Conditioning and training for endurance is an important part of training for basketball players and teams. Basketball players run as much as any other sport so cardiovascular endurance is an important part of training. Because of the way basketball is played with continuous movement and running mixed with sprinting, conditioning training and demands are slightly different than other sports.
Interval Training
According to the Sports Fitness Advisor, interval training may be more appropriate in basketball training because it can increase aerobic power and improve endurance without effecting strength. Interval training can also be made to mimic in game physical running demands. Interval training features intervals of certain time periods that mix sprinting with jogging or other lighter movements. By using interval training players can get used to constant movement with periods of full-speed sprinting cutting in.
Sprints
Sprint training is a popular form of basketball conditioning. According to Basketball Plays and Tips, suicides or sprints help to build leg strength. Most suicides and sprint training involves players running sprints that begin at one baseline and require the player to run to one foul line, then back, to mid-court and back, to the opposite foul line and back, before finally running full court and back to finish. Some off-season conditioning programs will mix in strength exercises like push-ups, dips, pull-ups or jump rope between sprints.
Distance Running
Distance running is often used for basketball training to increase cardiovascular endurance. According to the Sports Fitness Advisor, the drawbacks to distance training are the lack of sport-specific activity and the fact that distance work has less muscular benefit compared to sprinting or intervals. However, distance training can still help to build endurance and conditioning over the long term. Distance running requires athletes to jog or run at a pace they can maintain for long distances over a mile and up to 5 miles. Interval training and sprinting cannot be performed for that long, so distance training is often the only option when you are looking for extended cardiovascular workouts.
Practice Drill Conditioning
The Coaches Clipboard recommends using specific conditioning drills or incorporating conditioning into practice drills instead of just running sprints. This can often be accomplished by having players run full court shooting drills, fastbreak drills or defensive drills. Coaches Clipboard recommends using full court speed dribbling, dribbling moves and even requiring players to dribble during sprints to simulate game conditions. In addition, Coaches Clipboard notes that you can set up team drills that make the losing team run a few sprints or have the team run for free-throw misses.
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