Today's post player - strong and fast

Women's Basketball, Dec 2003 by Ramus, Laura

The number five player has always been known as the enforcer. She sets the tone on defense, offense and in rebounding. As the women's game has progressed, the five player has become bigger and stronger. But bigger and stronger is not enough anymore. To play in the post today you must have speed.

Strength and speed are among the most sought-after qualities in a post player. Many athletes and coaches believe that strength and speed are independent athletic qualities and should be trained separately from each other. These two qualities, however, are intimately related and should be trained together.

The challenge becomes how do you train both strength and speed together. It has been shown that 0.6 seconds are required to reach maximum force levels during a traditional squat. This may seem like a relatively short period of time. However, the time available to produce force in athletics is much shorter. For example, in explosive movements, such as running and jumping, force has to be produced in less than 0.3 seconds. It becomes clear that the rate in which a muscle develops force is much more important than strength alone.

A common exercise used to build strength in the post player is the back squat. Unfortunately, traditional weights alone do not allow speed training because much more force can be produced in the middle and end of a squat than in the beginning. Weights light enough to be lifted quickly initially will not challenge the athlete in the middle or end of the squat.

By attaching resistance bands to the barbell during lifting, a situation can be created in which the resistance actually increases as the athlete becomes mechanically advantaged through the movement. Imagine a basketball player performing a squat with 50 pounds on the bar plus resistance bands on each side. At the top of the lift the athlete has 50 pounds on her back plus maximum resistance from the bands (picture 1). As the athlete goes down, the resistance band tension decreases. Thus, at the bottom of the lift, the athlete has 50 pounds on the bar and minimal to no extra resistance (picture 2).

SQUAT TECHNIQUE:

Stance should be slightly wider than hip-width with toes pointed slightly out. Your eyes, head, shoulders and chest should all be up with a tight back throughout the lift. Initially squat down slowly, leading with the hips, until the thighs are parallel to the ground - no lower than a 90-degree angle. Make sure the knees are in line with the toes and do not allow the knees to stray inside or outside the knees. Keep the weight evenly displaced over the feet; do not shift weight forward to the toes or rock back to the heels. Raise the bar quickly by straightening out the hips and knees while maintaining correct body position. Keep the hips underneath you. Don't round your back and lean forward on your feet. Repeat the remaining squats with a quick down and up movement.

Before beginning a resisted speed-training program, all athletes should complete 12 to 16 weeks of base strength training. During this time emphasis should be placed on developing core strength and mastering correct squatting technique.

This type of training improves both strength and speed by providing variable resistance through the entire squatting motion. The variable resistance provides a safe and effective way for today's post player to develop what's needed to compete in the paint.

Laura Ramus, PT, ATC, is the athletic trainer and strength and conditioning coach for the WNBA Champion Detroit Shock. Since 1994, she has also served as the manager of sports medicine for St. John Hospital in Detroit. For more information, log onto her Website, www.girlscanjump.com.