The Bottom Line

"Practice does not make perfect if you practice the wrong things".

Here at Basketball Strength, we realize that. We understand the need for quality instruction in order to raise the overall level of the game. We also understand the human body and it's relation to recovery, movement and care.

Basketball Strength Volume I is soon to be at your fingertips. Volume I is a complete, step by step, guide to improving your physical body for the basketball court. There is no sugar coating, just me, you, a plan that works and good old fashioned hard work. This metabolic conditioning has been battle tested.

Before we allow you to continue with the great start to your day, we have three rules for you to follow. Remember these rules as they pertain to you and everything that you do. These will also be the same rules that allow you to succeed at anytime.

1. Have confidence in your abilities
2. Have confidence in your abilities
3. Have confidence in your abilities

Will YOU take it?

In the movie Hoosiers a series of triumphs occured. A small town team called Hickory won the Indiana State High School Basketball Championship. Each man on that team and the coach EARNED that title. The movie is a MUST see for all basketball and victory fans.

Jimmy Chitwood was Hickory's star player. He was a talented fundamental guard who could and would make the shot when it counted. HE wanted to be the one his team could depend on when it mattered. Jimmy knocked down more tough shots than there are nice days in a year. Chitwood was Mr. Clutch for Hickory.

In probably the most clutch moment of his career, Jimmy Chitwood STEPPED UP! In the huddle, his team gathered in tightly. The coach gave the istructions for someone ELSE to take the game winning shot. The team disagreed through a silent void. Then it happened...Jimmy Chitwood said the three words I will never forget, "I'll make it".

He made it and they won the Championship. Everyone KNEW he was going to take the shot and he MADE the shot when it counted most. One word; stud.

Will you take it and make it when it matters most?

Basketball Strength Volume I will give you the confidence you need to take and make that shot. This product has developed thousands of basketball players to the highest level of their abilities. Your turn is coming soon!

Today

You must make a decision to "do". The non-actions yet great thought category is not one that produces anything in the form of results. "Doing" what you need to do to get where you need to go is what we're talking about here.

Step by step, you can reach your potential, one day at a time. A day just like today for example is a day that you will "do". Every single day there is a way you can improve yourself.

This is often confused depending on the individuals understanding of proper training. I consider the act of reading training if it's the right material for the individual. I consider breathing exercises training for everyone and it should be done daily. I consider certain methods of stretching to be training as well, etc.

Baksetball Strength Training is training to be done on YOUR schedule. As you will note with Basketball Strength Volume I, I give you the layout and "do". You will immediately realize that it all makes sense and why this system was created. These will be the most exciting days of your physical life because of obvious GAINS!

After your training sessions, it is important that you take care of yourself. Eat if you're hungry, drink water if you're thirsty, and sleep if you're tired. Hit the cold water bath (stay calm) for 10 minutes and then warm it up for 30 more minutes.

If you can get two of those baths in a day, your body will increase its healing properties and improve function. I personally believe that athletes should spend at least an hour a day in water. When a body is submerged in water it's function must increase due to the environmental stress. We'll go into that next time...

Today is a day to "do".

Handball

The game of handball is a widespread recreational game in the United States. Participants all stand in front of a large wall and use one blue rubber ball. The object of the game is, you guessed it, to hit the ball with your hand.

The blue rubber ball is very small so it's going to take a perfect strike off your hand to reach the wall. Now why would I be mentioning handball at Basketball Strength?

Handball greatly increases an athlete's hand/eye accuracy, hand/eye coordination and entire bodily function. If you have five or ten minutes a day to do this, your skill set will increase dramatically.

Today's Quote

"No door remains for ever locked against the man of indomitable will and courage".

- Percy Wells Cerutty

Movement

The key in training is movement. Specific locomotor movements must be repeated correctly for repetition until failure.

Developing Champions

If you have been following this blog, I am sure you have noticed the carryover of information. A lot of what I communicate to you can be applied to many areas of your busy life and not just basketball. That is my intention and you should know that.

