The Total Athlete's "Center of Power"
Assistant Coach Player Development, New York Knickerbockers
When comparing today's training strategies with those of three decades ago, I
deferred to the expertise of my father, Dean Brittenham, who was a pioneer in
the field of strength and conditioning in the 1960's. "The goals associated
with any training regimen are the same today as they were thirty years ago.
To improve overall athleticism", says Dad. "There are specific skills
associated with all sports. The skills of basketball are dribbling, passing,
and shooting. Tennis, forehands, backhands, and serves. Volleyball, serves,
sets, spikes, and so on." Pops goes on to say, "the level at which these
'sport specific skills' are performed is directly related to the level of
one's athletic ability." Athleticism is characterized by such traits as
strength, power, speed, quickness, agility, coordination, mental toughness,
endurance, and even nutrition. Everyone in the NBA can dribble, pass and
shoot, but the John Starks' and Michael Jordan's of the league perform those
same skills on a higher level because of their heightened athleticism.
Believe it or not, the "ancient" training techniques of the sixties, they're
not that far removed from what today's athletes are currently doing. Many of
the same lifting techniques, sprint and movement mechanic drills, agility and
coordination activities are still used today. In fact, most of the power
development drills that the Knicks implement, referred to as plyometrics, were
popularized around the time of the Mexico City Olympics of 1968. The main
difference might be in our enhanced understanding of the physiological
adaptations associated with the various modes of training. Possessing a
better understanding of the purpose of a drill, and adjusting the intensity,
frequency, and duration of a training program we can better prescribe a
regimen directed toward the specific needs of the individual athlete. As
such, we can eliminate activities of a less productive nature and instead
place greater emphasis on those areas of an individual's athleticism that
needs the greatest attention.
The real difference between basketball players of the sixties and those of
today is the player participation. Back then, only football players were seen
in the weight rooms. Now a days just about everyone is looking for an
advantage over an opponent and developing strength might be the difference
between success and failure. Today's player spends significantly more time
training "off" the court than their predecessors. For example, in the off-
season it is not uncommon for some of my players to train for over three hours
and never set foot on the court. In-season practice days typically begin at
9:00 a.m. with several players lifting weights, working on movement skills,
getting a little additional Cardio conditioning, and treating injuries.
Practice lasts 1.5 to 2.5 hours followed by individual shooting drills, and
lifting for the remainder of the players.
The number one focus of each of player's athletic training schedule is the
development of the "Center of Power". Specifically, the abdominal and low
back musculature. All movement either originates, transfers through, or is
stabilized by the trunk and torso. The Knicks abdominal and low back program
incorporates muscular endurance (high repetition crunches, etc.), muscular
strength (added resistance training), and finally, muscular power (Plyometric
/ medicine ball type activities). The general fitness enthusiast should also
consider the "Center of Power" as their number one emphasis of training.
Their focus should be geared toward muscular endurance and toning. Therefore,
select several abdominal and low back exercises such as low ab, oblique, and
upper ab crunches. For the low back lay face down and perform a variety of
superman contractions (i.e. lift the upper body only, lower body only, right
arm / left leg, left arm / right leg, both upper and lower simultaneously).
Initially, for the first several weeks perform 4-6 repetitions of about 6-10
drills. Then slowly start adding repetitions but never sacrifice technique
for greater volume. When you get to 15 to 20 repetitions, drop back to 10
reps and but add another set. Keep this routine going until you are
performing 2-3 sets of 15 to 20 reps, 3 to 4 days per week. Low back
repetitions and sets should not exceed ½ of the total reps being performed by
the abs for that particular session. A strong trunk and torso region will
help decrease the incidence and / or severity of low back pain, increase motor
skill functioning, and maintain correct posture.