[hlnx1]

Basketball is a high-intensity intermittent sport: short sprints, jumps, shuffles and changes of direction, separated by brief pauses. Long steady runs do not reflect that pattern well.

• Many actions last only a few seconds, but they are repeated many times per game
• A solid aerobic base helps recovery between bursts and across four quarters
• Court-based intervals, such as shuttle sprints with short recovery, are closer to game demands
• Speed and jumping quality should be protected; very long fatiguing conditioning can blunt them

Useful tests: the 30-15 intermittent fitness test and repeated sprint ability test.

How do you condition your basketball team: on court, on the track, or mostly through scrimmages?

[hlnx1]

An example on-court session: 4-6 sets of “suicide-style” shuttles lasting 20-30 seconds, with about 1-2 minutes of rest, then a short block of 5-6 sprint-to-jump repeats. Pair it with skill work on lighter days so the week is not all conditioning.

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