Getting in excellent cardiovascular condition for basketball is a must. If you are playing high school or college basketball, you are on the move throughout games and practice and if you don't commit to being in superior condition, you won't have the stamina to play at your best. In order to get in great shape, you have to put your body through a series of drills and do some strength training as well.
Step 1
Jump on a stair machine or elliptical trainer to build your aerobic capacity. While you don't have to sprint on either one of these machines, you have to work hard for at least 20 to 25 minutes. Building your aerobic capacity will have a direct impact on your ability to run up and down the court.
Step 2
Run a series of sprints to build your leg stamina, your lung capacity and your ability to compete on the court. Interval training will help you do just that. Run a series of sprints to build these capacities. Sprint 90 yards on an indoor or outdoor track, followed by sprints of 80, 75 and 70 yards. This will prepare you for the up and down the court nature of basketball.
Step 3
Build leg strength by doing box jumping and jumping rope. Get a milk crate or a box that is 12 inches high. Put the box in the middle of the floor and jump over it, left to right. Then jump back over it right to left. Do a series of four jumps, rest for five to 10 seconds and then do another series of four. Keep doing this until you can make six jumps in a row and then eight jumps in a row. This should take about two weeks to reach this level.
Step 4
Build muscular strength by doing push-ups, pull-ups and crunches. Building strength will help the muscles needed for running up and down the court. If you increase your core strength by doing crunches, it will help keep you from getting fatigued while running. Push-ups will help you build your upper body strength and that will help you when battling for position under the backboard for rebounds. Pull-ups will also help you get stronger and give you more endurance.
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