With basketball season in full swing, NBA athletes face intense playing conditions, emphasizing their overall health to ensure they maintain peak performance. But what exactly is involved in this so-called “rigorous training?”
We had the chance to interview Keke Lyles, Betterguards Advisor, former Director of Player Performance for the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors, and strength coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves. During this interview, Lyles shared great insight into the proper training techniques and tools needed to achieve peak performance for athletes.
Successful training techniques
When asked about successful training techniques, Lyles noted that a successful training technique is “specific for the player to address their specific needs.” While there are many ways to attack the same problem, Lyles works with players to create personalized approaches for each player’s needs. Often, he begins his training sessions with more passive modalities such as vibration or stretching.
Warmups are essential for players to have a great game. Players begin with a routine meeting with medical staff in the training room to work on any specific needs and address any limitations or issues the player could be dealing with. After this, each player has an assigned court time with one of the coaches, during which they will go through their routine of basketball-specific drills. During this period, they’ll either go onto the court or head to the weight room to activate muscles and turn on their nervous system.
Insights into the NBA season
Next, we asked Lyles to share some insights into what preparing for the NBA season looks like. He noted that the season is incredibly demanding, both mentally and physically. While no single magic pill can make a difference, using a comprehensive, holistic plan helps players maintain as good of health as possible throughout the season.
To prepare for the season, athletes focus on progressive loading on the court and the weight room. During the off-season, athletes spend a lot of time working on any deficiencies that may require attention. Lyles noted that his best advice for athletes is to “take time at the start of any off-season to list out your goals and develop a program that can help you achieve these goals.” He noted that having a plan is the best way to keep track of progress and keep them accountable for the work they put in.
Tools to achieve peak performance
Achieving optimal performance takes a lot of work and requires many factors, such as readiness, recovery, and preparedness. Other factors affect peak performance, too, such as any recovery modalities used, such as compression boots or iced baths, and the quality of sleep an athlete gets. Nutrition is another major factor when aiming to achieve peak performance.
Measuring strength and force output with advanced technology also helps gather data that can be used to fine-tune exercise prescriptions. This data, combined with good training progressions, allows athletes to continue to build or maintain depending on their demands from the season. Additionally, recent breakthroughs in technology help protect athletes from injuries.
Lyles uses The BetterGuard ankle brace, an innovative new device that enables athletes to maintain normal foot and ankle biomechanics while preventing injury. This device comes in handy if the athlete rolls their ankle, as the brace engages to prevent injury or greatly reduce the severity of the injury. Using this technology, along with new innovations, helps athletes stay as healthy as possible and achieve peak performance. Instead of spending weeks in rehab after an injury, athletes are spending weeks training and increasing their peak performance.
Post-game recovery tips
Post-game recovery is just as important as proper warmup. We asked Lyles about the most important components of recovery and rest and what he recommends his Minnesota Timberwolves athletes do to support recovery after a tough game. He mentioned the importance of quality nutrition and adequate sleep to help support your overall health.
Post-game recovery is also dependent on your goals. For example, if your goal is to build muscle in the weight room, recovery efforts should be focused on muscle synthesis. Additionally, it’s important to try different things to understand how your body reacts to different stimuli. Through a period of trial and error, you’ll learn how to optimize your recovery in a way that is specific to your body’s needs. For general soreness, strength coach Lyles has seen great success using vibration therapies.
