Becoming the best basketball player you could be is a goal many people have. In order to become great, you need to put in the time. That brings up the question, is training one hour per day good enough for basketball?
One hour per day is good based on your circumstances. Let’s say you’re a high school student who is looking for a good training schedule around your academic and social commitments. One hour per day is more than most other players are doing in these circumstances (especially during the offseason). The key is to have a focused workout that is efficient.
If you’re in season, the average basketball practice is usually about 2 hours, so during that time span you’ll easily get in more than one hour of basketball training.
How To Find Time For That Hour?
It’s tough to find time for that hour of training, especially if you don’t have a basketball hoop at your house. Here’s some ways you can incorporate that training into your daily schedule:
- Ask your school if they would allow you to get in the gym in the morning and train for an hour. If yes, show up, and get the work done. Getting training in early will also make you feel more productive and will push the rest of your day to be even better. This is the very best option because no one will be in there, and you can focus on specific skills without any distractions.
- Join a gym or a local YMCA that has a court. You should be able to get in some work, or even pick up games if the court is full. The issue with this is you can’t control who is there.
- Buy a basketball hoop for your house. This will allow you to get work in whenever you want, even on the weekends.
- Get time at a local recreational center. You’ll have to base your time on the recreational center’s schedule, but this can also be a great option to get some training in.
How To Have The Most Efficient Hour Possible While Training?
Having an efficient training hour in basketball is very important. You can’t get in the gym and just lazily shoot around with no intention on bettering your overall game. So what exactly can you do with one hour of work?
Split up your hour into specific skill sessions. Let’s go over some examples of what this might look like:
Split Your Time Up For Different Skills
20 Minutes Of Shooting Drills: You can do this however you want, but an example would be to choose 5 or 6 specific shots on the floor with the goal to make 5 shots from each spot.
20 Minutes Of Dribbling Drills: Next up is 20 minutes of ball handling drills. Stationary dribbles, crossover drills, and a bunch of other options are all great here. Just do whatever you feel will help your dribbling game the most.
20 Minutes Of Alternative Drills: Finally for the last twenty minutes, do something that you think could help your game individually. If you’re a big man, focus on your post moves. If you’re a smaller guard, work on your floater. If you’re biggest weakness is conditioning, you could even do a quick conditioning workout for 20 minutes.
Alternate Days For Specific Skills
If you feel as if that isn’t the right way to go for you, you can also dedicate the whole hour to one specific skill on one specific day of the week. You’re schedule could look like this.
- Monday: Dribbling
- Tuesday: Shooting
- Wednesday: Conditioning
- Thursday: Dribbling
- Friday: Shooting
Depending on your weaknesses, you could set up your days accordingly to strengthen them. For example if you really can’t shoot, you could dedicate three days for shooting.
Most players just play when they get the chance, so if you’re intentional with getting in one hour per day, your game will improve much quicker than other players.
Why You Probably Think One Hour Isn’t Enough
The reason why you think one hour isn’t enough is because you see all of the extra work NBA players put in. One thing you have to take into consideration is the fact that NBA players have all the resources possible in order to put all this work in.
They play basketball for a living and don’t have to go to school and attend classes on a daily basis. They have the money to pay for a personal chef and make sure their bodies stay energized during all of these long hours.
This is why it’s not good to compare yourself to the schedule of an NBA player. Start off with an hour and build on it if possible. If you can extend that one hour to two or three, so be it. The thing you want to do first is go for an hour a day in order to build discipline, then you want to build on that discipline.
What Can You Add To The One Hour Per Day?
If you get that work in early in the a.m, and still have some time, there are some other things you could do to better your game on a regular basis.
Get In The Weight Room
If you get lucky enough to get in the gym in the mornings at your school, in the afternoons, your schedule will be free. In the offseason, it’s important to get stronger, so if your high school or college has a weight room, get some work in there to put on some muscle mass. Make sure you consult with the strength and conditioning coach in order to make sure you have a workout plan that suits your needs.
Watch Some Film And Study The Game
It’s good that you’re working on your game individually, but you also need to know the game as a whole. Learn about different offenses, defenses, and other aspects of the game. If you happen to have film of yourself playing, study that, and see which ways you can improve.
Watch Your Diet
You shouldn’t put in all that work just to come into the season out of shape. Watching your diet is a very important aspect of your game. Make sure you’re watching your calorie intake, eat high amounts of proteins, and carbs before your work outs for energy.
Get Some Extra Practice In At Home
If you have a basement or area in the house that you’re free to bounce the ball. Work on your dribbling, shooting form, and whatever else you need to work on.
In Summary
It may not seem like one hour per day is good, but over time it can make a big difference. The key is to make that hour efficient otherwise you’re just wasting your time and waking up an hour early for no reason.
If you found this helpful, please share it with others. also take a look at related posts below:
