Strength & Conditioning K. Northington & A. Williams

National Strength & Conditioning Association The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) was founded in 1978 by a group of 76 strength coaches from across the nation. In an effort to separate themselves from body building and power lifting, the NSCA set their focus on strength training for athletic performance. As the NSCA has grown, it has become the worldwide authority on strength and conditioning by supporting and disseminating research-based knowledge and the practical application to improve athletic performance and fitness.

NSCA It is an international nonprofit educational association that now serves nearly 30,000 members in 52 countries. Drawing upon its vast network of members, the NSCA develops and presents the most advanced information regarding strength training and conditioning practices, injury prevention, and research findings.

Definition Strength training is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles. Conditioning training is used to get your body in its best physical shape possible over a time period.

Components of Fitness Fitness is the ability to meet the demands of physical tasks such as strength and conditioning in sports. There are 9 components. Strength - the extent to which muscles can exert force by contracting against resistance (e.g. holding or restraining an object or person) Power - the ability to exert maximum muscular contraction instantly in an explosive burst of movements. The two components of power are strength and speed. (e.g. jumping or a sprint start) Agility - the ability to perform a series of explosive power movements in rapid succession in opposing directions (e.g. ZigZag running or cutting movements) Balance- the ability to control the body's position, either stationary (e.g. a handstand) or while moving (e.g. a gymnastics stunt) Flexibility - the ability to achieve an extended range of motion without being impeded by excess tissue, i.e. fat or muscle (e.g. executing a leg split)

Components…. Local Muscle Endurance - a single muscle's ability to perform sustained work (e.g. rowing or cycling) Cardiovascular Endurance - the heart's ability to deliver blood to working muscles and their ability to use it (e.g. running long distances) Strength Endurance - a muscle's ability to perform a maximum contraction time after time (e.g. continuous explosive rebounding through an entire basketball game) Co-ordination- the ability to integrate the above listed components so that effective movements are achieved.

Conditioning One of the misconceptions in the sports world is that a sports person gets in shape by just playing or taking part in his/her chosen sport. If a stationary level of performance, consistent ability in executing a few limited skills is your goal, then engaging only in your sport will keep you there. However, if you want the utmost efficiency, consistent improvement, and balanced abilities sportsmen and women must participate in year round conditioning programs.

Conditioning…. The bottom line in sports conditioning and fitness training is stress, not mental stress, but adaptive body stress. Sportsmen and women must put their bodies under a certain amount of stress (overload) to increase physical capabilities. To improve for your sport you have to identify the most important fitness components for success in your sport or event and then design sport/event specific conditioning and training programs that will enhance these fitness components and energy systems.

General Conditioning Exercises General core stability exercises Plank-Hold a straight body position, supported on elbows and toes. Brace the abdominals and maintain a straight body line through feet, hips and head. Side plank-Lie on one side, ensuring the top hip is above the bottom hip. Push up until there is a straight body line through feet, hips and head. Keep the elbow under the shoulder. Lower under control and repeat on opposite side. Bridge-Lie on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Squeeze your gluteals and then push your hips up until there is a straight line through knee and hip to upper body and shoulders remain on the floor. Superman- Kneel on the floor and place your hands below your shoulders and knees below your hips. Extend right leg back and the left arm forward. Maintain a straight body line through extended leg, body and extended arm. Repeat with opposite limbs

General Conditioning Exercises General all round body conditioning exercises using dumbbells Incline seated dumbbell curls (alternate)-Lie on an incline bench with back pressed firmly against the padding and feet flat on the floor. Hang arms down at the sides, holding a dumbbell in each hand with an underhand grip (palms facing upward). Slowly curl the left dumbbell toward your left shoulder. When maximum biceps contraction occurs, slowly lower the dumbbell to the starting position. Repeat with the right arm Squats Wrist Curls Lunges

General Conditioning Exercises General conditioning exercises for the upper body Sit Ups Reverse Curl (Lower Abdominals)-Lie on your back with your legs bent, knees together and feet flat on the floor. Curl up the legs and buttocks off the floor Hip and Leg raise (Gluteals and hamstrings)-Lie on your back with knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Place your hands by your side. Raise hips and straighten one leg and hold for a second before lowering.

General Conditioning Exercises General and specific leg conditioning exercises Standing heel raise Sitting ham string curls Sitting leg press Lying reverse ham string curls Half squats Step Ups All these exercises must be performed while using weights of 60% of max for exercise. Start at 2 sets of 10 reps.

General Conditioning Exercises Specific exercises to develop lower leg strength and foot speed Double foot hops - knees slightly bent, keep the feet together at all times, bouncing on the toes rising no more than 2 to 3 inches off the ground Astride jumps - knees slightly bent, start with feet together, bounce on the toes and move your feet out to each side about shoulder width apart, bounce on the toes and bring the feet together again, repeat Rat-a-tats- knees slightly bent - on your toes at all times - looking for speed of movement - running on the spot bringing the toes no more that 2 or 3 centimetres off the ground.

Strength Training For strength training to be effective you must always stimulate the muscle more than it is accustomed to. The active muscle must continue to work against a gradually increasing resistance in order to meet overload

Strength Training Workout Arrangement Warm-up - the warm-up should be "sport specific". In other words, if you are performing the bench press, begin your warm-up with a light intensity and perform 8-10 reps. Stretch - it is important to stretch to promote increased blood flow to the muscles, and to increase flexibility, range of motion and decrease the risk of injury. Workout - work larger muscle groups first, then smaller muscle groups. Cool-down - keeps the body active and prevents pooling of blood in the extremities. The cool-down is done at a lower intensity.

Strength Training The American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand (1990) on "The Recommended Quantity and Quality of Exercise for Developing and Maintaining Cardiorespiratory and Muscular Fitness in Healthy Adults" outlines several basic guidelines for strength training programs. "Strength training of a moderate intensity, sufficient to develop and maintain fat-free weight, should be an integral part of an adult fitness program. One set of 8-12 repetitions of eight to ten exercises that condition the major muscle groups at least 2 days a week is the recommended minimum."

Basic Strength Training Workout Program Bench Press Lat Pulldown Overhead Press Bicep Curl Tricep Pulldown Squat Leg Extension Leg Curl Abdominal Crunch

Women’s Basketball Strength & Conditioning Program Here 1. Off-season ( a month and a half) Strength Training/Weights- 3 days a week Conditioning/Playing- 2 days a week for 1 ½ to 2 hrs. 2. Pre-season ( 2-3 weeks) Drills & Conditioning- 3 days a week Weights & Agility – 3 days a week Then Regular Season Practices begin and we will do conditioning drills every practice and will still do light weights twice a week to maintain our strength throughout the season.

The End:)

References 1. http://www.brianmac.co.uk/conditon.htm 2. http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfit/strength.html 3. http://www.nsca-lift.org/