Hey

This is the reason i joined this forum, basketball. I need to improve my game, not shooting or the skills involved but my stamina, vertical jumps, speed etc...

Im willing to put everything i have into this and i mean everything. I just need help in telling me what that everything is.

Im constantly reading on google and the likes but for a guy like me whos from the uk, were no one talks about basketball training/conditioning. It can be quiet confusing.

So, I should start telling you what i do now and a little about me.

Im male, im 14, 15 next month, i weigh 60kg, sorry don't know my weight in lbs and im 5, 6. Anything else you need to know?

As for my training................

I do 100 push ups a night and 100 crunches (question-when i do crunches my lower back tends to hurt, should this happen?)

I also play 2 hours of basketball each day, so i get a good workout from that.

So thats my lame fitness program. As for my diet.............

Breakfast (if i have it)

Corn Flakes, Low fat Yogart

Lunch

Cheese Sandwich

Tea

This varys, today i had chicken nuggets, chips and beans, but alot of the time i have on of those microwave burgers or a tin Spegehetti Bolinase

Snacks, Biscuit, Small Chocolate bar, Odd bag of crisps.

Its terrible and im a very fussy eater, but as i said im willing to do anything so even if that includes eating things i hate, i will.

I should also mention, i find it difficult to sleep, notice im writing this at 1.40 am UK time, i normally don't go to bed till around 3.00.

Ok so thats, that.

Here's where i hope you guys can help me. I also realize that you may have had posts like this before, but i woudl really be extremely greatful if you could just give my some advice regarding, training, diet and well anythign else i should consider.

I guess im asking, what sort of training should i look at doing to improving my phisical speed, stamina and vertical jumps?

What should i be eating and is their anything else i should be doing?

Any help you can give me will be appricated so much!!!

Thanx in advice

p.s.

Would a photo of me help?

This is the reason i joined this forum, basketball. I need to improve my game, not shooting or the skills involved but my stamina, vertical jumps, speed etc...

Im male, im 14, 15 next month, i weigh 60kg, sorry don't know my weight in lbs and im 5, 6. Anything else you need to know?

As for my training................

I do 100 push ups a night and 100 crunches (question-when i do crunches my lower back tends to hurt, should this happen?)

OK calm down with the crunches they are not going to do much for your vertical.

If you are 5'6" and 60kg=132lbs then you are probably not carrying a lot of fat.

To keep a good vertical, do not add a lot of fat.

You are at the age where you should not really consider cutting calories - you should step the activity up to where you want it, and eat to make sure you cover that activity, as well as extra for growth.

You should consider a program of strength and power training, as well as plyometrics.

You need upper body strength to box out and pull down rebounds when the other guy doesn't want you to.

You need the power and plyo work to get some air. Plyometrics will involve things like "depth jumps". You get on a high platform and jump onto the floor and then onto another platform. Surprise! you get to improve your jump by...wait for it....jumping. But seriously, it's the normal thing for people that want to improve their jump. See here. (http://www.netfit.co.uk/plyometrics-web.htm)

Hey

Thanx for the advice :tucool: I've took what you've said into account and im currently searching the forum for training routines.

Im devising my own now and i'll post it up to see what you all think :bow:

Could you comment on my diet please? I know you've mentioned not to cut calories, but wouldn't it be better to replace some things with other foods which would help me grow?

Thanx all

Jump rope is good for your goals. Jump for one minute, count the jumps. Catch your breath. repeat 3x. Shoot for more jumps per minute. Run lines/suicides. If at all possible, do full-body weightlifting. Heavy, low-rep squats helped me with my vertical. Also calf raises.

The one thing that helped me when I was your age was a coach shouting at me to 'jump higher Ben, jump!' when I did layup drills. It really worked. It seems obvious but when you're playing basketball really jump. Most of the time you probably don't need to, but still, try to jump as high as you can go when you lay it up. You'll be dunking in no time ;)

Also: http://www.higher-faster-sports.com/jumphigher.html

Eating: It really doesn't seem like you're eating a lot for someone your age. You're growing! How much control do you have over what you eat?

Here's 15 excercises for improving your vertical.
http://www.defrancostraining.com/articles/archive/article_fab15.htm
Tricks
http://www.defrancostraining.com/articles/archive/articles_dirty-tricks.htm

Suicides make me shiver. I hate them.

