Hello, I'm Elijah Bryant, NBA and Euroleague Champion🏆. I've crafted a playbook 📖 to elevate your success on the court delivered to your inbox every Friday. Stick around until the end to uncover how to deal with failure as a basketball player ⛹️.

Basketball Tip 🏀

Basketball is a game of pressure. Whether it’s the pressure of making a clutch shot, defending a tough opponent, or playing in front of a large crowd, you need to be able to handle it if you want to succeed.

But how do you cope with pressure? How do you turn it into an advantage instead of a disadvantage?

The answer is simple: you train for it.

You see, pressure is not something that happens to you. It’s something that you create in your mind. And you can control your mind by training your body.

That’s why working out in the weight room is a big key to success on the basketball court. By lifting weights, you not only improve your strength, power, and explosiveness, but you also improve your mental toughness, confidence, and resilience.

Here are some of the benefits of weight training for basketball players:

• It improves your performance. Weight training helps you develop the physical attributes that are essential for basketball, such as speed, agility, vertical jump, endurance, and injury prevention. By lifting weights, you can run faster, jump higher, and play longer than your opponents.

• It improves your mindset. Weight training helps you develop the mental skills that are crucial for basketball, such as focus, concentration, motivation, and discipline. By lifting weights, you can overcome distractions, stay calm, and follow your plan.

• It improves your attitude. Weight training helps you develop the emotional qualities that are vital for basketball, such as confidence, courage, and leadership. By lifting weights, you can believe in yourself, face your fears, and inspire your teammates.

How do you train in the weight room?

Here are some tips to follow:

• Train with a purpose. Don’t just lift weights randomly. Have a clear goal and a specific program that matches your needs and abilities. Follow a progressive and periodized plan that challenges you and helps you improve over time.

• Train with intensity. Don’t just lift weights casually. Work hard and push yourself to the limit. Use heavy weights, high reps, and short rest periods to stimulate your muscles and nervous system. Make every rep and every set count.

• Train with consistency. Don’t just lift weights occasionally. Work out regularly and stick to your schedule. Train at least three times a week and don’t skip or miss sessions. Be disciplined and committed to your routine.

• Train with variety. Don’t just lift weights the same way. Mix up your exercises and methods to keep your body and mind guessing. Use different types of equipment, such as barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, and bands. Use different types of movements, such as squats, lunges, presses, rows, and curls. Use different types of techniques, such as supersets, drop sets, circuits, and pyramids.

Remember, the weight room is not just a place to lift weights. It’s a place to elevate your game. 💪

For me personally, the weight room gives me confidence on the court, knowing that my body is ready to handle any situation.

For instance, I'm aware that I can get lower than my defender to surpass him because I've held that position for two minutes every morning for three months.

Now you're starting to see how your routines can boost your confidence on the court, even if they aren't directly related to basketball.

I know you're here to see my workouts.

Disclaimer: I am a basketball player, and these are the workouts I do. Before attempting these exercises, it's advisable to seek guidance from your weight coach or a professional trainer.

Weekly Challenge 🔨

As we've discussed before, defense is what puts you in the game. Let’s strengthen those muscles.

How long can you hold a wall sit?

If you're unfamiliar with what a wall sit is ⬇️ Comment on this post what your longest hold was…don’t lie

Winner will get to see my first workout on my app!

Q&A ❓

How do you deal with failure as an athlete?

Thank you for grabbing your playbook 🙏

We look forward to seeing you next week, unless you don’t want more confidence. 🤔

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