Playing professional basketball requires tremendous skill, athleticism, dedication, and the right training.
NBA players follow rigorous exercise routines to develop the strength, speed, agility, and endurance necessary to excel on the court. While you may not be able to match the intense regimens of the pros, you can train strategically to improve your game.
This comprehensive guide provides tips and recommendations for training like an NBA player.
We’ll cover key workout components, including strength training, cardio, agility drills, core exercises, shooting practice, nutrition, recovery, and more.
Build a Basketball Strength Training Program
A basketball workout program should target your entire body with a focus on your legs, core, and other muscle groups integral to the sport.
Follow these strength-training tips:
- Work major muscle groups at least 2-3 days per week
- Perform 3-4 sets of 8-15 reps per exercise
- Focus on compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, rows, and lunges
- Incorporate plyometrics like box jumps and med ball throws to build explosive power
- Use weights that challenge you in the final few reps of each set
Lower Body Exercises
Developing leg strength should be a top priority, as jumping ability directly impacts rebounds, layups, blocking shots, and overall athletic performance.
Mix up your leg day routine with exercises like:
- Back or front barbell squats
- Walking lunges
- Lateral lunges
- Single-leg deadlifts
- Calf raises
- Box jumps
- Depth jumps
Core Exercises
A strong core stabilizes your body for quicker cuts and turns, better balance during contested plays, and more powerful jumps.
Effective core moves include:
- Planks
- Side planks
- Mountain climbers
- Russian twists
- V-ups
- Flutter kicks
- Reverse crunches
Aim for 3-4 sets of 10-20 reps of each exercise in your ab circuits 2-3 days a week. Go slowly and focus on good form.
Upper Body Exercises
While basketball relies more on your legs and core, upper body strength still matters for tasks like boxing out, shooting, and ball handling.
Try these exercises:
- Push-ups
- Bench presses
- Shoulder presses
- Pull-ups
- Bent over rows
- Upright rows
- Triceps dips
- Bicep curls
Aim for 2-3 upper body sessions per week with higher rep ranges like 10-15 reps.
Include Basketball Conditioning Drills
Along with your normal cardio and conditioning work, incorporate drills that mimic movements used during games.
Agility ladder drills, defensive slides, and suicide runs are all great options.
Some drills to try:
- Cone drills: set up a course with cones and practice shuffling side to side while keeping your defensive stance
- Ladder drills: improve coordination and footwork with various ladder patterns
- Defensive slides: move laterally with your defensive stance maintained
- Suicide runs: run back and forth touching the baseline and half court line
Start off doing 3-4 sets of each drill for 20-30 seconds, focusing on proper movement patterns. Over time, work towards continuous drills for 5-10 minutes.
Improve Basketball-Specific Skills
Alongside your strength and conditioning training, dedicate time to honing vital basketball skills like shooting, dribbling, passing, rebounding, and more.
Here are some skill-building tips:
Shooting Practice
- Take a high volume of shots (several hundred per session)
- Vary your shooting position around the arc
- Practice catch and shoot as well as shots off the dribble
- Do shooting drills off screens and pin downs
- Work against a defensive player when possible
- Chart makes and misses to track shooting percentages
Ball Handling and Dribbling Drills
- Improve control dribbling tennis balls which are smaller and less predictable
- Practice hesitation moves, crossovers, behind the backs and between the legs
- Vary speed and incorporate direction changes
- Try dribbling around obstacles like cones and chairs
- Have a partner try to steal the ball from you
Incorporate Basketball-Specific Plyometrics
Plyometric exercises that involve rapid muscle loading and contraction build the explosive power needed for basketball. They enhance your ability to jump higher, accelerate quicker, and move more dynamically.
Some top plyometric moves for basketball players include:
- Box jumps
- Broad jumps
- Lateral box jumps
- Depth jumps
- Medicine ball throws against a wall
- Single leg bounding
- Tuck jumps
Start off with just bodyweight plyos focusing on good form. Over time, incorporate weighted variations like holding dumbbells during box jumps or lateral lunges.