Could you comment on my diet please? I know you've mentioned not to cut calories, but wouldn't it be better to replace some things with other foods which would help me grow?

Thanx all

Come-on, you know full well your diet is horrible. You might as well replace most of it with beer and cigarettes (and I'm only being mildly sarcastic - particularly about the cigs which will not help you grow).

Plenty of info on nutrition here. It doesn't have to be perfect, but get some protein and veg at least.

Also there is a lot of info on other sites - T-nation, bodybulding.com etc.. that I have seen, but not studdied. You may just need to dedicate some serious time to reading through posts and articles. Just don't get too hung up in the 'perfect' routine before commiting to start something.

I dont really know how things work in England, so maybe you can clear up a few things for me...

Are you on a school based team or a community league team?

Do you have access to weightroom or gym, be it through school or otherwise?

I'll try to help with your diet, since you asked:

Breakfast (if i have it)<-Make it a habit
Corn Flakes, Low fat Yogart -Add some protein. A couple eggs would be good. Protein powder if you arent a big eater in the morning (like me)

Lunch
Cheese Sandwich - Mainly carbs and fat. Very little protein. Try a turkey sandwich with some veggies added in, like brocolli or something similar

Tea
This varys, today i had chicken nuggets, chips and beans, but alot of the time i have on of those microwave burgers or a tin Spegehetti Bolinase -This meal is a train wreck. Chicken "nuggets" are breaded pieces of chicken that nobody would eat otherwise. Chips and beans? I have no idea what that is. I am imagining some fries with baked beans on top...ew. No protein in there, probably a whole lot of fat. The burger is probably high in fat (but it does have protein). It would probably be better to try a burger made with ground turkey though. The tin of spaghetti is probably carb heavy, but that is okay if you are running around a lot. If you like pasta, go with one serving of the spaghetti and add a chicken breast to the meal. You still get your noodles, but you also get some protein. Yum:D

Snacks, Biscuit, Small Chocolate bar, Odd bag of crisps. -I would cut this out completely. Eat all of your meals with a purpose.

Hey

Thanx for the advice all!!! Im still working on my training program and im also going to change my diet as "Come-on, you know full well your diet is horrible" that quote is right on the money.

Thanx for that diet plan KC86 but as i mentioned im a very fussy eater but as i also mentioned im willing to do anything to improve my game.

Im going to start searching the forum to help me develop a diet program which would suit me. As for being part of a community league, no. I play for the school and i do not have access to a gym. I do however have 40kg dumbell in my room as well as a pull up bar and sit up bench.

Thanx also for those links you guys agve me, im going to check them out now.

Thanx again:tucool:

Here's 15 excercises for improving your vertical.
http://www.defrancostraining.com/articles/archive/article_fab15.htm
Tricks
http://www.defrancostraining.com/articles/archive/articles_dirty-tricks.htm

Suicides make me shiver. I hate them.
:lol:

I was just about to post the dirty trick link. :tucool:

:lol:

I was just about to post the dirty trick link. :tucool:
Yeah, I found that on the site you showed me.:nod:

Thanx for that diet plan KC86 but as i mentioned im a very fussy eater but as i also mentioned im willing to do anything to improve my game.


Do you have anything that you already like? Make a list of stuff you would eat, and then we'll go from there. If you really hate what you are eating, you will end up going back to your old diet.

Hey

I'll post what i like that is resonable healthy.

Speghetti
Baked beans
Chicken
Turkey
Potatoes
Peas
Cauliflower

Thats it basically, for tea :o It's not alot i know!!!

For our friends from across the pond, heinz baked beans in the UK is swimming in tomato sauce (more like ketchup) and is very high in sugar and salt.

What about rice? Brown. And corn?

I used to be very fussy with what I ate. The only vegetables I liked were corn and potato. I guess I grew out of it at 18/19 and have gone from mostly carnivorous to eating comparatively very small amounts of meat in my meals. I took small steps in adding things to my diet but as KC advised, I had to like them or else I wouldn't stick with it. Plus I learnt to cook.

Don't even like rice. This is going to be difficult :doh:

At your age you can pretty much eat whatever you want when you're bulking, assuming you have a high metabolism.