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August 22, 2005

Weight Training

I’m curious what any of you out there (hello, out there?) do for weight training. I was trying to find some stuff (free) online for sports specific routines, but only came up with links sending me to sites for books and videos. Not that books and videos don’t have their place, but I was, I admit, looking for instant gratification without benefit of credit card.

For a few years now, I’ve been doing a basketball-specific weight training routine that I got from Coach B, former Harvard University coach and scout back in the day for the Minnesota Timberwolves, and now head of Never Too Late Basketball. When I started doing it, it very quickly made a difference in my ability to pass further and to not fall down so much. But the body settles into routine, which is both good and bad. I can do the routine eyes closed basically, which has its advantages. You don’t always want to have to be mentally engaged with your workout.... And just doing the routine helps keep me in shape, definitely. But I’m looking for variations. I’m also looking for tennis-specific weight training routines, or really anything that people have found effective. Do chime in if you’ve got something.

If you care to know, here’s the hoops focused routine I’ve been doing. No charge.

Ideally, three days on, one day off. (In reality, I just cycle through whenever I get the chance to lift, anywhere from 0-4 times a week.) The routine is 3 x 12 reps not to failure but to difficulty of two different exercises per muscle group. (My typical choices below, but I do sometimes throw in alternatives.) If lifting with someone else, alternate turns. If alone, supersets:

Day 1: Chest and triceps

Bench press
Chest squeezy things on a machine (elbows to the side shoulder high, then squeeze to center)
Tricep curls (overhead with dumbbells or machine version)
Dips (on bench with feet on the ground if no assist machine available)
Sit-ups, crunches, twists, and variations

Day 2: Back and biceps (easy to remember: two Bs, second letter of the alphabet, for the second day)
Lat pulls or pull ups
Bench pull** (is that what you call it? one foot on the ground, opposite knee and hand leaning on a bench, pull dumbbell from hanging straight to armpit height) or butterflies
Classic curls with bar or dumbbell
Curl machine (I usually only do one curl thing; not much difference in range of motion gained by variations)
Sit-ups, crunches, twists and variations

Day 3: Shoulders and legs
Military press (usually with two dumbbells)
Shoulder circles
Leg extension machine
Hamstring curls
Heel raises (a calf exercise: toes on a stair, drop heels down then go on tiptoes—great stretch, too)
Sit-ups, always sit ups. About which more in another posting.

**Of note, when I was rowing seriously, we did a lot of weight training, particularly in wintertime. We did a LOT of bench pulls, and had rigged up benches that you’d lie on face down, adjusted so that when your arms hung down on either side you could grab a bar with 25 lb. and up on either side. This was great for really isolating your lats, especially if you didn’t flail and arch your back too much. These could be brutally hard (especially when doing 7-minute sets (yes, that does sound insane)) but immensely satisfying and useful for rowing. (I therefore really dislike the kind you do with one knee on the bench and try to think of anything to do instead.) When rowing we generally did much more leg compression/explosion (like squats and cleans) than I do now.

I really feel like weight training—even a go-through-the-motions 20-minute routine—is hugely helpful in keeping your metabolism firing, blood flowing and core strength growing (keep doing those situps), apart from the bone-health benefits that research says weight-training offers women, particularly as they get older. For more in that vein, About.com has a chirpy Ten Reasons Women Should Lift Weights.

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