Work on Basketball-Specific Cardio and Endurance
If you want to train like a pro, boasting enough stamina to play major minutes is a must. Mix up your cardio training with both steady state and interval workouts tailored to basketball’s demands.
Steady State Cardio
- Go for longer duration runs, swims, cycles or stair climbs at an even pace
- Maintain 60-80% of max heart depending on fitness level
- Aim for 30-60 minutes continuous work 3 days a week
High Intensity Interval Training
- Alternate between higher intensity bursts and active rest
- Try Tabata intervals of 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest
- Other options: 30/30s, 45/15s, or 60/30s intervals
- Can use hills, sprints, bike resistance increases, etc.
HIIT workouts torch calories, enhance cardio capacity, and help maintain high-energy levels during intense game play.
Carefully Structure Your Basketball Training Schedule
Creating a properly periodized basketball workout schedule is crucial for optimizing gains and avoiding overtraining and burnout.
Follow these guidelines:
- Train each muscle group 2-3 times per week with at least a day of rest in between
- Vary high intensity days with lower intensity skill and technique work
- Take a full rest or active recovery day 1-2 days a week
- Listen to your body and take extra rest days whenever needed
- Try to work different movement patterns and energy systems from day to day
Here is a sample 5 day basketball training split:
Day 1: Lower Body/Core Strength
Squats, deadlifts, lunges, planks, leg raises
Day 2: Metabolic Basketball Conditioning
Suicide runs, agility ladder, defensive slides
Day 3: Upper Body Strength + Shooting
Bench press, pull-ups, shoulder press + high volume shooting practice
Day 4: Lower Body Plyometrics
Box jumps, broad jumps, tuck jumps, depth jumps
Day 5: Full Body HIIT Cardio + Ball Handling
Bike/rower/treadmill intervals + dribbling through obstacle course
Adopt Proper Recovery Techniques
Hard training without proper rest leads to fatigue, poor performance, and higher injury risk.
Here are some recovery tips:
- Get 8-10 hours of sleep per night
- Take occasional full rest days
- Use foam rolling, massage guns, and lacrosse balls to increase blood flow and ease muscle tightness
- Alternate between hot and cold water immersion
- Wear compression gear during and after workouts
- Supplement with protein shakes, tart cherry juice, omega-3s and antioxidants
Monitoring indicators like resting heart rate variability, grip strength and vertical leap height can help gauge your recovery status day-to-day.
Fuel Your Body Properly
An NBA-caliber training regimen requires proper nutrition to fuel intense workouts, promote muscle growth and speed recovery.
Follow these diet tips:
- Consume a slight calorie surplus to support muscle building
- Eat 0.5-1 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily from high quality sources
- Fill the rest of your calories from vegetables, fruits, whole grains and healthy fats
- Stay hydrated before, during and after exercise
- Time carbohydrate intake to fuel workouts and replenish glycogen post-training
Work with a sports nutritionist or registered dietitian to develop the optimal diet plan for your body and activity level.
Train Smarter Using Technology
Like the pros, leverage technology to take your performance to new levels.
Useful gear and apps include:
- Shot tracking: assess shooting efficiency with smart basketballs or a ShotTracker sleeve
- Heart rate variability: use WHOOP or Oura Ring to gauge daily recovery
- Force plates: test power and track jumping improvements with Vert or Just Jump mats
- Form analysis: identify movement compensations using slow motion video and coaching apps
The right wearables, sensors and analytics tools give you an information advantage when implementing data-driven training.
Putting It All Together
While genetics play a role, much of what separates average basketball players from the pros stems from training. Follow the workout, skill development, nutrition and recovery advice in this guide to perform like an NBA athlete.
Transforming your body and elevating your game to new levels requires tremendous dedication and consistency over time. But with a smart, comprehensive approach, dramatic basketball performance improvements are certainly attainable.
Sources:
www.bauerfeind.com.au/blogs/news/train-like-an-nba-pro-essential-basketball-training-gear-workouts-and-habits
www.americansportandfitness.com/blogs/fitness-blog/how-to-train-like-a-basketball-player
www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/train-nba-star-5-day-strength-speed-and-agility-workout