A true champion is developed mentally before he even takes his first step onto the competition floor. The winning mentality and indomitable will (never give up must be driven into an athlete before developing.

Time and patience will work for you if you allow it to. Basketball Strength Volume I is the apex of metabolic conditioning. Until this point in time, there has never been a sensible, professional grade product specifically designed for basketball players.

Coming soon...Basketball Strength Volume I

Decision

Making the decision to succeed is the first step in winning. The rest is simply doing what you know you need to do. Apply this to everything in life, including training. The first step in everything is to plan it in your mind first then carry it out physically.

Once your decision has been made, nothing can divert you off that track. Your focus is too great to be corrupted by any outside influence. Absolutely nothing can take you away from the commitment you have made to yourself.

You really have to dig down and convince yourself to keep pushing forward. You should challenge your own will to become stronger and tougher. This is how toughness is made.

I have developed a system of training geared for the basketball player. It is the ultimate plan of fitness geared by locomotion. When your movement is perfected, your body will be as well.

There is a reason why you see a picture of me at least a foot over the basketball hoop (see profile) and demonstrating a classic nose to the mat bridge (see below). The diversity in this training allows each participant to become everything you can be. There are nolimits unless you place them on yourself.

Basketball Strength Volume I is coming soon. This complete basketball training course is going to rock rims across the planet.

Personal Challenges

Every day you open your eyes, you have an opportunity to challenge yourself. Any area of life is an area that could improve if you allow it to. Please do not restrict this message to basketball only, it has deeper implications.

When I was taught the game of basketball, I was taught Integrity. The coach was a responsible man who stood for strong character. The players listened to the coach and did not debate anything. Players were honored for the opportunity to play.

Times change and so do the people within it. Does my description of basketball seem realistic for today's world? Is this the game we see on TV?

I am confident that basketball can once again be a high Integrity sport as it once was. It starts with one player at a time. The only way a change can be made is if the participants change.

Respect the game and challenge yourself.

Game Speed

The speed that basketball games run at are incredible. Decisions have to be made with little or no time. In preparation for a game like this, you have to train motor patterns for success. You have to be able to safely and effectly manuever anywhere, anytime.

You physical training & conditioning has to include mental componenets. You have to practice the way you move and develop it to it's apex. Start with your offensive movement patterns. Use the power of your lungs to propel you.

Ambience

When you train it is important to take in the ambience. I personally prefer to train outside any chance I get. Training outside allows me to take in all the elemental forces as well as exude my natural physicality.

Clean, fresh air will allow you to breathe easier and longer through intense exercise. The sun serves as rejuvination to your entire body without prolonged exposure.

When you think training, think elemental forces. Think about the forces on Earth and their relationship to you. Use these elementals to your advantage. Training outside and building your relationship with nature is important.

Try this;

Bear Crawl X 200 Yards, Crab Walk X 100 Yards, Bodyweight Squat X 200 Repetitions.

Breathe.

Do It

Working smart, using patience, an organized plan, allowing time for recovery and building mental toughness through hard training will yield results.

Basketball Strength Volume I is that. Your chance to do it is soon.

Time & Patience

When a man works hard, smart and sensibly over time, is success a coincidence?
If a man practices push-ups every day, is it a coincidence when is efficient at them?

Whatever a man practices correctly is something he will become efficient at over time and with patience.

Time & Patience

Posture

Who says I can't train in my kitchen?...

Human beings are considered advanced because of their ability to walk upright and their "developed" brains. I place "developed" in quotations because human beings still are yet to develop full usage of the brain.

Upright walking allows for the spinal column to be in a constant state of compression. Gravity pulls everything downward and the spine with it. If bodily posture is not correct for extended periods of time, damage can occur.

Physical training lends it's helpful hand here. I personally know that there is no finer exercise for building the tissues around the spine like bridging. That's right bridging.

When performed correctly the bridge will allow you to increase your flexibility, mobility and all conditioning qualities up and down the vetebral column. You can also kiss things like lower back and neck pain goodbye, in time.

