So I have been keeping up to date with College Basketball (March Madness is right around the corner) lately so I can win my bracket this year, yet again!! Yes, that’s right…I had U Conn winning it all last year!! Anyways…The reason I am asking you who you think is going to win is because typically the winning team is always the MOST RESILIENT!! Meaning, they can play all four quarters and get the job done when it comes down to crunch time!

What sparked my interest in writing about this was watching Kentucky on the road at Mississippi State (which is actually where I currently am). I didn’t go to the game, but I watched the entire game and noticed a few things. Miss State came out firing, hitting their shots, playing great defense while Kentucky was struggling. At half time Mississippi State was up 13 points. I actually thought to myself at half time, “this will be the real test to Kentucky to show how resilient they are”. And it was! Kentucky came out in the 2nd half faster than they came out in the 1st half. They finished the final two quarters like it was easy.

So what makes you last all 4 quarters?

Many of you think that running long distance (yes, even suicides can be considered long distance) is the way to increase your stamina for basketball. Sure this will help…but is it the best way? Absolutely not!! If you want to train to last four quarters you need to do short burst training, followed by interval rest or an interval job. What this does is simulate an in game situation. There is never a time in Basketball where you run at a steady pace for 6+ minutes at a time…so why in the world would you train that way? Think of your training as your practice for the game (even if it’s weight training). You need to train your body to function in a game like setting way before you actually suit up for the game.

So what’s an example of this?

An example would be: Doing a 5-10-5 shuttle then resting or going into a 15 second jog followed by a 15 second break (whistle). You can do this will all your exercises…lateral shuffles, quick feet drills, ladder drills, etc…

If you are not training to be at your peak come game time, you need to reconsider how you are training. Start implementing this philosophy into your workout and you will see a massive change in your game time performance. Basketball players need to last all 4 quarters and that’s what makes Kentucky such a special team. I know they are ranked #1 in college basketball right now, but come the NCAA Bracket 2012 I will most likely be going with the Kentucky Wildcats!!

If you want to be on a full system that’s geared to give you game like training (short burst workouts) then you need to become the next member of the Twice The Speed Family…

Change the way you train forever: Twice The Speed Training System

Talk soon,

Coach Cascio

P.S.  Comment with who you think will win it all this year, and if you guess right I will send you a TTS Dry-Fit shirt…