Anaerobic and aerobic training same time?

[averagegymrat1]

I posted a few days ago asking about a strength routine and now I'm wondering about conditioning for basketball. I know basketball is mostly anaerobic but there is some aerobic during periods of no fouls, timeouts and what not. Is it possible to increase my aerobic and anaerobic capacities at the same time? By same time I mean in the same 4 month period I'll be training. Or do I have to neglect aerobic to maximize my anaerobic gains?

[noblet10]

I posted a few days ago asking about a strength routine and now I'm wondering about conditioning for basketball. I know basketball is mostly anaerobic but there is some aerobic during periods of no fouls, timeouts and what not. Is it possible to increase my aerobic and anaerobic capacities at the same time? By same time I mean in the same 4 month period I'll be training. Or do I have to neglect aerobic to maximize my anaerobic gains?

I'd say unless both teams are literally sprinting back and forth on fast breaks, basketball is mostly aerobic. You see alot of jogging and not full speed movements. I'd consider basketball to be more aerobic with some anaerobic moments here and there.

[averagegymrat1]

The team I play on emphasizes the fast break because we are usually undersized against the teams we play. So we tend to play at a faster pace due to our size. I'd say a less serious pickup game of basketball would be aerobic but wouldn't an intense high school game be anaerobic? Anyone else?

[noblet10]

The team I play on emphasizes the fast break because we are usually undersized against the teams we play. So we tend to play at a faster pace due to our size. I'd say a less serious pickup game of basketball would be aerobic but wouldn't an intense high school game be anaerobic? Anyone else?

I still disagree. I'd consider soccer to be in a similar category as well. If you are playing at an anaerobic pace you wouldn't be able to play very long without stopping. It'd have to be all out for a short period of time, and you'd probably be out of breath. There's a reason you can't just run continuous sprints.

I think you are confusing aerobic vs anaerobic with being intense or not. Of course basketball games can be intense, but like many sports it is largely aerobic. An example of a sport that is anaerobic is football, because plays are short and players are usually using full out intensity for the short time the ball is in play.

[Assassindan]

Basketball uses mostly glycolytic system (anaerobic) with intermittent ATP-PC and oxidative. Most plays last 20-30 sec of sprinting the floor, guarding a player ect. Basketball is not like soccer in the fact if you're jogging you're coach will pull you.

In order to do this develop a base of oxidative, work into HIIT training and then sprint work to cover all three systems.

[noblet10]

Basketball uses mostly glycolytic system (anaerobic) with intermittent ATP-PC and oxidative. Most plays last 20-30 sec of sprinting the floor, guarding a player ect. Basketball is not like soccer in the fact if you're jogging you're coach will pull you.

In order to do this develop a base of oxidative, work into HIIT training and then sprint work to cover all three systems.

Some people just want to act like their sports are so intense. You aren't sprinting for all that long. If anything, the game is easily majority aerobic mixed with anaerobic moments. I sometimes wonder if you even know what these words mean. Also, plays aren't normally 20-30 seconds. Plays can continue for quite a bit, not to mention play is almost immediately continued after a basket. The sport even at the highest levels isn't anaerobic. I'm not sure why you think it is. Next time you are thinking about it. Think about whether or not you have time to breathe while you're playing. If you can breathe during the plays, then it's aerobic.

Anaerobic sports are like sprinting and powerlifting.

Aerobic sports would be longer distance running. A 1 mile run would still be aerobic exercise even if you are doing it as fast as possible.

[Assassindan]

Some people just want to act like their sports are so intense. You aren't sprinting for all that long. If anything, the game is easily majority aerobic mixed with anaerobic moments. I sometimes wonder if you even know what these words mean. Also, plays aren't normally 20-30 seconds. Plays can continue for quite a bit, not to mention play is almost immediately continued after a basket. The sport even at the highest levels isn't anaerobic. I'm not sure why you think it is. Next time you are thinking about it. Think about whether or not you have time to breathe while you're playing. If you can breathe during the plays, then it's aerobic.

Anaerobic sports are like sprinting and powerlifting.

Aerobic sports would be longer distance running. A 1 mile run would still be aerobic exercise even if you are doing it as fast as possible.

1.) Bachelors in Exercise Science and a CSCS tells me I DO know what I'm talking about
2.) The Average NCAA D1 possession is 17 seconds
3.) The bolded part is how I know you don't know what you're actually talking about, while fast glycolysis can last up to 30 sec, slow glycolysis can last up to 1:30. Both of which are not oxidative, and not aerobic.

[noblet10]

You are still wrong. I seriously don't understand how someone educated cannot see this, and he'll blindly pretend athletes are doing something different than they actually are. Basketball is easily an example of both, not one or the other.

1. Average time for possession isn't the average time players are playing without stoppages, especially if you don't include changes in possession after baskets are made as stoppages. Several minutes can go by before there are any real stoppages.


2. I don't think I've ever seen an NBA player sprint for 20-30 seconds. He'd have to be extremely slow as the average athlete of that level could probably run 2 courts in far less than that time. There are many less than 10 second short sprints. Most of the time which is followed by jogging or shuffling, not sprinting.

3. I like how you immediately said basketball is not soccer, because you are correct. Soccer players run much longer and more often at higher speeds on average purely, because the field is bigger. It's still very much an example of a mixture of both types of exercise, not purely one or the other.

I'll leave you with video of the NBA. There are many players that aren't sprinting, some even standing or lightly jogging shuffling. I guess all of them should be pulled by their coaches except the few players sprinting.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlmTWVnm2xE

The reality is this isn't even a good video to make the point, because you don't see much half-court game. However, it still easily does the job.


