Before you start I want you to understand a little bit about the 4 main categories of “The Basketball Strength Code”
When our players develop these 4 categories they stop getting bullied on the court by bigger players, they stop getting bumped off their line on drives and they finish at the rim better. Let’s dive in!
Four Main Categories
General Strenght: This is your typical weight room strength. This doesn’t always directly translate to the court BUT it’s the best way to build muscle and improve general force production that can later be transferred to the court when we do our next 3 phases. There’s 6 main movements that we will train when aiming to build general strength: squat, hinge, horizontal press, horizontal pull, vertical press and vertical pull. With those 6 movements you’ll train every major muscle group in your body.
Farmer Strength: This is where we begin incorporating 3 dimension strength training, getting strong in multiple planes of motion and developing strength in more “awkward” positions. If you know any farmers, you know that they don’t lift weight but they’re still insanely strong because they lift haystacks, rotate with heavy objects, etc.
Sumo Strength: This is where we really start learning how to move other humans and have other humans try to move us without allowing them. Sounds like sumo wresting right? To wall up in the post it all comes down to LEVERAGE and angles of force production.
Basketball Strength: Now it’s time to translate all the strength qualities we’ve built into an actual game. Guys like Kyrie Irving aren’t big or weight room strong, but they have mastered the SKILL of basketball strength. When to hit, where to hit, weight shift, coordinated your hits with the footwork and ball.
Alright, now that you understand the 4 key components let’s look at specific examples of how I program them. Keep in mind, the full program is MUCH more comprehensive but for now I just want to get you started with a simple program.
Monday
6 General Strength exercises
General Strength: You have 6 main patterns and you can choose any exercise to satisfy each movement pattern.
1. Squat 3 sets x 6 reps— DB goblet squat, back squat, front squat, rear foot elevated squat, pistol squat, airborne lunge
2. Hip hinge 3 sets x 6 reps- Kickstand RDL, barbell bilateral RDL, 1 leg RDL
3. Upper body horizontal press 2 sets x 10 reps- pushup, DB bench, barbell bench, incline bench
4. Upper body horizontal pull 2 sets x 10 reps- inverted row, DB 1 arm row, cable seated or standing 1 arm rowpper body horizontal press 2 sets x 10 reps- pushup, DB bench, barbell bench, incline bench
5. Vertical Press 2 sets x 10 reps- barbell shoulder press, DB shoulder press, 1 arm half kneeling DB shoulder pressbench
6. Vertical pull 2 sets x 10 reps- Pull-ups, lat pulldown, 1 arm half kneeling cable pulldown
Tuesday
1 Farmer Strength exercise, 1 sumo strength exercise, 1 basketball strength exercise
1. Split Stance Cable Rotation 3 sets x 6 reps each side https://vimeo.com/765163739/ae798765d1?share=copy Sumo Wrestler Lateral 3 sets x 8 seconds each side
2. Sumo Wrestler Lateral 3 sets x 8 seconds each side https://vimeo.com/765413516/7b690e9109?share=copy
3. Veer Finish Strength 3 sets x 5 hits each side https://vimeo.com/765398394/4eca989163?share=copy
Wednesday
Off (in the full program we do active recovery and “joint juice” movements to get you feeling good and improve mobility)
Thursday
6 General Strength exercises
1. Squat 3 sets x 6 reps— DB goblet squat, back squat, front squat, rear foot elevated squat, pistol squat, airborne lunge
2. Hip hinge 3 sets x 6 reps- Kickstand RDL, barbell bilateral RDL, 1 leg RDL
3. Upper body horizontal press 2 sets x 10 reps- pushup, DB bench, barbell bench, incline bench
4. Upper body horizontal pull 2 sets x 10 reps- inverted row, DB 1 arm row, cable seated or standing 1 arm rowpper body horizontal press 2 sets x 10 reps- pushup, DB bench, barbell bench, incline bench
5. Vertical Press 2 sets x 10 reps- barbell shoulder press, DB shoulder press, 1 arm half kneeling DB shoulder pressbench
6. Vertical pull 2 sets x 10 reps- Pull-ups, lat pulldown, 1 arm half kneeling cable pulldown
Friday
1 Farmer Strength exercise, 1 sumo strength exercise, 1 basketball strength exercise
General Strength: You have 6 main patterns and you can choose any exercise to satisfy each movement pattern.
1. Split Stance Cable Rotation 3 sets x 6 reps each side https://vimeo.com/765163739/ae798765d1?share=copy Sumo Wrestler Lateral 3 sets x 8 seconds each side
2. Sumo Wrestler Lateral 3 sets x 8 seconds each side https://vimeo.com/765413516/7b690e9109?share=copy
3. Veer Finish Strength 3 sets x 5 hits each side https://vimeo.com/765398394/4eca989163?share=copy
This program should be done for 4 weeks. Be sure to progressively overload on the general strength exercises by adding 5 lbs each week if possible.
If you are ready to join the full “Basketball Strength Code” and take your strength and conditioning to a different level, I have a limited time offer for you! Use code basketballstrength15 to take 15% off your monthly or yearly subscription to Unranked Basketball Academy, which contains the following programs:
1. Basketball Strength Code
2. Basketball Athleticism Code
3. Skill Code
4. Hoop IQ Vault
5. Handle Snacks (full ball handling program)
6. Twitch Code (quickness program)
Unranked Basketball Academy is our most comprehensive program for basketball players. If you’re serious about unleashing your athletic potential and transforming your skill level and IQ, let’s get you started!
