Why a Needs Analysis is important for training.

       One of the first things you should do before training is to have a goal or more specifically a plan to obtain that goal. Note that I said training not working out. Training implies more of a focused approach in the gym and not a collection of exercises.... looking at you CrossFit. Most folks that have experience (for full disclosure a beginner is typically two months into training, intermediate is two to six months in and advanced are a year plus) in the weight room often play a sport on the side to supplement training or an event such as a Spartan Race. 

    In order to play that sport effectively training should reflect the metabolic demands of that sport. In the fitness world we called this the S.A.I.D principle. S.A.I.D. stands for Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands. In 5th grade terms SAID implies the end result of your training period reflects your goal. Want to get bigger and stronger? then lift heavy weight. That is an oversimplification of the concept, but you get the idea. Football players do not continuously run for miles at a time during play, so why have them do two mile runs during training?

     In more practical terms think about basketball-lots of change of direction and jumping. Training is going to include plyometrics , sprinting, resistance training and change of direction drills. On a side note, change of direction is changing direction without knowing the predisposed destination. Typically, these drills include a mental stimulus that indicates where and how to change direction. Destination would include a coach pointing left or right as you approach the predetermined route. The how is how deep is that cut. Is it a 45-degree cut, 90 degrees or 180 degrees? Direction of cut requires different muscles and speed involved in the cut. A shallow cut can be performed rather quickly, while a 180-degree cut requires the body to slow down to a degree. Additionally, the legs have to be strong enough or quick enough to stop and push off with enough force as to not lose speed. For a full circled conversation plyometrics help with all of those details. See how detailed one aspect of training can get? Basketball is full of change of direction either playing offensively or defensively. Jumping can also be broken down into smaller details as well. Basketball rarely has a player conduct a running jump. Standing jumps and one-legged jumps would be better suited. Additionally, jumping in basketball requires hands to be up (think a block on the defensive side). Countermovement jumps that include arms up to the highest peak reached is more equivalent to the sport. Pogo jumps are another option since rarely a player has enough time to perform a complete countermovement jump within play. Strength training should also reflect the sport. Basketball is played upright, so lifts should be conducted upright. Exercises such as standing shoulder press, back/front squat should be used. Position also matters. In our basketball example a front court player would need to be "shiftier" than a backcourt player, so more change of direction drills is necessary. Back court players need to be a little thicker than front court players to have the strength to battle for rebounds and be physical in the paint.

    After considering sport and position movements. Testing can be conducted to see where you can improve to be better at that sport. Putting together a plan should follow these principles and these  In addition to resistance training basketball skills should be implemented to improve overall game play.