4-week block · 3-4 days a week
Training program for former basketball players
Basketball built your engine and your feet, and it also gave you tendinopathy, chronically sprained ankles and a knee that talks to you on stairs. This block rebuilds strength under the jump instead of just jumping more.
Build my version of this planWhat basketball left you with
Most former basketball players carry excellent movement quality and a poor strength base. Years of practice volume made you elastic and conditioned, but the weight room was usually the first thing cut when the season started. The result a decade later is an athlete who still moves like an athlete for about ten minutes and then feels every one of those minutes for three days.
The fix is not more jumping. It's a real strength block underneath the jumping, plus tendon-friendly loading — slow eccentrics, isometrics, and controlled landings — so the calves, patellar tendons and ankles get stronger instead of just more irritated.
What still carries over
Elastic quality
Pogo hops and short-contact work feel natural immediately. You can train reactive strength on week one.
Conditioning tolerance
Repeat-effort intervals map directly onto how you already know how to work.
Coordination
New lifts come together fast. Technique cues land in one or two sessions instead of five.
What the plan has to rebuild
Absolute strength
Squat and hinge loads are usually the limiter. Four weeks of 5s and 8s changes more than any plyometric program will.
Calf and tendon capacity
Heel-elevated squats, slow calf work and isometric holds build tissue tolerance for landing.
Ankle stability
Single-leg balance and controlled deceleration work stop the sprain-resprain cycle.
The training week for former basketball athletes
Three sessions is the working minimum; the fourth is optional and can be replaced by a game, a skate or a pickup run. Every set is logged with load and RPE so the next week has a number to beat.
Day 1
Lower strength
Squat pattern with tendon-friendly loading
- Hip mobility flow + ankle rocks
- Goblet or back squat — 4 x 6 with a 3-second lower
- Rear-foot elevated split squat — 3 x 8 each side
- Slow calf raise — 3 x 12 each side
- Dead bug — 3 x 8 each side
Day 2
Upper and trunk
Press, pull, anti-rotation
- Push-up — 3 x 10-15
- Single-arm dumbbell row — 4 x 10 each side
- Overhead press — 3 x 8
- Lat pulldown or pull-up — 3 x 8
- Pallof press — 3 x 10 each side
Day 3
Jump and hinge
Reactive strength and posterior chain
- Pogo hops — 4 x 12
- Box jump — 5 x 3, step down
- Romanian deadlift — 4 x 8
- Hip thrust — 3 x 10
- Front plank — 3 x 30s
Day 4 (optional)
Repeat effort
Court-style conditioning off the court
- Bike or rower — 10 x 20s hard / 60s easy
- Kettlebell swing — 4 x 15
- Loaded carry — 3 x 40 yd
How the four weeks progress
- Week 1
Tendon on-ramp
Slow tempos, moderate load. Jump volume capped at 30 ground contacts.
- Week 2
Add load, hold contacts
Strength load up ~5%. Same jump volume, sharper landings.
- Week 3
Add contacts
Jump volume to ~45 contacts. Main lifts to RPE 8.
- Week 4
Deload
Half the jump volume, one fewer set per lift. Knees should feel quiet by Friday.
Basketball background: common questions
Other sport backgrounds
Get this block built around your schedule.
Six questions covering goal, experience, equipment, days per week, session length and anything you're working around. Your first week is scheduled in about two minutes.
Take the Athlete Assessment