Building An Off Season

Phase 1 - Regain Movement Quality

The focus of the early off season is to feel 100% again, in full ranges of motion. I will start the off season in higher rep ranges. More reps will increase blood flow, promote recovery, and repair.

For primary exercises (for me, most likely, squat, trap bar deadlift, bench press, and chin up) I will use 4×8. On the last set going for as many reps as possible (AMAP). We will use that performance to get new estimated 1RMs and build the program going forward.

For accessory exercises, I will use 3×12. Again, looking for increase blood flow and keep the CNS stress relatively low.

We can also live with some muscle soreness in this phase because we are finally getting some time off the court.

Phase 2 - Build A Foundation

Now we start to make some serious changes in our body. We start to follow more traditional strength training rep schemes. In this phase I will slowly re-introduce olympic lift variations and jumps.

Our primary exercises will transition to 4×5, the last set being an AMAP set. We will have a well established estimate 1RM, ensuring that training is productive right away.

Jumps and Olympic lifts will follow a 3×3 rep scheme. Limiting ground contacts but keeping power output high.

Most accessory exercises will fall in the 3×10 range. Still generating blood flow and building muscle size.

This phase can transform your body and your game.

Phase 3 - Ready To Preform

Almost show time. This phase can sometimes overlap with the first week of practice or the first tournament of the summer.

Primary exercises are now 4×3, getting close to a true 1RM. Our athlete now has the skill, strength and experience to handle 90% loads. The last set will still be an AMAP set, allowing us to adjust session to session.

Olympic lift variations and jumps will use 3×4-5, decrease the load but slightly increasing the volume. This strategy prepares the athlete for the ground contacts in sport and also taps into the post activation potentiation benefits.

All accessories drop to 3×8

All of these rep schemes look to limit muscle soreness while still building power that transfers to the court.

What’s Next?

The length of the off season will dictate how much time you can spend in each phase. For high school and middle school basketball players the spring is a quick prep for AAU season. In the fall we can spend a bit more time in each phase.

Thanks for reading. If you want to dive deeper in The 8/5/3 Method check out the links below.