Most sports are very much mixture of the two. It's not a criticism of a sport. It's just the nature of the sport.

[noblet10]

TS- Since the purpose of this thread should be answering your question, I'll switch to doing that. You are going to need both types of conditioning for basketball, but the more difficult one to achieve a high level of conditioning in is going to be the anaerobic area. You'll most definitely have to work harder to reach high levels of anaerobic conditioning than aerobic conditioning. It's the reason jogging for 10min is easier than sprinting for 30sec.

For your aerobic training, just play or practice your basketball skills. You'll get plenty of that purely through practicing and playing basketball. If you do this, you won't have any real need for steady state cardio or anything of the sort. Also, your basketball skills should always be the highest priority in making yourself a better basketball player.

For anaerobic training, run sprints. As you condition yourself cut down rest time in between sprints.

[krakkerz]

....while fast glycolysis can last up to 30 sec, slow glycolysis can last up to 1:30. Both of which are not oxidative, and not aerobic.

While you are correct, it is only half the story. It is the INTENSITY that the work is done at which determines the energy system. The alactic system, for instance isn't used in activities which only last under 8 seconds. It is used during activities where that intensity can only be maintained for that long.

I can jog slowly for 30 seconds. It doesn't mean I am using the glycolytic system.

I think that's where Noblet is going.

Edit: for the record, the Australian Institute of Sport has some research which shows maximal speeds are rarely reached in Basketball and that most anaerobic activity is during deceleration. Aside from that, both systems are taxed significantly.

Another point I'd make is that lactic and alactic sports which provide little rest are very aerobic by their nature in that recovery from high intensity bouts require aerobic capacity to recover form.

[DCSpartan]

Unless the basketball players are actually resting between possessions (and they are not) there is a strong aerobic factor at play (as in most sports).

[krakkerz]

I posted a few days ago asking about a strength routine and now I'm wondering about conditioning for basketball. I know basketball is mostly anaerobic but there is some aerobic during periods of no fouls, timeouts and what not. Is it possible to increase my aerobic and anaerobic capacities at the same time? By same time I mean in the same 4 month period I'll be training. Or do I have to neglect aerobic to maximize my anaerobic gains?

There is a thread I created on year long training for Rugby. The principles apply equally to basketball or any other sport. It covers conditioning as well as lifting and integration with practice.

And yes. You can improve both in the same training cycle.

[germaine07]

Basketball uses mostly glycolytic system (anaerobic) with intermittent ATP-PC and oxidative. Most plays last 20-30 sec of sprinting the floor, guarding a player ect. Basketball is not like soccer in the fact if you're jogging you're coach will pull you.

In order to do this develop a base of oxidative, work into HIIT training and then sprint work to cover all three systems.

I agree with this ^

Basketball is not an oxidative, endurance sport. Very few field sports are. Unless you go into endurance events, such as cycling and marathon running, sports are likely glycolytic.

Basketball is constant short bursts of high intensity exercise. Watch a team jog around at a low intensity and watch them lose.

HIIT involves both anaerobic and aerobic systems. Anaerobic during the exercise and aerobic as you recover.

[jonmd123]

There is good points made by everyone so far and I'll try and piece them together...

Basketball is really middle of the road as far as energy systems and it also depends on the style of offense and defense you are running. All 3 energy systems are being used by the body at ALL times. Our ATP-CP system doesn't shut off after 10 seconds of exercise, just as our lactic system doesn't shut off after 2 minutes of exercise. Beyond that, those charts are calculated at 100% intensity which is rarely reached outside of track and field. It's my personal belief that people spend far too much energy training their lactic energy system - just because a play may last 30-120s doesn't mean that you are sprinting for that time. Again just my belief, but I believe the best way to prepare for the energy demands of basketball is to perform multiple bouts of explosive movement with short periods of rest in between.

Ex. shuffle/defend for 3s, rest/walk for 10s, repeat 5-10 times, rest 2-5 minutes. This would vary largely based on your position and style of play, but it's just an example.

To answer your question, yes you can train both at the same time.

[Assassindan]

You are still wrong. I seriously don't understand how someone educated cannot see this, and he'll blindly pretend athletes are doing something different than they actually are. Basketball is easily an example of both, not one or the other.

Basketball uses mostly glycolytic system (anaerobic) with intermittent ATP-PC and oxidative.

Thanks Dan, Yous the homie.

[averagegymrat1]

For some background I'll be playing pg so I'll need to be the best conditioned one out there.
Should I do anaerobic and aerobic work on the same day?

My plan for aerobic is some shooting drills. For example make 50 3's and jog to get the rebound each time to help improve my conditioning. I'll be doing skills training about 3-4 times a week.
My plan for anaerobic is strength training 3 times a week and some sprints once a week. Maybe add in some suicides before my skills training.

Is that enough conditioning for a point guard?

Also would a core circuit be more beneficial than straight sets of core work?

[germaine07]

For some background I'll be playing pg so I'll need to be the best conditioned one out there.
Should I do anaerobic and aerobic work on the same day?

My plan for aerobic is some shooting drills. For example make 50 3's and jog to get the rebound each time to help improve my conditioning. I'll be doing skills training about 3-4 times a week.
My plan for anaerobic is strength training 3 times a week and some sprints once a week. Maybe add in some suicides before my skills training.

Is that enough conditioning for a point guard?

Also would a core circuit be more beneficial than straight sets of core work?

You seemed to have missed the point. Doing HIIT, you can train both systems simultaneously.