by B.J. Tolentino

Created on: November 17, 2009

No matter how good a shooter you are or how great your court vision is, your technique will eventually break down once you've reach the limit of stamina. Even the great basketball players get winded and in some instances, totally run out of gas especially in long protracted games. It is therefore vital for anybody who wants to excel in basketball, or any other sport for this matter, to follow regular stamina training to be able to compete at the highest level.

Aerobic Considerations

The central consideration for any stamina training program is improving aerobic capacity to meet the necessary oxygen the body needs to perform a high intensity game like basketball. This includes increasing the lung's capacity to absorb more oxygen and enhancing the heart's ability to pump in more blood to the muscles and organs to meet the demands of basketball.

When the aerobic process cannot catch up the body's oxygen demand, the player gets "winded" and in some instances "blacks out" due to lack of oxygen flow to the brain. Most beginners or "weekend warriors" suffer from muscle aches after a hard game which is caused by lactic acid build-up from oxygen debt. All of this can be avoided by slowly improving a player's stamina

General Aerobic Stamina

"Whatever your program is, the key is to push yourself to a level where you're hurting. You're going to have to feel some pain; you're going to have to feel like your lungs are burning. "If you watch me train, it doesn't look like I'm overexerting myself. It's an everyday thing. You have to abide by your program religiously." - Kobe Bryant's comments on how he works on his conditioning.

"No pain, No gain" - this virtually sums up the mantra of any stamina training program. Improving one's stamina takes commitment and perseverance. Any basketball trainer can program a regimen to enhance stamina but it takes a player's dedication to extend one's body to the limit to improve his stamina. This is the key to gaining stamina and what separates the average player from the great ones.

"Speed Stamina"

Leandro Barbosa, "the Brazilian Blur", won in the NBA's Sixth Man Award in part because his explosive speed. He made several important points when asked on how he developed his speed; "When I was a kid, I used to play soccer without shoes on the street. I don't have a lot of ball-handling skills like Steve Nash, but my thing is just to get the ball down the court and score. Soccer really helped me develop my quick feet."

The first point is that

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