As a college athlete, it's vital to be in peak condition not only during the season, but year-round. This is what truly separates the good athletes from the great ones. The issue comes in deciding how hard to push yourself in the offseason. What's too much?
When talking about basketball specifically, the offseason's purpose is to build strength, skill, and stamina. This means that your workouts are going to be a bit more taxing than they would be during the season. Here are the steps you can take to maximize your offseason potential.
- Build Strength
In basketball, you will rarely be told that you're getting “too strong.” With this in mind, your focus should be on going up in weight for your workout routine. You should aim for a high weight, low rep approach, which means fewer exercises at more weight than usual. This alone will not get you strength though. The only way to truly gain strength is if you pair this with a proper diet consisting of protein, nutrients, carbs, and, most importantly, water.
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- Build Stamina
Basketball is already a fast-paced game, and it's going to keep getting faster with the rise of the “7 seconds or less” offensive set. The offseason is your time to get ahead of the curve and build your stamina. Some of the best ways to do this is by going on daily runs, doing HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts, and regulating your sleep schedule.
- Address Your Weaknesses
This category stays the same across all sports. When the offseason hits, it's time to look back and see where your weaknesses were on the court. Was it your shooting? Were you overmatched on the defensive end? Are you turning the ball over a lot? Whatever it is, now is the time to fix it.
Take shooting for example, if you're finding that your shot is often being blocked, or you can't take it before the defense recovers, you may want to focus on a quicker and higher release point. Similar logic can be applied to other areas of improvement as well.
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- Build on Your Strengths
In addition to working on your weaknesses, the offseason is also the perfect time to amplify your strengths. Oklahoma City Thunder guard, Lu Dort, is known to be an exceptional perimeter defender going into his 3rd year in the league. Yet, he decided that he wanted to be even better, so he took Jiu Jitsu and boxing lessons all summer to improve his reaction time and defensive intensity. Sometimes, building on your strengths is even more important than working on your weaknesses.
The offseason is time for improvement, and by following the steps above, you can ensure that you're going to get better at basketball. Use this time to recuperate both physically and mentally, then come back next season ready to turn heads. You got this!
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* Originally published on June 13, 2022, by Brayden Koch
