Basketball Weight and Strength Training Are Changing

The style in the PBA is changing like that of the NBA, thanks to teams like the Golden State Warriors hoisting 3-pointers at record rates and blurring the lines of positions. And there's also an evolution happening in the weight room, according to several NBA strength and conditioning coaches.

Close to two decades ago, they say, the focus was more on traditional weight training - dumbbells and free weights and such. Today, with more of an emphasis being placed on movement, core, stability and mobility, there's been a rise in the use of resistance bands and, say, a PhysioBall.

But some around the league question if the shift toward "functional training" has been a bit too drastic, and wonder if it has also contributed to injuries.

"Sometimes, industries can overreact and sometimes get past the tried and true methods that work," DiFrancesco said, "and I think we're seeing a whiplash effect from that."

One might think that lifting weights only increases muscle mass, but strength coaches say it goes beyond that.

"It's not just about making their muscles more robust, but their actual structure - muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, all of it," DiFrancesco said.

"What no one is talking about is why these guys need to be stronger and muscle acts as the biggest shock absorber that we have," says Shaun Brown, a former strength coach with the Raptors and Celtics who has also worked at nine colleges. "The less muscle you have, the more trauma that goes to your joints." This disagreement in approach can lead to a problem in the weight room.

"Some strength coaches use bands and stuff because the players say they feel better with them," said Doo, who has been the Celtics' strength and conditioning coach for 13 years. "When a player feels sore, sometimes players don't like that or they won't like that or they'll fight you again. So sometimes, we'll let them do that instead of holding them accountable and making them do a one-legged squat and saying, 'You need to do this.'"

While succumbing to a player's demand in such a situation is not ideal, Doo said, "It's the lesser of two evils, so strength coaches feel better -- 'At least I got them to do something.'"

DiFrancesco echoed Doo's point.

"It's easier to get a guy to say, 'Try this band exercise' than say, 'We're going to squat heavy today,'" DiFrancesco said. "But a really, really responsible and on-the-ball coach is going to say, 'No, I know you like those candy exercises that they're fun, but we need to load these structures up because that is the only way they're going to adapt and getting stronger.'"

And it's not just the players.