You are also reading from the fingers of a man hit by a drunk driver in 2001 (full story to come). I was stopped at a red light and hit by a man going 45 in a pick up truck. When it came time to rehabilitate (3 months), I chose what I am about to suggest to you. I waited three months for the fractures to heal.

If you are going to walk upright, you need to bridge.

Combat Conditioning

Finish

You see it almost every time you watch a game. A player makes a strong move, approaches the hoop and takes a strong jump to the rim. There is a defensive player in his way who has jump upwards to block the attempt...

Either he finishes or he does not because there will not be any coincidence here.

When you drive to hole with finishing in mind, you finish. Finishing is your task in the game of basketball if you want to be offensively aggressive. Finishing implies immediate two points and a possible three if someone gets in the way (defender).

You should know exactly how far you can jump from on the court in order to finish. You can do this by simply experimenting with various leaps, bounds and jumps towards the iron cup. Catch, turn & face, make a move and finish.

This midset of finishing will give you the confidence to never second guess yourself. I believe that when you take it strong, you get what you earn. Most defenders do not want to get in the way of a freight train especially one who WILL finish. You will also score a tremendous amount of points, cause fouls and grab offensive rebounds.

Hot Wheels

Basketball players HAVE to HAVE wheels. Hot Wheels are a set of developed legs ready for high level usage. You can only build a set of wheels through time, patience, trial and error.

In building MY set of wheels I depednded upon a wide range of exercises. I have narrowed down the field to a select few methods that work finest. You will find those methods in Basketball Strength Volume I.

Until then, have fun with a little challenge I took a short time ago. I decided to take up the 1,000 bodyweight squat test. Naturally, I performed 1,001 squats in a row just to do it. This squat test took me about thirty five minutes and was very intense.

I can remember being up in the eight hundreds at about the thirty minute marker. The lactic acid was tremendous but the will to win was stronger.

What's your will like? You got it in you to knock off 1,000 bodyweight squats in a row? I think you do but you have to prove it to yourself first.

Integrity

Having personal integrity is something that can be taught. This intangible of character holds tremendous power in the right hands. This is why I suggest that the strongest of all men be the ones to educate.

Integrity can mean something different no matter who you speak with. It is not a matter of a dictionary definition rather a persons individual application of the word.

To me, Integrity means strength of character and an indomitable will to perform all things right.

What can this information do for a basketball player? For one, it can give a hooper a outlook not held by everyone that walks the Earth. This outlook can open the eyes and minds of anyone who opens themselves up to it.

Living with Integrity will allow for others to follow your lead. This example of strong character breeds new character in all of the people you positively influence. There is a reason why I say that a man should be a pillar of Integrity.

Martial Arts & Hoopla

Basketball and martial arts are synnonomous with each other. I don't believe you should be required to study a martial art to play hoopla' but it would certainly increase your ability to move. It also increases your ability to think clearly under pressure and a long list of intangibles.

Basketball Strength Volume I. focuses on several exercises which I developed sepcifically for you. Once you begin this training you will understand why I couple basketball and the arts.

The exercises in Volume I. have never been performed in the manner they are performed in. Please understand it is not always what you do but how you do it.

The relationship to martial arts and basketball is a brotherly relationship. Many of the same intagibles necessary to succeed in martial arts are the same in basketball.

All you need is an open mind to begin.

Honesty

Before any basketball player can make progress he/she must be honest with him/herself in all aspects. Brutal honesty will allow the athlete to properly assess and address specific weaknesses.

Some athletes never make it past this point. I am not exactly sure either. The point is, address your physical weakness and improve upon it.

How can you improve upon physical weakness through training?

I can give you four statements of how you should NOT go about your improvement...

Powerlifting is not made for an athlete...
Supportive weightlifting gear is not made for an athlete...
Splitting your body parts for extra workouts...
Long rest periods during training unless you EARNED it...

To be an athlete you must live and train like one. Basketball players at the highest level are elite athletes. You need to train with specificity, intensity and focus to succeed.

You need total body workouts that make sense and allow for steady progression.

