Basketball Fitness Training: Why Every Hooper Should Run Up A Hill
Serious basketball coaches are always looking for ways to get an edge over the competition, to get an edge. This is why you spend so much time researching training methods that will make your players faster and stronger, and jump higher, without taking too long to get results.
This is why I believe running trail running (which includes running bleachers and stairs) is a must for any basketball player.
This is because hill sprints provide a number of benefits to the basketball athlete. Here are the top 6:
1. Hill sprints provide the perfect combination of strength and speed training.
It’s like lifting weights and running at the same time. The hill gives resistance to your athlete’s sprints, making them more difficult and shorter in distance and duration. Including hill sprinting in your training program can provide excellent results in as little as 15 minutes once or twice a week.
2. Hill sprints build endurance.
Stamina is something every basketball player needs, but it is a special kind of stamina. If you want your athletes to perform at their best, then the low and slow distance types of cardio just won’t work. Your endurance training should mimic the demands of the game. Those needs are: short periods of intense exertion interrupted by periods of less intensity.
Hill sprints provide precisely this type of interval training. They will drive their players’ hearts and lungs to intensities far greater than those found in jogging or traditional types of resistance training. Your body will get used to reaching these higher levels and recovering quickly between “sprints.”
More and more scientific studies show that VO2 Max (the traditional measure of aerobic endurance) is improved as much, or more, through the use of high-intensity interval exercises like sprinting on hills.
Do you want your team to have their “wind” at the end of the game? Hill sprint.
3. Hill sprints increase ankle strength, which helps prevent one of the most common injuries in sports: an ankle sprain.
The ankles are strengthened due to the need to push harder when running uphill. Due to the incline, it takes more momentum than when running on a flat surface. Improved ankle strength also leads to the ability to push harder during play, which benefits a player’s important “first step” and lengthens their stride when running on a getaway on the court.
4. Hill sprints increase the speed and explosiveness of basketball players.
This is because hill training promotes two key factors for running faster and jumping higher. First, force the proper knee lift, essential to bring your legs down and back for more strength. Second, mountain running causes the sprinter to flex the foot dorsally while running. The closer the toes are to the shin, the more force they can apply on contact with the ground. Think of dorsiflexion as loading your foot and then unloading it on the ground and pushing it forward.
Explosiveness also shows in the way hill sprints can increase players’ vertical jumps, a key measure of power. Jumping is really the same as running: pushing the body forward (or up) against gravity. The more power you can generate from your legs when pushing, the further or higher you will go.
5. Hill sprints provide a way to safely train your athletes.
In addition to protecting your ankles, trail running also protects your athletes from other types of injuries. The last thing you want to do is injure your athletes while conditioning.
The hill sprint provides safety in two ways: One, the slightly shorter stride length while running a hill sprint is a great way to protect your hamstrings. Most hamstring pulls and strains are the result of overextension, something that rarely occurs when running up hills.
Second, hill sprints can lessen blows to players’ legs. Studies have shown that even a slight incline added to sprints can reduce the impact on a runner’s legs by up to 25%. Leg cramps, foot problems, and sore knees can be greatly reduced by going up into the hills for a run.
6. Hill sprints as mental training
In addition to all the physical benefits of trail running, they also promote mental toughness and goal setting behavior in their athletes. Looking up the hill can be overwhelming when players are fatigued and nearing the end of their sprinting session. By using the hill as a metaphor, you can show them the importance of having a goal (the top of the hill), taking the steps necessary to reach it (one step at a time uphill), and celebrating their success when they reach their goal (their own imitation of Rocky on the top of the hill). Looking back after their training, your athletes can feel the satisfaction of accomplishing something that may have seemed like an impossible obstacle.
With all these benefits for your basketball team, adding hill sprinting to your training program should go to the top of your to-do list. It’s no coincidence that we found out that this year’s NCAA Player of the Year Kevin Durant made hill sprints a key part of his training. You can develop your own “special” players in the same way.
Make your athletes stronger, faster, better conditioned, injury resistant and mentally strong with this “old school” workout. You, your team and your fans will be delighted that they did.