Not all programs are created equal. There are three components to a good strength program for basketball. The first is the appropriate exercise prescription. Like a physician's prescription, the strength program must be appropriate for its target audience. The second component of a sound program is inclusion of the appropriate types of exercises. Exercises should be chosen to train athletes for the specific demands placed upon their bodies during practice and games. Injuries are always a major concern for athletes and coaches, which is why injury prevention is the final component.

In strength and conditioning, the exercise prescription includes the number of sets, repetitions, and weights for each exercise, the recovery times between sets, and the frequency, intensity, and duration of the workouts. Because of the demands placed on the athlete by practice sessions and games, the strength program should be intense, short and infrequent. On most strength exercises athletes should try to reach momentary muscle failure, in other words, the point at which they can no longer move the weight. This is the type of intensity that will bring about positive changes. Short workouts are one hour or less. Sessions that last longer than one hour will have little benefit and may even contribute to overtraining the athletes. Lastly the workouts should be infrequent. This is accomplished by using a total body program done two or at most three times per seven-day period. This will allow ample recovery between workouts so that a high level of intensity can be maintained from one workout to the next.

Basketball involves repeated bouts of high intensity jumps and sprints. Type IIB (fast twitch) muscle fibers are primarily responsible for these explosive movements. At the same time the anaerobic (short term) energy system provides most of the power supply. To prepare for this use a multiple set approach with a heavy resistance. A resistance that can only be lifted for three to eight repetitions will bring about the best results. For most exercises a weight of 70% RM or higher should be used. Using a heavy resistance in this repetition range will stimulate the Type IIB, fast twitch, muscle fibers. There will always be some exceptions such as certain isolation exercises and injury prevention exercises. Recovery times should allow adequate recovery of ATP to perform subsequent sets with the same intensity. Depending upon the exercise, recovery times can range anywhere from 90 seconds up to three minutes or longer.

A basketball strength program should include exercises that train all major muscle groups with special emphasis on those muscles used in specific basketball movements. Compound, closed-chain movements should be done to strengthen the lower body. This can include Leg Presses, Squats, Deadlifts and Split Squats or Lunges. The major focus of the strength program should be on the lower body, since it performs most of the body's movements. However, the upper body training cannot be left out of the program. The upper body should be trained using compound movements like Chest presses, Shoulder presses, Lat Rows, Pull Ups, and Pulldowns. Additional exercises including, hip flexion, calf raises and shoulder raises can compliment the compound movements. These more traditional types of exercises should make up the bulk of the program.

There are some additional exercises that should be included to train explosive type movements. Olympic lifts can be a great help in getting athletes to develop power movement patterns. The two Olympic lifts, the Clean and Jerk and the Power Snatch, are relatively difficult and time consuming to learn. Therefore, variations of these movements, which are much easier to learn, can be incorporated. Exercises like power cleans, push presses, high pulls and push jerks will help to develop explosiveness as well as movement patterns that simulate explosive motions. These exercises can be done using a standard Olympic bar or a piece of strength equipment that mimics the same actions. These Olympic style exercises should not be done to the point of failure, as this would compromise the ability to perform the movements at a high rate of speed. Instead, the focus should be on a quick, explosive movement with a lighter weight.

Although it is difficult to determine how much you can prevent or lessen the severity of injuries, there is no doubt that a strength program has an important role in injury prevention. When trying to reduce the occurrence of injuries, the first thing to check is the muscular balance of the players. Any imbalance can contribute directly or indirectly to an injury. There are many types of muscular imbalances to be aware of. A difference between opposing muscle groups (the quadriceps and hamstrings), between two sides of the body, or between the upper and lower halves of the body should all be addressed. Time should be spent assessing each athletes overall balance to determine what changes need to be done to their individual programs. To improve muscular balance between opposing muscle groups, make sure that the program contains exercises for both. A program that has five pushing exercises for the upper body and only one pulling exercise does not make sense. For better muscle balance between the two halves of the body, free weights and/ or machines that allow independent movements between limbs can help. This will ensure that the non-dominate side is forced to move as much resistance as the other side. Lastly make athletes perform exercises for the upper and lower body. Resistance training for many young athletes immediately conjures up images of lifting weights for the upper body. Placing emphasis on the lower body, while still training the upper body will produce the best overall effect.