The Hill: Strength, power and conditioning

Фото: FIBA Assist Magazine

Mike Brungardt joined the Spurs in 1994 and he is the first and only strength and conditioning coach in Spurs history. He has built the team’s strength and conditioning program from the ground up. He has co-authored five books in the conditioning field, and his latest books are “The Complete Book of Core Training” and the “Complete Conditioning for Basketball”.

Over the past 10 years we have utilized and incorporated into our program a form of training that helps develop strength, power, and conditioning in a functional way. The tool used is a man made hill that ascends at between a 45 to 50 degree angle. Running stadium steps has been a popular form of training for decades. Running the hill is even more effective, for a variety of reasons which this article will address, as well as the type of programming we employ.

You too can utilize this concept and you don’t have to build your own hill. Just find one. The guidlines that you want to come close to in your selection is a hill that has at least a 30 meter sprint path, and ascends at a 45 to 50 degree angle.

WHY THE HILL?

We feel that the hill is a valuable tool for a variety of reasons:

1. The hill allows the runner to have a loaded foot plant which works the lower leg much more effectively than stadium steps, which have a flat foot plant on every strike.
2. The hill allows the runner to exercise with a greater variety of dynamic movements in every direction.
3. The hill is a great tool to transfer the strength gained in the weight room into motion.
4. The hill is versatile allowing you to work both lower and upper body strength, power, and conditioning.
5. The hill can be used as a rehab tool, especially for knee and ankle rehab. Walking down the hill, as well as up, in a variety of directions forces the ankles to mobilize, and stabilize, as well as forcing the knees and hips to stabilize.
6. The hill is easy and effective to integrate in your overall strength and conditioning program.

WHAT TYPES OF MOVEMENTS ARE PERFORMED ON THE HILL?

There are a variety of movements we use on the hill. When exercising the lower body we employ:

1. Forward Sprints.
2. Backward Sprints.
3. Lateral Slides.
4. Power Skips.
5. Long Jumps.
6. Triple Jumps.
7. 45-Degree Cuts.
8. Speed Skates.
9. Monster Runs.
10. Machine Gun Runs.

When exercising the upper body we employ bear crawls and crab walks in a variety of directions.

HOW DO WE INCORPORATE THE HILL IN OUR PROGRAMMING?

We use the hill every day we lift in the off-season. On leg days we utilize our running and other lower body dynamic movements. One day will be a heavy lifting day in which we will perform multiple sets of squats, lunges, leg curls, and RDL’s. On the heavy lifting day we perform a light hill workout, usually 1 set of 8 to 10 different dynamic movements.

On the other leg day for that week we will perform one set of lifts in the weight room and multiple sets of 8 to 10 dynamic movements on the hill. We cycle the hill just like our weights. This is done by emphasizing different movements in different phases or cycles.

On upper body days we incorporate the same principles as lower body days. On a day where we perform multiple sets on our lifts in the weight room, we will have a light, one set day on the hill. When we perform a light, one set day in the weight room, we will perform multiple sets on the hill.

WHAT ABOUT CONDITIONING?

The hill is great because it also conditions the athlete’s anaerobic system extensively during a workout. It is a great interval type of workout. All movements up the hill, except in a rehab setting, are performed at maximum effort.

We want to get up the hill as quickly and explosively as possible on every movement. We always walk down the hill, under control. This gives a great recovery interval between each ascent back up the hill.

Upper body workouts require tremendous stabilization going down and great strength and power going up. Therefore we simply use a prescribed timed rest interval in the upper body scenario. As stated earlier we have utilized the hill as a form of training over the past 10 years. It is an integral part of our offseason program.

Basketball players especially relate to it because they are in motion all of the time, which is what basketball entails. You are only limited by your imagination as to the types of workouts you can devise.