Nuts & Bolts

When it comes down to real training, it's all about nuts and bolts. In building the most incredible buildings and structures the world has ever seen, nuts and bolts have played their part. The human body and the training program are the same.

Trainees need to embrace the nuts and bolts of the program. These nuts and bolts ARE the basic applications of safe, smart, mental toughness work. There is no way to cut corners with this kind of training. You either do or do not.

There is no short cut to success and working smart/hard is the way. I have made many mistakes in my life and I am here to help you in preventing some of your own.

A basketball player NEEDS to be in top mental and physical shape YEAR ROUND. This means no let down. You donot need a physio-ball, a bosu-ball, or the latest cutting edge device.

What you do need is a desire to succeed and the will to get the job done with nuts and bolts. Some of the greatest champions to ever grace the planet Earth trained by themselves and without any equipment.

YOU have a strength a conditioning coach, a former professional athlete and a friend to help guide you to your potential. Together, we can become champions.

Full Body Workouts

A basketball player NEEDS full body workouts in order to maximize his/her ability. A training program limited in its exercise list will turn off most people. This is because they have flat out learned wrong and are happy with their marginal results.

For seventeen years I have trained my body and in many different ways. The most positive results came to me when I incorporated full body workouts. I would typically use three to five exercises per full body workout. My form was always perfect and my intensity would match.

Track records of time without chemical enhancement prove worthy. Basketball Strength Volume I. is coming soon. This training course is everything a baller needs right now. No more nonsense training, all killer, and no filler.

Play Smart

So much is to be said for training and working "hard". I for one, comepletely believe in those forms of work. I also believe that when combined with "smart" usage you make for a real tough player.

Example; I don't block shots and I was never a prolific shot blocker. I would however get a "piece" of most shots coming from my man. Now a "piece" is still a block but statisticians seem to miss them. As a player, once you get a "piece", yell out "piece" so the others guys know.

I always got a "piece" for the following reasons. I carefully studied my opponents tendencies and timed him. When you went into his jump shot; one hand covered his face to prohibit vision of the target and my other hand outstretched to tip the shot with my fingertip.

Why swing your arm and risk the foul when you can get a piece and block vision?

Watching A Game

No matter what level of basketball you watch one thing is consistent among the better players. They are always aroud the ball when it is loose or needs to be released (shot/pass).

Just think about it for a second. Think about who is in what spot. Think if it's ALWAYS a coincidence when "X" person scores, grabs a rebound, makes a defensive play, etc.

Your peripheral vision will greatly increase over time. You need to practice opening your eyes to the entire court as opposed to one focal point. This increase in periphery will allow you to become a more rounded human being, let alone player.

Creator & Finisher

As a basketball player you have a title to take; a creator or a finisher. The titles represent styles demonstrated on the basketball court. Creators are generally guards where as finishers are often forwards.

What happens when a creator becomes a finisher or vice versa?

You have a player ready for Professional Basketball.

Pick A Talent

Everyone has their own naturally developed specific skill set in relation to sport. It is up to the athlete through trial and error to find the skills that set him/her apart from the rest of the pack. In some cases a coach can point these things out but they should still be individually learned to be understood.

Once a skill is selected (ball handling for example), the player must completely develop then harness that ability. This happens over time with patience. Natural talent will allow room for tremendous growth. When a player with natural talent works hard, he/she will become an irreplaceable asset to a team.

Keep training simple; pick one talent, develop and focus your energy on it. 15 minutes a day intensive will allow you to benefit and reap rewards quickly without burning yourself out. In word phrase; Maravich Drills.

Uses of Machines

There are many open minded people out there and this ones for you. There are many outstanding machines developed for the benefit of human training. Often it is the trainee NOT the machine that is succeptible to error leading to personal injury.

Arthur Jones, the founder of Nautilus knew a thing or two in terms of developing machines, training and being a champion in life. His track record shows sure enough.

I have used Nautilus equipment to train in the past with great results. I personally only used them when I had been coming off of an injury. I definitely could have used them post injury but I had other plans for other reasons.

