Basketball player looking to add some GST work

[Anthony Watts]

Hi all, I have listened to coach Sommer's podcasts a few times over the last years and I have always been intrigued when he talks about tendon strength and building a resilient body.  I am a 6'8" pro basketball player that just turned 30 and I would like to incorporate this training into my off season routine and if possible keep up some type of work during my season (I have a desire to be strong and healthy after my career so I have no problem playing the long game with this training).  I have 2-3 months before official training camp starts and I am wondering which program/programs would be most beneficial for someone like me who wants to build up his joints and tendon strength while balance out some deficiencies in total body strength.  I can always use more mobility in my hips, ankles and shoulders I just don't want to overdue it as I still have to prepare sport wise for my job, any tips on how to modify this work through the different seasons would be great too.  I wrote an email and they suggested I put it on the forum so here it is.  Thankful for any advice I can get on the subject.

[Alessandro Mainente]

Hi Anthony I think you get obtain reasonable benefits by GST especially foundations :

- the lower body work could be useful to improve jumps and absorbing the descent part of the jumps. you will also have some reasonable knees preparation with the legs part of the foundations 1 (necessary for strong legs on changes of directions)

- The upperbody work will improve the ability to launch the ball far from you especially the bicep/tricep conditioning. the more you can stretch the tricep with a stron bicep the more stronger will be the response to stretch reflex and the launch will be more powerful. the is covered also in foundations 1

-the core part you can see on foundations 1 covers both twisting, flexing , and curling of the spine, necessary to stabilize the body during rapid movements, changes of direction, rapid acceleration etc.

-with the upper body flexibility part of foundations 1 and t-spine stretch series you can compensate the bend-forward posture of the basketball and reduce risk of imbalances . also the T-spine works a lot to reduce the injury that you can meet with overhead arms movements.

my suggestion is you want to invest your time is foundations 1 and thoracic spine stretch series. 

[Chris Garay]

Hi Anthony!

Just adding to the fantastic information that Alessandro posted above. Being 6'8", all of the core work and strength endurance features of Foundation 1 will greatly benefit you. I'm *only* 6'1", but being tall and having long limbs means our joints can sometimes take a beating from maximal strength training. I highly recommend the Foundation program, as many of my shoulder, knee, and elbow aches and pains went away after following it! Good luck.

Best,

Chris

[Anthony Watts]

Thank you both for your input!  I look forward to getting started on the journey and balancing up my body after years of a single sport taking it toll on me.

Is there any modifications I should consider while doing Foundations 1 along with my basketball training/conditioning?

[Alessandro Mainente]

It depends, can you post a short example of your schedule?

[Anthony Watts]

Right now I am doing 3x a week skill training for 1-2.5 hrs a day.  3x a week strength work 1.5 hrs and 3x conditioning 45mins.

Skill work and playing will pick up more time in another 4-5 weeks preparing for the preseason. 

My concern is when I start my season and we practice 2x a day.  Morning is weight training/conditioning or skill work and a team practice in the evening.  Not sure when or what I could fit in GST during that time.

 

[Chris Garay]

Hi Anthony,

Thanks for writing up your training schedule. As I'm sure you are fully aware, the recovery demands of a professional athlete are huge. Sleep, nutrition, manual therapy, contrast baths, and supplementation can go a long way towards helping your body recover in time for the next training session.

Right now I would recommend that you start Foundation 1 and the Thoracic Bridge Stretch Series as Alessandro mentioned. You should be able to do the F1 work in addition to (or possibly in place of) your strength and conditioning work, and the TB series can be on a rest day. By the time your pre-season starts, you should have a better idea of your body's recovery abilities when training both GST and basketball. Good luck, keep us updated!

Best,

Chris

[Alessandro Mainente]

You are doing a lot of work. for this reason I would introduce only some stretch poses in order to balance the high amount of work you are doing. the fact that you are using a lot the legs in straight and bent knees position and also a bend forward posture leads to difficult decision about the stretch course you need,....basically from my POV: all of them. healthy spine is necessary to reduce the risk of lower limbs injury and strong and flexible lower limbs prevent excessive stress on the lower back.

[Anthony Watts]

So you think I will be better off with the stretch courses?

it does take a lot of work and recovery is key.  I definitely need lower body and total body mobility and flexibility. That is why I was cautious to jump into GST without some info before.  The dilemma is I want to work and prepare my body for longevity but also need to keep up with the demands of professional sport.

[Gabriel Nunez]

I am in no way bound to a schedule like yourself Anthony, but being a Marine and always having to conduct physical training with Marines on a daily basis, along with my conditioning as a martial arts instructor/martial arts practitioner, time management is definitely an issue that has to be sorted about before you even consider starting. I am currently doing every course in GB ( I love them all) and like you am 6ft, 32 years old. What I did was to divide my foundations, stretch courses, mobility work, and handstand work throughout the week, so at tops I take 30 minutes per workout a day, plus 45 M, W, F for stretching that I do after the foundations workout. I have taken a screenshot to give you an idea of how you can incorporate the training into your schedule. It all depends on how fast your recovery is and how much you can handle doing these exercises weekly. I found that once a week for all all the exercises gives me so much variation and so much rest time in between that I rarely ever plateau. Obviously, you don't have to do as much, but I can tell you that the Single Leg Squat series from Foundations has made the world of different in my lower body mobility. As a basketball player, anything that will strengthen your ankles, knees and hips is money! Enjoy friend!

[Anthony Watts]

@Gabriel Nunez you are right about time management and that single leg work would definitely be beneficial for me, you can imagine being this tall with long legs has its challenges with lower body mobility.

@Alessandro Mainente would you recommend just starting out with the stretch courses?  I need all the courses for better total body control.  Or would starting foundation and sprinkling it in small doses still be useful for my joints and mobility/strength?  I don't have a problem making slow progress I know this will take time, if it's better to start doing little by little now and be ahead later rather than waiting until I retire from pro ball is what I'm really asking.

[Alessandro Mainente]

It depends on how much time do you have, if you have enough time to add some extra conditioning foundation one it is an option,

if you have less time and you need to optimize it, i think it is better to avoind imbalance and maintain good posture.

[Gabriel Nunez]

@Anthony Watts I think then the stretching course would be best for you. It is 3 times a week at 45 minutes a piece, and you modify the stretch to your ability. Flexibility, mobility and strength are all correlated, and since you are already doing so much strength and endurance training with your profession, the stretch course would be perfect companion to balance you!