressed and ready and going through some type of standard routine, such as a structured warm-up or doing some form shooting. They aren’t joking or grab assing around. They are focused on getting mentally prepared. They are all business.

Despite the stress of “The Decision,” and the fact he was technically an unsigned free agent at the time, LeBron James laced them up and played with both the high school and college players at his Skills Academy. Even though these were just nightly pick-up games, LeBron went through his standard pre-game preparation, which included being thoroughly stretched by his trainer and running through some basic shooting drills to get a sweat. The only thing he didn’t do was throw chalk in the air!

LeBron James is a competitor. LeBron James knows how to prepare.

Each night, there were two games going on simultaneously on adjacent courts. The games played on LeBron’s court were always twice as intense and competitive as the other court. Why? One reason was because LeBron’s competitiveness and intensity was contagious. The other reason was because the other players wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of playing against the NBA’s reigning MVP. They were more competitive because something was on the line and they felt they had something to prove.

The key to being a great player is learning to play that hard and intense all of the time. Why not compete like you are playing against LeBron in every game you play? Why not compete in every drill as if a college coach or NBA scout was watching?

If you can figure out how to do that, you will be well on your way. When you learn to treat an off-season workout with the same importance as a championship game, then and only then, have you learned how to truly compete and maximize your potential. I have seen plenty of very talented players fall short because they didn’t make competing a habit.

Don’t think you can just “turn it on” when the season starts. You need to start competing now… every drill, every workout, every day.

Are you waiting for the season to start… or are you preparing for it?

Basketball in the Bluegrass - Best in the World

Coaches from all over the world want to live and work in a place that loves the sport of basketball. Along with that passion for the game comes high expectations and pressure that drive some coaches out of the sport. Others that have been able to maintain the course over the years have proven to be some of the most successful basketball coaches in the country. In Kentucky, basketball is not just a sport, it is more of a religion and the holy grail is playing in the state tournament at Rupp Arena. Kentucky is the last great basketball state that still competes without a class system. In almost every state, at the end of the basketball season, there are multiple state champions in basketball to be crowned. Kentucky is special because it is a winner take all event where schools like Elliot County - enrollment 167 can compete with the bigger enrollment schools for a chance at the trophy. Kentucky high school basketball is the best. While the talent pool might not be as good as many other states, the following, the tradition, the expectations, and the fan support make it a much better state to coach basketball than say Florida which has some of the most talented athletes to ever play - see Vince Carter or Amare Stoudamire - there are only about 3000 fans at the state championship. That is a generous number.

These are some pictures from the most recent state tournament in Kentucky where we had over 22,000 fans for a FIRST round game. If you have the opportunity to come to see the "Greatest Show in Hoops," it is well worth your time.