I am NOT advising you to not use machines for the benefits I used them for. You obviously can if you want to. I am just informing you that for ME, Nautilus machines were the finest in rehabilitation equipment.

Just to throw a another slider into the mix, any machine that is considered rehabilitative can also be considered conditioning. There are infinite possibilities when combining man, a machine and a plan. How about we start with one of my favorites; Metabolic Conditioning.

Decision & Commitment

The subjects of decision and commitment are a dividing line between who will and who will not succeed. It really doesn't matter what a person is trying to succeed in, you NEED to make the decision and commitment to WIN!

You have to see yourself winning in your mind before it can happen in reality.

Leverage

Basketball is a game where almost every possible human movement can occur. The amazing thing about the game is it's speed at a high level. We also have to obviously recognize the speed at which the the players perform at the high level.

When it comes to establishing a defensive or offensive position the factor of leverage is raised. One player will win the battle of leverage versus his opponent thus placing him in an advantageous scenario.

You want to be the player that recognizes and captializes on leverage opportunity. You can do this by learning to use your lower body more effectively. Widen out your stance so that you have a solid base to work off of. Use your midsection to establish contact with the other player. You want close contact to feel movement.

Each scenario is different so make sure to establish a base that you could move off of. Again, we all know the game works at such a high speed. Keeping your hands high and visible to officials will allow you to use your legs to move players.

The hip flexors in particular are what I call the secret weapons of a baller. With your hands up, you can slip your leg behind that of the offensive players and simply walk him forward. This is never a foul and always clean.

Your hip flexors need conditioning for this occur on a consistnent basis during competition. I have a unuque method of training that specifically highlights the development of our lower bodies as movers. Basketball Strength Volume I. capitilizes on human movement within the game. Keep the hands high and ready.

Armchair Experts

Every profession has their share of armchair experts. You know, the guys who have always been on the outside talking about how they "could've and would've but..."

My life has always been about doing, just like a lot of you. No matter what situation I needed to succeed in and through, I did. I succeeded with the belief that I could persevere through anything and I did. I have DESIRE.

I have tried to help some armchair experts but they declined my aid. The not only decline my aid but they decide to throw stones as well. That's okay, I'm strong.

The point of this blog today is to look beyond the armchair experts. There are jealous people all over the world and they don't always have a face. Jealousy has an action NOT a face. Internet gives way for the jealous hater because of this.

Professionals like you and I know that these are little things we look over and then dismiss. I can remember my father telling me when I was ten years old that Professional Athletes are the finest in the world. This includes the last man on the bench on a team and yes there are exceptions to every rule.

So when you see a Professional Athlete just keep in mind that it is NOT a coincidence that he/she IS or WAS a Professional Athlete. This honor was earned, accepted and made possible by DESIRE, DEFINITION OF PURPOSE, & AN ORGANIZED PLAN.

Continue your road to the Pro's with smart, hard work. Basketball Strength Volume I. is coming to stores soon. This is a Professional Grade Product made by a Pro.

Lower Arm Conditioning

Basketball players NEED lower arm conditioning. Working tough manual labor jobs gave me a quick head start in this department. Once my labor days ended, I began training sensibly to increase my lower arm durability. Having a strong pair of lower amrs gave me serious edges over my opponenets.

The Formulator is a product that I highly recommend. All of the athletes I work with use it and all experienced tremendous results. John Wood has the strongest pair of hands on planet Earth, give him a visit for The Formulator.

All Positions

Today's basketball player needs to have fully developed skill in order to succeed. He/she needs to master the inside/out offensive game and the ability to defend inside/out. Essentially; all positions.

A player that can play in all positions is on that will help your team on a high level. ALL of your players should be aiming to play ALL positions.

One of the major factors I noticed in my time playing overseas was that ALL players on a team could be in any spot. It was no coincidence when the United States began losing Olympic Basketball Games.

It's time to step it up everyone. Learn the fundamental skills, master them and play all positions. This all starts with your individual workouts that include ball handling, defensive movement, passing, rebounding, shooting and conditioning.