ENDURANCE
The Secret Advantage
Manny Pacquiao, Steve Nash, and Rafael Nadal. All three of the world's top athletes share one thing. Aside from being on top of their turf (the canvas,wood, or clay), they are three of the fittest men in the world. Peak fitness doesn't only offer survival; it brings you to the top of the field, whatever sport you are in. Aenlle shares the secrets to having the stamina you need to outwork, outhustle, and outplay the opposition when you step on the hardcourt, and even when you step off it.
Mend on the fly
"The goal to developing basketball-specific endurance is being able to recover from fatigue faster," says Aenlle. This is achieved by mimicking the activities you do in the game and designing exercises to help you recover. The key to endurance is the quick recovery of the body's energy systems. Basketball, for example, is a sport that involves a mix of intermittent sprinting, running, jogging, and walking. Training in these activities can help boost stamina and endurance. Learn Aenlle's program for developing endurance, not only for basketball players, but for everyone who wants to have the lungs to outlast many.
Control the pace
Aenlle calls it interval training. Prepare a stopwatch to time your exercise or have a partner monitor it for you. Sprint all-out for five seconds and then jog for the next 20 seconds. After every three sets, walk for 90 seconds. Start by doing six sets. Increase by two sets after two weeks. The sprinting part is very taxing so the jogging and walking are the recovery phases. Through this, your body learns to adapt to the changes in pace that you do while in the game. In basketball, consider the time when somebody shoots free throws or timeouts as the recovery phase. The rewards of interval training is that your body is ready to go full throttle after just a short period of rest.
Burn the track
Another type of interval training is done by running around a 400-meter track oval. Sprint 50 meters and jog another 50 meters. Do four rounds with this routine. You can progress by adding one round every week. Variations include shortening your jog distance. You can also have a partner on hand to cue when you sprint and when you jog.
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Men's Health Philippines - July 2007 Issue
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Tony dela Cruz
Guard/Forward
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