“Get your training back on track with the No Borders Basketball Training Diary”
Staying on top of your training can be challenging and tracking your progress, even harder. There’s a massive amount of application out there for basketball training which will take you hours to sort through to find the right one. Let me make it easy for you! I have created a basketball training diary that covers the basics; that’s on court and weight room tracking in one spreadsheet. All you need to do is print it out and enter your details into the fields.
You are probably thinking that this is a little backwards right? After all everything is digital these days and can be accessed on the phone. True. But I deliberately made this training diary paper based. Why? Because mobiles are a distraction. The last thing you want to be doing is checking missed calls and Facebook messages when you are going to enter details into a diary. By keeping it paper based you keep away from mobile devices to fully concentrate on the training.
View the Training Diary template HERE.
Why should I keep a training diary?
Good question, but in the famous words of Derick Zoolander “Let me answer your question with anther question” Why shouldn’t you have a training diary? Without tracking your progress how can you determine if you are on the right track to improving. It is also good to record your progress to consult with a trainer if things are not going to plan. For example, if you are overly tired during training sessions and it is showing in poor shooting percentage your program can be tweaked to get you back on track.
When I was working with a strength and conditioning coach I had to submit my workout diary at the end of every week for him to review. Usually the feedback I got was “you need to tone down some of your training” and “you are not eating enough. With this particular training diary I haven’t included an area to record meals. That will be available when the revised No Borders Basketball training diary comes out.
No Borders Basketball training diary broken down
The No Borders Basketball training diary is broken down into two sections.
- Weight training
- On court training
Weight training to state the obvious is the work you do in the gym.
On court training is the basketball work you do. Simple!
Weight training section broken down
Date: the date that you are doing your workout
Day: day of the week. For example, Wednesday
Start time: Time you get into the gym and start your first rep
End time: End of your workout including cool down
Body parts exercised: What major muscle groups did you work. For example, chest, back, legs or arms
Body weight: weight yourself before the workout
Exercise: List each exercise that you do
Sets: I believe you should never do more than 5 sets on each exercise if you are training for basketball
lbs/kg: enter the wight you lifted
Reps: enter the number of reps you did on the weight
On court training section broken down
Date: the date that you are doing your workout
Start time: time you start your warm up
End time: time you finish training including warm down
Shooting
Shooting drill: list the shooting drill you did
Spot: Spots 1 to 5 indicate the 5 shooting spots. 2 base line shots, 2 elbow shots and top of the key shot. See diagram below.
Taken: how many shots did you take on that particular spot
Made: how many did you make in that particular spot
Ball handling
Ball handling drill: list the ball handling drills you did. I only listed
Left: did you do this ball handling drill with your left hand? Enter Y for yes and N for no
Right: did you do this ball handling drill with your right hand? Enter Y for yes and N for no
Min/rep: how many minutes or reps did you do the drill for
Note: ball handling drills should be done on both hands equally. So the number of reps on on hand should match the other. The only time this won’t be applicable is if one of your hands in injured. Or you are missing a limb.
Defence
Defence drill: list the defensive drills you did
Min/rep: how many minutes or reps did you do the drill for
Personal Evaluation
This section is really important to do at the end of the day to track your general mood. Last thing you want to do is be unhappy for more than a few days in a row. This is a quick indicator to alert you if things are not going too well with your training and general mood.
Hours of sleep: enter the number of hours you slept
Number of meals: how many meals did you have in the day?
Mood: What was your mood like though the day?
Energy: What was your energy levels like? Flat, energetic, lazy or hyperactive.
A training diary was a huge help to me when I was working out with a strength and condition coach. By tracking my progression my trainer was able to tailor my trainings with exercises that best suited me. Exercises that my body responded well to. Making the Guildford Heat team in 2009 cemented how good my training program was. A employ every basketball player to use a training diary. That is why I have completed this template FREE to download when you subscribe to the No Borders Basketball newsletter.
If you haven’t done so, subscribe to the No Borders Basketball newsletter now and get your FREE training diary template.